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arXiv:1202.6520

Quantum Optimal Control Theory of Harmonic Generation

Ido Schaefer

Published Feb 29, 2012• 3 citations
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Abstract

A new method for controlling harmonic generation, in the framework of quantum optimal control theory (QOCT), is developed. The problem is formulated in the frequency domain using a new maximization functional. The relaxation method is used as the optimization procedure. The new formulation is generalized to other control problems with requirements in the frequency domain. The method is applied to several simple problems. The results are analysed and discussed. General conclusions on harmonic generation mechanisms are obtained.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1202.6520

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A new method for controlling harmonic generation, in the framework of quantum optimal control theory (QOCT), is developed. The problem is formulated in the frequency domain using a new maximization functional. The relaxation method is used as the optimization procedure. The new formulation is generalized to other control problems with requirements in the frequency domain. The method is applied to several simple problems. The results are analysed and discussed. General conclusions on harmonic generation mechanisms are obtained.
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We present a novel derivation of the Quantum Optimal Control Theory (QOCT). First, we identify the QOCT equations as the Euler-Lagrange equations of the functional associated to the control scheme considering a general window function that accounts for the measurement process. In this framework, we prove that the extremal functions found by Peirce et al. [Phys. Rev. A 37, 4950 (1988)], can be obtained using the well-established theory of variations with appropriately chosen boundary conditions. Second, we derive the QOCT canonical equations to maximize an observable at a given time T by taking the limit of an infinite narrow window function, that is, a delta distribution. We show that the costate is discontinuous and vanishes after the measurement time. Finally, we illustrate the convergence to the limiting case with numerical computations on a spin-chain Heisenberg model.
Quantum optimal control theory (QOCT) aims at finding an external field that drives a quantum system in such a way that optimally achieves some predefined target. In practice, this normally means optimizing the value of some observable, a so-called merit function. In consequence, a key part of the theory is a set of equations, which provides the gradient of the merit function with respect to parameters that control the shape of the driving field. We show that these equations can be straightforwardly derived using the standard linear response theory, only requiring a minor generalization: the unperturbed Hamiltonian is allowed to be time dependent. As a result, the aforementioned gradients are identified with certain response functions. This identification leads to a natural reformulation of QOCT in terms of the Keldysh contour formalism of the quantum many-body theory. In particular, the gradients of the merit function can be calculated using the diagrammatic technique for nonequilibrium Green's functions, which should be helpful in the application of QOCT to computationally difficult many-electron problems.
When applied quantization to classical control system, quantum mechanics opens completely new perspectives; by exploiting quantum mechanical features, such as, time evolution of quantum state and costate (generalized momenta) of the Hamiltonian of the system, one can formulate and solve the optimal control problems of the quantum mechanical system more efficiently than the classical system. The physical perspective of quantization of the optimal feedback system is outlined by exploiting the formulation of the optimization problem of the system within the context of Hamilton-Jacobi theory and Pontryagin maximum/minimum principle in abstract Hubert space. One of the most striking example is the optimal control problem of synthesizing the feedback law of quantum diffusion process. The optimal diffusion process is shown to satisfy the Schrödinger wave equation of energy with the feedback law as potential function.