The major task in quantum control theory is to find an external field that transforms the system from one state to another or executes a predetermined unitary transformation. We investigate the difficulty of computing the control field as the size of the Hilbert space is increased. In the models studied the controls form a small closed subalgebra of operators. Complete controllability is obtained by the commutators of the controls with the stationary Hamiltonian. We investigate the scaling of the computation effort required to converge a solution for the quantum control task with respect to the size of the Hilbert space. The models studied include the double-well Bose Hubbard model with the SU(2) control subalgebra and the Morse oscillator with the Heisenberg-Weil algebra. We find that for initial and target states that are classified as generalized coherent states (GCSs) of the control subalgebra the control field is easily found independent of the size of the Hilbert space. For such problems, a control field generated for a small system can serve as a pilot for finding the field for larger systems. Attempting to employ pilot fields that generate superpositions of GCSs or cat states failed. No relation was found between control solutions of different Hilbert space sizes. In addition the task of finding such a field scales unfavorably with Hilbert space sizes. We demonstrate the use of symmetry to obtain quantum transitions between states without phase information. Implications to quantum computing are discussed.
The major task in quantum control theory is to find an external field that transforms the system from one state to another or executes a predetermined unitary transformation. We investigate the difficulty of computing the control field as the size of the Hilbert space is increased. In the models studied the controls form a small closed subalgebra of operators. Complete controllability is obtained by the commutators of the controls with the stationary Hamiltonian. We investigate the scaling of the computation effort required to converge a solution for the quantum control task with respect to the size of the Hilbert space. The models studied include the double-well Bose Hubbard model with the SU(2) control subalgebra and the Morse oscillator with the Heisenberg-Weil algebra. We find that for initial and target states that are classified as generalized coherent states (GCSs) of the control subalgebra the control field is easily found independent of the size of the Hilbert space. For such problems, a control field generated for a small system can serve as a pilot for finding the field for larger systems. Attempting to employ pilot fields that generate superpositions of GCSs or cat states failed. No relation was found between control solutions of different Hilbert space sizes. In addition the task of finding such a field scales unfavorably with Hilbert space sizes. We demonstrate the use of symmetry to obtain quantum transitions between states without phase information. Implications to quantum computing are discussed.
A closed quantum system is defined as completely controllable if an arbitrary unitary transformation can be executed using the available controls.In practice, control fields are a source of unavoidable noise, which has to be suppressed to retain controllability.Can one design control fields such that the effect of noise is negligible on the time-scale of the transformation?This question is intimately related to the fundamental problem of a connection between the computational complexity of the control problem and the sensitivity of the controlled system to noise.The present study considers a paradigm of control, where the Lie-algebraic structure of the control Hamiltonian is fixed, while the size of the system increases with the dimension of the Hilbert space representation of the algebra.We find two types of control tasks, easy and hard.Easy tasks are characterized by a small variance of the evolving state with respect to the operators of the control operators.They are relatively immune to noise and the control field is easy to find.Hard tasks have a large variance, are sensitive to noise and the control field is hard to find.The influence of noise increases with the size of the system, which 4
The development of quantum control methods is an essential task for emerging quantum technologies. In general, the process of optimizing quantum controls scales very unfavorably in system size due to the exponential growth of the Hilbert space dimension. Here, I present a scalable subsystem-based method for quantum optimal control on a large quantum system. The basic idea is to cast the original problem as a robust control problem on subsystems with requirement of robustness in respect of inter-subsystem couplings, thus enabling a drastic reduction of problem size. The method is in particular suitable for target quantum operations that are local, e.g., elementary quantum gates. As an illustrative example, I employ it to tackle the demanding task of pulse searching on a 12-spin coupled system, achieving substantial reduction of memory and time costs. This work has significant implications for coherent quantum engineering on near-term intermediate-scale quantum devices.
The optimal control of unitary transformations is a fundamental problem in quantum control theory and quantum information processing. The feasibility of performing such optimizations is determined by the computational and control resources required, particularly for systems with large Hilbert spaces. Prior work on unitary transformation control indicates that (i) for controllable systems, local extrema in the search landscape for optimal control of quantum gates have null measure, facilitating the convergence of local search algorithms, but (ii) the required time for convergence to optimal controls can scale exponentially with the Hilbert space dimension. Depending on the control-system Hamiltonian, the landscape structure and scaling may vary. This work introduces methods for quantifying Hamiltonian-dependent and kinematic effects on control optimization dynamics in order to classify quantum systems according to the search effort and control resources required to implement arbitrary unitary transformations.
A closed quantum system is defined as completely controllable if an arbitrary unitary transformation can be executed using the available controls. In practice, control fields are a source of unavoidable noise. Can one design control fields such that the effect of noise is negligible on the timescale of the transformation? Complete controllability in practice requires that the effect of noise can be suppressed for an arbitrary transformation. The present study considers a paradigm of control, where the Lie-algebraic structure of the control Hamiltonian is fixed, while the size of the system increases, determined by the dimension of the Hilbert space representation of the algebra. We show that for large quantum systems, generic noise in the controls dominates for a typical class of target transformation; i.e., complete controllability is destroyed by the noise.
Controlling the dynamics of quantum systems is a crucial task in quantum science and technology. Obtaining the driving field that transforms the quantum systems into its objective is a typical control task. This task is hard, scaling unfavorably with the size of the quantum map. To tackle this issue we employ typicality to assist in finding the control field for such transformation. To demonstrate the method we choose the control task of cooling the fine-structure states of the aluminum monofluoride molecule, at relatively high temperature. As a result high-rotational states are occupied, meaning a high effective Hilbert space. Using quantum typicality, we demonstrate that we can simulate an ensemble of states, enabling a control task addressing simultaneously many states. We employ this method to find a control field for cooling molecules with a large number of internal sates, corresponding to high initial temperatures.
Controlling the dynamics of quantum systems is a crucial task in quantum science and technology. Obtaining the driving field that transforms the quantum systems to its objective is a typical control task. This task is hard, scaling unfavorably with the size of Hilbert space. To tackle this issue we employ typicality to assist in finding the control field for such systems. To demonstrate the method we choose the control task of cooling the fine structure states of the AlF molecule, from relatively high temperatures which results in large Hilbert space. Using quantum typicality, we demonstrate that we can simulate an ensemble of states, enabling a control task addressing simultaneously many states. We employ this method to find a control field for cooling molecules with large number of internal sates, corresponding to high initial temperatures.