Coherent and Optimal Control of Ultracold Atoms and Molecules: Applications and Methodological Developments

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Christiane Koch
• Subject Area: Optics, Quantum Optics and Physics of Atoms, Molecules and Plasmas
• Term: from 2006 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 19513729

Ultracold thermal and quantum degenerate gases as truly quantum objects represent ideal candidates for quantum control. The techniques of coherent control which make use of quantum interferences are being introduced to this field only now. Possibilities to actively control ultracold systems with short, shaped laser pulses will be investigated theoretically in this project. Both coherent control schemes and optimal control theory will be utilized. The association of molecules from ultracold atoms will serve as first example to test popular coherent control strategies such as pump-dump schemes and stimulated Raman adiabatic passage. Emphasis will be placed on a realistic treatment of the molecular interactions to allow for comparison with ongoing experiments. Strategies for vibrational cooling will be investigated and the use of shaped laser pulses for quantum computing with ultracold atoms in an optical lattice will be explored. The second part of the project will be devoted to developing methods which allow for a better comparability of optimal control theory and experiments. The high efficiency of theoretical optimal pulses comes at the expense of spectrally broad and very complex pulses. A new timefrequency approach to optimal control theory shall be developed to allow for the incorporation of experimental constraints such as the pulse spectral bandwidth and time profile.

• DFG Programme: Independent Junior Research Groups