Efficient STIRAP-like scheme for coherent population transfer by revisited optimal control theory

TL;DR

This paper introduces an optimal control theory approach that mimics STIRAP for efficient, robust population transfer in quantum systems, outperforming traditional methods under perturbations and decoherence.

Contribution

The authors develop a new OCT formulation that reproduces STIRAP's counterintuitive mechanism and demonstrates enhanced robustness against pulse fluctuations and decay effects.

Findings

New OCT method reproduces STIRAP mechanism.

Enhanced robustness against pulse fluctuations.

Potential applications in quantum control and chemistry.

Abstract

We demonstrate that Optimal Control Theory (OCT) with a state-dependent constraint which depends on the state of the system at each instant can reproduce the famous counterintuitive mechanism of Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP). We examine this behavior in a {\Lambda}-type three-level system and we show that could be applied for sequentially coupled many-level systems. We study the robustness of the two methods with respect to pulse fluctuations and the decays. We show that new OCT formulation appears to be more robust than STIRAP when a perturbation is introduced in the pulses. Such method is of great use for systems involving coherence loss such as molecular systems with dissociation or ionization limits. It also may find potential applications in the control of chemical reactions, quantum optics, and quantum information processing.