Controlling Quantum Phenomena along with Mechanistic Insights

ABSTRACT

Controlling quantum phenomena, especially with lasers, may be traced back to the early 1960s with activity continuing to the present day. Successful examples exist experimentally and in simulations. This seminar will cover two cases of experimentally studied controlled chemical reactions and an additional simulation of quantum gate generation. Controlling quantum phenomena is often accompanied by the desire to understand the associated mechanisms. The meaning of quantum control mechanisms is open to definition, and only scant information about the mechanisms is commonly available. The presentation will give a few different perspectives on extracting control mechanism, both directly from experiments as well as in simulations. Given the many years of controlling quantum phenomena, the presentation will end with a glance back and a speculative look ahead at the field.

BIOGRAPHY

Professor Rabitz's research interests lie at the interface of chemistry, physics, and engineering, with principal areas of focus comprising molecular dynamics, biophysical chemistry, chemical kinetics, optical interactions with matter, and quantum information science. The latter topics involve the control of atoms and molecules including qubits interacting with an environment. A major project is to develop a transformative microscope for use with single biological cells having the capability of ~nm voxel scale spatial resolution and the ability to identify each metabolite within a voxel. The microscope utilizes advanced laser technology enabling high resolution spectroscopy and quantum signatures for metabolite identification. An overriding theme throughout his research is the emphasis on molecular-scale systems analysis. Professor Rabitz has over 1000 publications in the general area of chemical physics with Google Scholar statistics of h-index = 104, i10-index = 720, and over 57,000 citations.