Quantum Optimal Control for Coherent Spin Dynamics of Radical Pairs via Pontryagin Maximum Principle
Ugur G. Abdulla, José H. Rodrigues, Jean-Jacques E. Slotine
This paper aims to devise the shape of the external electromagnetic field that drives the spin dynamics of radical pairs to a quantum coherent state through maximization of the triplet-born singlet yield in biochemical reactions. The model is a Schrödinger system with spin Hamiltonians given by the sum of Zeeman interaction and hyperfine coupling interaction terms. We introduce a one-parameter family of optimal control problems by coupling the Schrödinger system to a control field through filtering equations for the electromagnetic field. Fréchet differentiability and the Pontryagin Maximum Principle in Hilbert space are proved, and the bang-bang structure of the optimal control is established. A new iterative Pontryagin Maximum Principle (IPMP) method for the identification of the bang-bang optimal control is developed. Numerical simulations based on IPMP and the gradient projection method (GPM) in Hilbert spaces are pursued, and the convergence, stability, and the regularization effect are demonstrated. Comparative analysis of filtering with regular optimal electromagnetic field versus non-filtering with bang-bang optimal field ( Abdulla et al, Quantum Sci. Technol., 9 , 4, 2024 ) demonstrates that the change of the maxima of the singlet yield is less than 1%. The results open a venue for a potential experimental work on magnetoreception as a manifestation of quantum biological phenomena.
arXiv:2508.01806•Quantum•May 6, 2026•0 citations