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The Journal of Chemical Physics

Control of a quantum dynamics by a locally optimized laser field. II. Application to a system with dissipation

Michihiko Sugawara, Yuichi Fujimura

Published Oct 15, 1994• 32 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present a theory for controlling the dynamics of a dissipative, quantum system with a laser field optimized locally in time. The theory is applicable to both weak and strong field control of the quantum dynamics. The theoretical groundwork is based on the equation of motion of the density matrix in Liouville space. Interactions between the molecules and the heat bath are taken into account within a Markov approximation. The derivation of the locally optimized laser field in a feedback form is based on the local optimization theory in the Hilbert space, proposed in a previous paper [M. Sugawara and Y. Fujimura, J. Chem. Phys. 100, 5646 (1994)]. The theory is applied to a simple, two-level quantum system with a dephasing constant. We present both the calculated time evolution of the off-diagonal density matrix element and that of the population of the states in the optimized laser field. These calculations show that the control of the system by the laser field is sufficient to avoid the dephasing effects. We discuss how the dephasing dynamics affects the optimization of the laser field.

DOI
10.1063/1.468353

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We present a theory for controlling the dynamics of a dissipative, quantum system with a laser field optimized locally in time. The theory is applicable to both weak and strong field control of the quantum dynamics. The theoretical groundwork is based on the equation of motion of the density matrix in Liouville space. Interactions between the molecules and the heat bath are taken into account within a Markov approximation. The derivation of the locally optimized laser field in a feedback form is based on the local optimization theory in the Hilbert space, proposed in a previous paper [M. Sugawara and Y. Fujimura, J. Chem. Phys. 100, 5646 (1994)]. The theory is applied to a simple, two-level quantum system with a dephasing constant. We present both the calculated time evolution of the off-diagonal density matrix element and that of the population of the states in the optimized laser field. These calculations show that the control of the system by the laser field is sufficient to avoid the dephasing effects. We discuss how the dephasing dynamics affects the optimization of the laser field.
A Markovian master equation describing the evolution of open quantum systems in the presence of a time-dependent external field is derived within the Bloch-Redfield formalism. It leads to a system-bath interaction which depends on the control field. Optimal control theory is used to select control fields which allow accelerated or decelerated system relaxation, or suppression of relaxation (dissipation) altogether, depending on the dynamics we impose on the quantum system. The control-dissipation correlation and the nonperturbative treatment of the control field are essential for reaching this goal. The optimal control problem is formulated within Pontryagin's minimum principle and the resulting optimal differential system is solved numerically. As an application, we study the dynamics of a spin-boson model in the strong coupling regime under the influence of an external control field. We show how trapping the system in unstable quantum states and transfer of population can be achieved by optimized control of the dissipative quantum system. We also used optimal control theory to find the driving field that generates the quantum ZZZ gate. In several cases studied, we find that the selected optimal field which reduces the purity loss significantly is a multicomponent low-frequency field including higher harmonics, all of which lie below the phonon cutoff frequency. Finally, in the undriven case we present an analytic result for the Lamb shift at zero temperature.
Optimal control within the density matrix formalism is applied to the creation of a specified superposition state in condensed phases. The primary system modeled by a displaced harmonic oscillator is surrounded by a boson heat bath, the dynamics of which is described by a non-Markovian master equation. A newly developed monotonically convergent algorithm is used to solve the pulse design equations. The control mechanisms are strongly dependent on the bath correlation time that is characterized by the inverse of an exponential decay constant, γ. If the correlation time is shorter than the temporal width of a typical subpulse involved in an optimal pulse, the solution is reduced to that in the Markovian case. If we assume a longer correlation time, by weighing less physical significance on the penalty due to pulse fluence, an optimal pulse with high intensity is obtained, the temporal width of which approaches ∼1/γ. We also see considerable changes in the shape of the optimal pulse with increasing intensity, suggesting that strong fields open up control mechanisms that are qualitatively different from those in weak fields.
Open-system quantum optimal control theory for optical control of the dynamics of a quantum system in contact with a dissipative bath is used here for explicitly time-dependent target operators, O(t). Global and local control strategies are combined in a novel algorithm by defining a set of time slices, into which the total control time is subdivided. The optimization then proceeds locally forward in time from subinterval to subinterval, while within each subinterval global control theory is used with iterative forward-backward propagation. The subintervals are connected by appropriate boundary conditions. In the present paper, all operators are represented in the basis of the eigenstates of the field-free system Hamiltonian. The algorithm is first applied to and its computational performance tested for a two-level system with energy and phase relaxation, and later extended to a many-level model. Model parameters are chosen to represent the IR pulse excitation of the adsorbate-surface stretch mode of vibrationally relaxing CO on a Cu(100) surface. Various time-dependent targets are formulated to achieve (i) population inversion, (ii) the creation of a wavepacket, and (iii) overtone excitation by "ladder climbing."
