Speaker: Dr. Praveen Kumar, Stevens Institute of Technology

Title:  Optimally Controlled Vibrational Population Transfer in a Diatomic Quantum System

Abstract: Optimal control theory is used to investigate controlled vibrational population transfer in a diatomic quantum system. The problem of finding the optimal laser field, needed to achieve a specific quantum transition from an initial state to the desired target state, is investigated using an iterative method and the conjugate gradient method. The time-dependent Schroedinger equation is solved, that describes the interaction of laser radiation with matter within the dipole approximation. The control objective is chosen as the value of transition probability from the initial to the target state. A comparison between the results obtained using the iterative and the conjugate gradient methods is made. Finally, quantum bits are encoded using the vibrational states of the diatomic quantum system in the regime of low vibrational excitation.