Control of coherent states of quantum systems with a quadratic Hamiltonian (Q1059029)

This paper considers a Hamiltonian of the form \({\mathcal H}(t)=QB(t)Q+u(t)Q\) where Q is a 2N-dimensional vector with coordinates \(p_ i\) and \(q_ i\), the momentum and position variables of the system. The matrix B(t) and the vector u(t) act as control functions and cases where one is fixed and the other varied are considered. It is assumed that these control functions are such that \({\mathcal H}\) does not depend on time for \(t<0\) and \(t>T\) and that the system evolves from a state \(| n;0>\) to \(| m;T>\). The control problems considered are that the transition amplitude \(<m;T| n;0>\) takes a preassigned value or that the probability amplitude of the transition should be a minimum or a maximum. The theory is illustrated with the example of a charged particle moving in an a.c. electromagnetic field varying in \(0\leq t\leq T\).