Zeeman-Splitting-Assisted Quantum Logic Spectroscopy of Trapped Ions

We present a quantum logic scheme to detect atomic and molecular ions in different states of angular momentum based on their magnetic g-factors. The state-dependent magnetic g-factors mean that electronic, rotational or hyperfine states may be distinguished by their Zeeman splittings in a given magnetic field. Driving motional sidebands of a chosen Zeeman splitting enables reading out the corresponding state of angular momentum with an auxillary logic ion. As a proof-of-principle demonstration, we show that we can detect the ground electronic state of a {¹⁷⁴}Yb^+ ion using {¹⁷¹}Yb^+ as the logic ion. Further, we can distinguish between the {¹⁷⁴}Yb^+ ion being in its ground electronic state versus the metastable {²}D_3/2 state. We discuss the suitability of this scheme for the detection of rotational states in molecular ions.