What is the difference between an ion trap and a neutral atom trap?
Ion traps can confine their charged “atoms” by applying either radiofrequency electric fields (rf Paul trap) or a combination of static electric and magnetic fields (Penning trap). This method has the benefit of leaving the electronic levels undisturbed. On the other hand, the neutral atoms can be confined using their magnetic moment (i.e. spin of the valance electron) in an external magnetic field gradient, strong optical dipole traps (using AC Stark shifts from a focused off-resonant laser beam), and many more trapping schemes that often couple the internal electronic state with an external force.
