Quantum Optimal Control

Abstract

All applications of time-dependent density-functional theory (TDDFT) until now have attempted to describe the response of many-electron systems to external fields. Given its success in this task, it seems timely, therefore, to address the inverse problem: given a prescribed goal (e.g., the transfer of electronic charge to a given region in space, or the population of a given excited state), what is the external perturbation that achieves this goal in an optimal way? This is the problem studied by quantum optimal control theory (QOCT). The essentials of this theory make no assumption on the nature of the quantum system whose behaviour is being engineered, or on the particular methodology used to model the system.