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arXiv:2302.09143 · International Conference on Control, Decision and Information Technologies (CoDIT)

An Application of Pontryagin Neural Networks to Solve Optimal Quantum Control Problems

Nahid Binandeh Dehaghani, A. Pedro Aguiar

Published Jul 3, 2023• 3 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Reliable high-fidelity quantum state transformation has always been considered as an inseparable part of quantum information processing. In this regard, Pontryagin Minimum (or maximum) Principle (PMP) has proved to play an important role to achieve the maximum fidelity in an optimum time or energy. Motivated by this, in this work, we formulate a control constrained optimal control problem where we aim to minimize time and also energy subjected to a quantum system satisfying the bilinear Schrödinger equation. We derive the first order optimality conditions through the application of PMP resulting in a boundary value problem. Next, in order to obtain efficient numerical results, we exploit a particular family of physics-informed neural networks that are specifically designed to tackle the indirect method based on the PMP. We show that this method can significantly speed up the process by first obtaining a set of relations which finally let us compute the optimal control strategy to determine the time- and energy-optimal protocol driving a general initial state to a target state by a quantum Hamiltonian with bounded control. We make use of the so-called “qutip” package in python, and the newly developed “tfc” python package.

DOI
10.1109/codit58514.2023.10284049

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Reliable high-fidelity quantum state transformation has always been considered as an inseparable part of quantum information processing. In this regard, Pontryagin Minimum (or maximum) Principle (PMP) has proved to play an important role to achieve the maximum fidelity in an optimum time or energy. Motivated by this, in this work, we formulate a control constrained optimal control problem where we aim to minimize time and also energy subjected to a quantum system satisfying the bilinear Schrödinger equation. We derive the first order optimality conditions through the application of PMP resulting in a boundary value problem. Next, in order to obtain efficient numerical results, we exploit a particular family of physics-informed neural networks that are specifically designed to tackle the indirect method based on the PMP. We show that this method can significantly speed up the process by first obtaining a set of relations which finally let us compute the optimal control strategy to determine the time- and energy-optimal protocol driving a general initial state to a target state by a quantum Hamiltonian with bounded control. We make use of the so-called “qutip” package in python, and the newly developed “tfc” python package.
We address a control-constrained optimal control problem pertaining to the transformation of quantum states. Our objective is to steer a quantum system from an initial state to a desired target state while adhering to the principles of the Liouville-von Neumann equation. To achieve this, we introduce a cost functional that balances the dual goals of fidelity maximization and energy consumption minimization. We derive optimality conditions in the form of the Pontryagin Maximum Principle (PMP) for the matrix-valued dynamics associated with this problem. Subsequently, we present a time discretized computational scheme designed to solve the optimal control problem. This computational scheme is rooted in an indirect method grounded in the PMP, showcasing its versatility and efficacy. To illustrate the practicality and applicability of our methodology, we employ it to address the case of a spin ½ particle subjected to interaction with a magnetic field. Our findings shed light on the potential of this approach to tackle complex quantum control scenarios and contribute to the broader field of quantum state transformations.
We investigate a time and energy minimization optimal control problem for open quantum systems, whose dynamics is governed through the Lindblad (or Gorini-Kossakowski-Sudarshan-Lindblad) master equation. The dissipation is Markovian time-independent, and the control is governed by the Hamiltonian of a quantum-mechanical system. We are specifically interested to study the purity in a dissipative system constrained by state and control inputs. We deal with the state constraints through Gamkrelidze revisited method, while handling control constraints through the idea of saturation functions and system extensions. This is the first time that quantum purity conservation is formulated in such framework. We obtain the necessary conditions of optimality through the Pontryagin Minimum Principle. Finally, the resulted boundary value problem is solved by a Physics-Informed Neural Network (PINN) approach, a technique that is also new in quantum control context. We show that these PINNs play an effective role in learning optimal control actions.
Optimal control theory provides a powerful set of tools and concepts that can be applied to quantum control systems. This chapter presents the general formulation of optimal control problems and gives the basic necessary conditions of optimality, the Pontryagin maximum principle (PMP). It presents an outline of the derivation of the PMP in the case of a fixed final time and free final state. One of the major problems in the context is that quantum systems are very sensitive to the presence of the environment which often destroys the main features of quantum dynamics. The chapter examines how the problem of minimum time control for system specializes in the case where eL/eK is a symmetric space.
Optimal control provides powerful tools and concepts that can be applied to control quantum systems. It has been used extensively to improve the performance of quantum processes in a variety of active areas in quantum technologies. This paper reviews the necessary conditions of optimality in the form of a Pontryagin Maximum Principle (PMP), and introduces its formulations for quantum systems. After formulating an optimal control problem for a two-level quantum system, we then study the application of PMP to obtain an optimal control strategy.
High fidelity quantum state transfer is an essential part of quantum information processing. In this regard, we address the problem of maximizing the fidelity in a quantum state transformation process satisfying the Liouville-von Neumann equation. By introducing fidelity as the performance index, we aim at maximizing the similarity of the final state density operator with the one of the desired target state. Optimality conditions in the form of a Maximum Principle of Pontryagin are given for the matrix-valued dynamic control systems propagating the probability density function. These provide a complete set of relations enabling the computation of the optimal control strategy.
We introduce the MAGICARP algorithm, a numerical optimization method for quantum optimal control problems that combines the structure provided by Pontryagin's Maximum Principle (PMP) and the robustness of gradient ascent techniques, such as GRAPE. MAGICARP is formulated as a "shooting technique", aiming to determine the appropriate initial adjoint momentum to realize a target quantum gate. This method naturally incorporates time and energy optimal constraints through a PMP-informed pulse structure. We demonstrate MAGICARP's effectiveness through illustrative numerical examples, comparing its performance to GRAPE and highlighting its advantages in specific scenarios.