Quantum optimal control theory is applied to find optimal pulses for controlling the motion of an ion and a molecule for two different applications. Those optimal pulses enable the control of the dynamics of the system by driving the atom or the molecule from an initial state to desired states.The evolution equations obtained by means of the quantum optimal control theory are resolved iteratively using a monotonic convergent algorithm. A number of simulation parameters are varied in order to get the optimal pulses including the duration of the pulses, the time step of the time grid, a penalty factor that limits the maximal intensity of the fields, and a guess pulse which is used to start the optimal control.The optimal pulses obtained for each application are analyzed by Fourier transform, and also by looking at the time evolution of the populations that they generate in the system.The first application is the preparation of specific vibrational states of acetylene that are usually not reachable from the ground state, and that would remain unpopulated by usual spectroscopy. Relevant state energies and transition dipole moments are extracted from the experimental literature and especially from the global acetylene Hamiltonian conferring an uncommon precision to the control simulation. The control starts from the ground state. The target states belongs to the polyad Ns=1, Nr=5 of acetylene which includes two vibrational dark states and one vibrational bright state. First, the simulation is performed with the Schrödinger equation and in a second step, with the Liouville--von Neumann equation, as mixed states are prepared. Indeed, the control starts from a Boltzmann distribution of population in the rotational levels of the vibrational ground state chosen in order to simulate an experimental condition. But the distribution is truncated to limit the computational effort. One of the dark states appears to be a potential target for a realistic experimental investigation because the average population of the Rabi oscillation remains high and decoherence is expected to be weak. The optimal pulses obtained have a high fidelity, have a spectrum with well-resolved peak frequencies, and their experimental feasibility seems achievable within the current abilities of experimental laboratories.The second application is to propose an experimental realization of a microscopic physical device able to simulate quantum dynamics. The idea is to use the motional states of a Cd^+ ion trapped in an anharmonic potential to realize a quantum dynamics simulator of a single-particle Schrödinger equation. In this way, the motional states store the information and the optimal pulse manipulates this information to realize operations. In the present case, the simulated dynamics was the propagation of a wave packet in a harmonic potential. Starting from an initial quantum state, the pulse acts on the system to modify the motional states of the ion in such a way that the final superposition of motional states corresponds to the results of the dynamics. This simulation is performed with the Liouville--von Neumann equation and also with the Lindblad equation as dissipation is included to test the robustness of the pulse against perturbations of the potential. The optimal pulses that are obtained have a high fidelity which shows that the ion trap system has correctly realized the quantum dynamics simulation. The optimal pulses are valid for any initial condition if the potential of the simulation or the mass of the propagated wave packet is unchanged.
The time evolution of the purity (the trace of the square of the reduced density matrix) and von Neumann entropy in a symmetric two-level system coupled to a dissipative harmonic bath is investigated through analytical arguments and accurate path integral calculations on simple models and the singly excited bacteriochlorophyll dimer. A simple theoretical analysis establishes bounds and limiting behaviors. The contributions to purity from a purely incoherent term obtained from the diagonal elements of the reduced density matrix, a term associated with the difference of the two eigenstate populations, and a third term related to the square of the time derivative of a site population, are discussed in various regimes. In the case of tunneling dynamics from a localized initial condition, the complex interplay among these contributions leads to the recovery of purity under low-temperature, weakly dissipative conditions. Memory effects from the bath are found to play a critical role to the dynamics of purity. It is shown that the strictly quantum mechanical decoherence process associated with spontaneous phonon emission is responsible for the long-time recovery of purity. These analytical and numerical results show clearly that the loss of quantum coherence during the evolution toward equilibrium does not necessarily imply the decay of purity, and that the time scales relevant to these two processes may be entirely different.
An optimal control theory for open quantum systems is constructed containing non-Markovian dissipation manipulated by an external control field. The control theory is developed based on a novel quantum dissipation formulation that treats both the initial canonical ensemble and the subsequent reduced control dynamics. An associated scheme of backward propagation is presented, allowing the efficient evaluation of general optimal control problems. As an illustration, the control theory is applied to the vibration of the hydrogen fluoride molecule embedded in a non-Markovian dissipative medium. The importance of control-dissipation correlation is evident in the results.