Origin and manifestation of the anharmonic potential felt by an ion-cloud in an actual Paul trap

The anharmonic potential felt by a single-species ions confined in a rf quadrupole trap which results from a non-ideal trap configuration and the charge distribution of the ion cloud is studied. The rf resonance-absorption spectra are explained by a Duffing oscillator and a representation of the line-shape parameter η is derived. Forη > 0.77, the electric signals will exhibit hysteresis. The relation with the anharmonic potential is discussed.