  This thesis provides an overview of an approach to quantum simulations using
magnesium-25 ions stored in a linear Paul trap as the carriers of quantum
information. Their quantum state is manipulated and read out using ultraviolet
laser beams. Several important steps towards realising the first experiments
have been undertaken, the most striking of which is cooling the ions to their
motional ground state. We describe a first experiment simulating cosmological
particle creation in the Early Universe and discuss the expected results.
