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Chapman & Hall/CRC eBooks

Lie Group Decompositions and Control

Domenico D’Alessandro

Published Jul 13, 2021• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

This chapter discusses in detail the case of two-level systems and the associated Lie group. It gives an example of a general decomposition of SU(n), namely the decomposition into planar rotation, which is quite simple and can be obtained by straightforward computations. This decomposition gives a direct way to parametrize the special unitary group. The chapter presents the basics of Cartan decompositions of semisimple Lie groups. It gives some examples of applications of Lie group decompositions and introduces some notions of Lie group and Lie algebra theory. The chapter discusses Cartan decompositions of Lie groups. Cartan decompositions appear to be ubiquitous in quantum control and dynamics and in quantum information theory.

DOI
10.1201/9781003051268-6

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This chapter discusses in detail the case of two-level systems and the associated Lie group. It gives an example of a general decomposition of SU(n), namely the decomposition into planar rotation, which is quite simple and can be obtained by straightforward computations. This decomposition gives a direct way to parametrize the special unitary group. The chapter presents the basics of Cartan decompositions of semisimple Lie groups. It gives some examples of applications of Lie group decompositions and introduces some notions of Lie group and Lie algebra theory. The chapter discusses Cartan decompositions of Lie groups. Cartan decompositions appear to be ubiquitous in quantum control and dynamics and in quantum information theory.
A scheme to perform the Cartan decomposition for the Lie algebra su(N) of arbitrary finite dimensions is introduced. The schme is based on two algebraic structures, the conjugate partition and the quotient algebra, that are easily generated by a Cartan subalgebra and generally exist in su(N). In particular, the Lie algebras su(2^p) and every su(2^{p-1} < N < 2^p) share the isomorphic structure of the quotient algebra. This structure enables an efficient algorithm for the recursive and exhaustive construction of Cartan decompositions. Further with the scheme, a unitary transformation in SU(N) can be recursively decomposed into a product of certain designated operators, e.g., local and nonlocal gates. Such a recursive decomposition of a transformation implies an evolution path on the manifold of the group.
Decompositions of the Lie group of unitary matrices are very useful tools in the control and analysis of quantum dynamics. In this paper, we survey recent results on decompositions, concerning their significance in terms of symmetries, entanglement, and their applications to control and dynamics. Several decompositions can be obtained by recursively applying the Cartan classification of the symmetric spaces of the classical Lie groups. The emphasis is on a novel recursive procedure to decompose the unitary evolution of bipartite quantum systems of arbitrary dimensions, in simpler factors. This procedure makes transparent the contributions of the entangling and non entangling transformations
The introduction of control theory in quantum mechanics has created a rich, new interdisciplinary scientific field, which is producing novel insight into important theoretical questions at the heart of quantum physics. Exploring this emerging subject, Introduction to Quantum Control and Dynamics presents the mathematical concepts and fundamental physics behind the analysis and control of quantum dynamics, emphasizing the application of Lie algebra and Lie group theory. To advantage students, instructors and practitioners, and since the field is highly interdisciplinary, this book presents an introduction with all the basic notions in the same place. The field has seen a large development in parallel with the neighboring fields of quantum information, computation and communication. The author has maintained an introductory level to encourage course use. After introducing the basics of quantum mechanics, the book derives a class of models for quantum control systems from fundamental physics. It examines the controllability and observability of quantum systems and the related problem of quantum state determination and measurement. The author also uses Lie group decompositions as tools to analyze dynamics and to design control algorithms. In addition, he describes various other control methods and discusses topics in quantum information theory that include entanglement and entanglement dynamics. Changes to the New Edition: New Chapter 4: Uncontrollable Systems and Dynamical Decomposition New section on quantum control landscapes A brief discussion of the experiments that earned the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics Corrections and revised concepts are made to improve accuracy Armed with the basics of quantum control and dynamics, readers will invariably use this interdisciplinary knowledge in their mathematics, physics and engineering work.
This paper presents no new results; its goals are purely pedagogical. A special case of the Cartan Decomposition has found much utility in the field of quantum computing, especially in its sub-field of quantum compiling. This special case allows one to factor a general 2-qubit operation (i.e., an element of U(4)) into local operations applied before and after a three parameter, non-local operation. In this paper, we give a complete and rigorous proof of this special case of Cartan's Decomposition. From the point of view of QC programmers who might not be familiar with the subtleties of Lie Group Theory, the proof given here has the virtues, that it is constructive in nature, and that it uses only Linear Algebra. The constructive proof presented in this paper is implemented in some Octave/Matlab m-files that are included with the paper. Thus, this paper serves as documentation for the attached m-files.
In this paper we provide an explicit parameterization of arbitrary unitary transformation acting on n qubits, in terms of one and two qubit quantum gates. The construction is based on successive Cartan decompositions of the semi-simple Lie group, SU(2^n). The decomposition highlights the geometric aspects of building an arbitrary unitary transformation out of quantum gates and makes explicit the choice of pulse sequences for the implementation of arbitrary unitary transformation on $n coupled spins. Finally we make observations on the optimality of the design procedure.