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arXiv:quant-ph/0512074 · Journal of Mathematical Physics

Time minimal trajectories for a spin 1∕2 particle in a magnetic field

Ugo Boscain, Paolo Mason

Published Jun 1, 2006• 204 citations
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Abstract

In this paper we consider the minimum time population transfer problem for the z component of the spin of a (spin 1/2) particle, driven by a magnetic field, that is constant along the z axis and controlled along the x axis, with bounded amplitude. On the Bloch sphere (i.e., after a suitable Hopf projection), this problem can be attacked with techniques of optimal syntheses on two-dimensional (2-D) manifolds. Let (−E,E) be the two energy levels, and ∣Ω(t)∣≤M the bound on the field amplitude. For each couple of values E and M, we determine the time optimal synthesis starting from the level −E, and we provide the explicit expression of the time optimal trajectories, steering the state one to the state two, in terms of a parameter that can be computed solving numerically a suitable equation. For M∕E≪1, every time optimal trajectory is bang-bang and, in particular, the corresponding control is periodic with frequency of the order of the resonance frequency ωR=2E. On the other side, for M∕E>1, the time optimal trajectory steering the state one to the state two is bang-bang with exactly one switching. For fixed E, we also prove that for M→∞ the time needed to reach the state two tends to zero. In the case M∕E>1 there are time optimal trajectories containing a singular arc. Finally, we compare these results with some known results of Khaneja, Brockett, and Glaser and with those obtained by controlling the magnetic field both on the x and y directions (or with one external field, but in the rotating wave approximation). As a byproduct we prove that the qualitative shape of the time optimal synthesis presents different patterns that cyclically alternate as M∕E→0, giving a partial proof of a conjecture formulated in a previous paper.

DOI
10.1063/1.2203236

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In this paper we consider the minimum time population transfer problem for the z component of the spin of a (spin 1/2) particle, driven by a magnetic field, that is constant along the z axis and controlled along the x axis, with bounded amplitude. On the Bloch sphere (i.e., after a suitable Hopf projection), this problem can be attacked with techniques of optimal syntheses on two-dimensional (2-D) manifolds. Let (−E,E) be the two energy levels, and ∣Ω(t)∣≤M the bound on the field amplitude. For each couple of values E and M, we determine the time optimal synthesis starting from the level −E, and we provide the explicit expression of the time optimal trajectories, steering the state one to the state two, in terms of a parameter that can be computed solving numerically a suitable equation. For M∕E≪1, every time optimal trajectory is bang-bang and, in particular, the corresponding control is periodic with frequency of the order of the resonance frequency ωR=2E. On the other side, for M∕E>1, the time optimal trajectory steering the state one to the state two is bang-bang with exactly one switching. For fixed E, we also prove that for M→∞ the time needed to reach the state two tends to zero. In the case M∕E>1 there are time optimal trajectories containing a singular arc. Finally, we compare these results with some known results of Khaneja, Brockett, and Glaser and with those obtained by controlling the magnetic field both on the x and y directions (or with one external field, but in the rotating wave approximation). As a byproduct we prove that the qualitative shape of the time optimal synthesis presents different patterns that cyclically alternate as M∕E→0, giving a partial proof of a conjecture formulated in a previous paper.
On a two-level quantum system driven by an external field, we consider the population transfer problem from the first to the second level, minimizing the time of transfer, with bounded field amplitude. On the Bloch sphere (i.e. after a suitable Hopf projection), this problem can be attacked with techniques of optimal syntheses on 2-D manifolds. Let (−E,E) be the two energy levels, and [equacion] the bound on the field amplitude. For each values of E and M, we provide the explicit expression of the time optimal trajectory steering the state one to the state two in terms of a parameter that should be computed numerically. For MR= 2E. On the other side, for M > E the time optimal trajectory steering the state one to the state two is bang-bang with exactly one switching. Fixed E we also prove that for M →∞ the time needed to reach the state two tends to zero. Finally we compare these results with some known results of Khaneja, Brockett and Glaser and with those obtained in the Rotating Wave Approximation.
In this paper we consider the minimum time population transfer problem for a two level quantum system driven by two external fields with bounded amplitude. After projection on the so-called Bloch sphere, we tackle the problem with well-developed techniques of optimal synthesis on 2-D manifolds. Based on the Pontryagin Maximum Principle, we characterize a restricted set of candidate optimal trajectories. Properties on this set, crucial for a complete optimal synthesis, are illustrated by numerical simulations.
In this paper we investigate the application of optimal control of a single qubit coupled to an ohmic heat bath. For the weak bath coupling regime, we derive a Bloch-Redfield master equation describing the evolution of the qubit state parametrized by vectors in the Bloch sphere. By use of the optimal control methodology we determine the field that generates an arbitrary single qubit rotation in minimum time. In particular we develop an efficient method for solving the time-optimal control problem, namely the implementation of XXX gate, which consists of a rotation about the $\stackrel{P\vec}{ox}$ axis through angle $\ensuremath{\pi}$. The time-optimal control problem requires a bounded control. If upper and lower bounds are imposed for the external control, the optimal solution is of bang-bang type and switches from the upper to the lower values of the control bounds. We compare our results using the techniques of automatic differentiation to compute the gradient for the cost functional with some known results using Pontryagin's minimum principle. We use an alternative numerical approach for the optimization strategy.
The time optimal problem for a two level quantum system is studied. We compare two different control strategies of bang-bang control and the geometric control, respectively, especially in the case of minimizing the time of steering the state from North Pole to South Pole on the Bloch sphere with bounded control. The time performances are compared for different parameters by the individual numerical simulation experiments, and the experimental results are analyzed. The results show that the geometric control spends less time than the bang-bang control does.
We consider the time-optimal control of a spin-1/2 particle whose dynamics is governed by the Bloch equations with both longitudinal and transverse relaxation terms. We solve this control problem by using geometric optimal control techniques. We show the crucial role of singular extremals in the time-optimal synthesis. This role can mainly be attributed to the presence of dissipation. We also analyse the robustness of the optimal control sequence when both the maximum amplitude of the control field and the dissipative parameters are varied. Finally, we present an experimental implementation of the different solutions using techniques of nuclear magnetic resonance.
We study time-minimum optimal control for a class of quantum two-dimensional dissipative systems whose dynamics are governed by the Lindblad equation and where control inputs acts only in the Hamiltonian. The dynamics of the control system are analyzed as a bi-linear control system on the Bloch ball after a decoupling of such dynamics into intra- and inter-unitary orbits. The (singular) control problem consists of finding a trajectory of the state variables solving a radial equation in the minimum amount of time, starting at the completely mixed state and ending at the state with the maximum achievable purity.The boundary value problem determined by the time-minimum singular optimal control problem is studied numerically. If controls are unbounded, simulations show that multiple local minimal solutions might exist. To find the unique globally minimal solution, we must repeat the algorithm for various initial conditions and find the best solution out of all of the candidates. If controls are bounded, optimal controls are given by bang-bang controls using the Pontryagin minimum principle. Using a switching map we construct optimal solutions consisting of singular arcs. If controls are bounded, the analysis of our model also implies classical analysis done previously for this problem.