We provide a comprehensive theoretical framework for describing the dynamics of a single trapped ion interacting with a neutral buffer gas, thus extending our previous studies on buffer-gas cooling of ions beyond the critical mass ratio [B. Holtkemeier et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 233003 (2016)]. By transforming the collisional processes into a frame, where the ions micromotion is assigned to the buffer gas atoms, our model allows one to investigate the influence of non-homogeneous buffer gas configurations as well as higher multipole orders of the radio-frequency trap in great detail. Depending on the neutral-to-ion mass ratio, three regimes of sympathetic cooling are identified which are characterized by the form of the ions energy distribution in equilibrium. We provide analytic expressions and numerical simulations of the ions energy distribution, spatial profile and cooling rates for these different regimes. Based on these findings, a method for actively decreasing the ions energy by reducing the spatial expansion of the buffer gas arises (Forced Sympathetic Cooling).
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