The measurement process is taken into account in the dynamics of trapped ions
prepared in nonclassical motional states. The induced decoherence is shown to
manifest itself both in the inhibition of the internal population dynamics and
in a damping of the vibrational motion without classical counterpart.
Quantitative comparison with present experimental capabilities is discussed,
leading to a proposal for the verification of the predicted effects.Comment: 5 Pages, no figures; Plain REVTeX; to be published in the 1st May
issue of Phys. Rev. A, Rap. Commun. (1997
