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arXiv:2510.07113

Identification and optimal control strategies for the transversal splitting of ultra--cold Bose gases

Nikolaus Würkner, Yevhenii Kuriatnikov, K. Kumaran, Ramana, M Venkat, Jörg Schmiedmayer, Andreas Kugi, Maximilian Prüfer, Andreas Deutschmann

Published Oct 8, 2025• 0 citations
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Abstract

Splitting a Bose--Einstein condensate (BEC) is a key operation in fundamental physics experiments and emerging quantum technologies, where precise preparation of well--defined initial states requires fast yet coherent control of the condensate's nonlinear dynamics. This work formulates the BEC splitting process as an optimal feedforward control problem based on a physically interpretable, reduced--order model identified from limited experimental data. We introduce a systematic calibration strategy that combines optimal experiment selection and constrained nonlinear parameter estimation, enabling accurate system identification with minimal experimental overhead. Using this calibrated model, we compute energy--optimal trajectories via indirect optimal control to realize shortcuts to adiabaticity (STAs), achieving rapid transitions to the ground state of a double--well potential while suppressing excitations. Experiments confirm that the proposed control framework yields high--fidelity state transfers across multiple configurations, demonstrating its robustness and scalability for quantum control applications.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2510.07113

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Splitting a Bose--Einstein condensate (BEC) is a key operation in fundamental physics experiments and emerging quantum technologies, where precise preparation of well--defined initial states requires fast yet coherent control of the condensate's nonlinear dynamics. This work formulates the BEC splitting process as an optimal feedforward control problem based on a physically interpretable, reduced--order model identified from limited experimental data. We introduce a systematic calibration strategy that combines optimal experiment selection and constrained nonlinear parameter estimation, enabling accurate system identification with minimal experimental overhead. Using this calibrated model, we compute energy--optimal trajectories via indirect optimal control to realize shortcuts to adiabaticity (STAs), achieving rapid transitions to the ground state of a double--well potential while suppressing excitations. Experiments confirm that the proposed control framework yields high--fidelity state transfers across multiple configurations, demonstrating its robustness and scalability for quantum control applications.
We present a framework for designing optimal optical pulses for the matter-wave splitting of a Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) under the influence of experimental inhomogeneities, so that the sample is transferred from an initial rest position into a singular higher diffraction order. To represent the evolution of the population of atoms, the Schrödinger's equation is reinterpreted as a parameterized ensemble of dynamical units that are disparately impacted by the beam light-shift potential in a continuous manner. The derived infinite-dimensional coupled Raman-Nath equations are truncated to a finite system of diffraction levels, and we suppose that the parameter that defines the inhomogeneity in the control applied to the ensemble system is restricted to a compact interval. We first design baseline square pulse sequences for the excitation of BEC beam-splitter states following a previous study, subject to dynamic constraints for either a nominal system assuming no inhomogeneity or for several samples of the uncertain parameter. We then approximate the continuum state-space of the ensemble of dynamics using a spectral approach based on Legendre moments, which is truncated at a finite order. Control functions that steer the BEC system from an equivalent rest position to a desired final excitation are designed using a constrained optimal control approach developed for handling nonlinear dynamics. This representation results in a minimal dimension of the computational problem and is shown to be highly robust to inhomogeneity in comparison to the baseline approach. Our method accomplishes the BEC-splitting state transfer for each subsystem in the ensemble, and is promising for precise excitation in experimental settings where robustness to environmental and intrinsic noise is paramount.
Preparation of nontrivial quantum states without introducing unwanted excitations or decoherence remains a central challenge in utilizing ultracold atomic systems for quantum simulation. We employ optimal control methods to realize fast, coherent splitting of a one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate, achieving negligible classical excitations while preserving quantum correlations. Furthermore, we explore two-step protocols in which controlled classical motion is first induced and subsequently suppressed via tailored control sequences. Our experiments highlight the potential of optimal control for quantum state engineering and dynamical control in many-body quantum systems.
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This thesis develops a numerical optimal-control framework for investigating the manipulation of one-dimensional Bose–Einstein condensates governed by the Gross–Pitaevskii equation. The control problem is formulated as a constrained optimization problem in which time-dependent external potentials are optimized to steer condensate dynamics while minimizing unwanted excitations.The first part considers the compression of a condensate containing a darksoliton confined in a box potential. Optimal trajectories of the trap boundaries are obtained that preserve the solitonic structure while strongly reducing den-sity and phase excitations compared with conventional linear protocols. Thesecond part addresses the opposite problem of soliton absorption. By optimizing the motion of the trapping boundaries, moving gray solitons can be efficiently removed and the condensate driven toward its ground state. The third part investigates the merging of two condensates separated by a potential barrier. Optimal barrier-removal protocols are computed for different initialphase differences between the condensates. The dependence of the optimal control strategy on the phase mismatch is analyzed, including the formation of adark soliton in the case of a PI phase difference and the construction of robustprotocols applicable when the phase difference is unknown.Finally, the optimal-control framework is extended to tunnel-coupled con-densates. The coupled Gross–Pitaevskii equations are formulated as a con-strained optimization problem, and the corresponding adjoint equations arederived. This framework provides the foundation for future investigations of optimal control in coupled condensate systems.Together, these results demonstrate how optimal control can be used both to preserve and to manipulate nonlinear excitations and phase structures in Bose–Einstein condensates, providing tools for quantum-state engineering inultracold atomic systems.
Quantum technologies will ultimately require manipulating many-body quantum systems with high precision.Cold atom experiments represent a stepping stone in that direction: a high degree of control has been achieved on systems of increasing complexity.However, this control is still sub-optimal.In many scenarios, achieving a fast transformation is crucial to fight against decoherence and imperfection effects.Optimal control theory is believed to be the ideal candidate to bridge the gap between early stage proof-of-principle demonstrations and experimental protocols suitable for practical applications.Indeed, it can engineer protocols at the quantum speed limit -the fastest achievable timescale of the transformation.Here, we demonstrate such potential by computing theoretically and verifying experimentally the optimal transformations in two very different interacting systems: the coherent manipulation of motional states of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate and the crossing of a quantum phase transition in small systems of cold atoms in optical lattices.We also show that such processes are robust with respect to perturbations, including temperature and atom number fluctuations.
Applications of Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) often require that the condensate be prepared in a specific complex state. Optimal control is a reliable framework to prepare such a state while avoiding undesirable excitations, and, when applied to the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) model of BEC in multiple space dimensions, results in a large computational problem. We propose a control method based on first reducing the problem, using a Galerkin expansion, from a partial differential equation to a low-dimensional Hamiltonian ordinary differential equation system. We then apply a two-stage hybrid control strategy. At the first stage, we approximate the control using a second Galerkin-like method known as the chopped random basis to derive a finite-dimensional nonlinear programing problem, which we solve with a differential evolution algorithm. This search method then yields a candidate local minimum which we further refine using a variant of gradient descent. This hybrid strategy allows us to greatly reduce excitations both in the reduced model and the full GPE system.