2010/10/31 by Rebecca Schmidt, Antonio Negretti, Joachim Ankerhold +2
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical Studies #cond-mat.stat-mech #physics.comp-ph #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.107.130404
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 130404 (2011) · 5 pages, 3 figures; 6 page supplement, v2: major revision for wider scope, additional data, change of title, v3: fixed typo, v4: minor changes for clarity, extended supplement
openalex publication_date 2011/09/21 · arxiv created 2011/09/28 · arxiv updated 2015/03/17 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We investigate the optimal control of open quantum systems, in particular, the mutual influence of driving and dissipation. A stochastic approach to open-system control is developed, using a generalized version of Krotov's iterative algorithm, with no need for Markovian or rotating-wave approximations. The application to a harmonic degree of freedom reveals cooperative effects of driving and dissipation that a standard Markovian treatment cannot capture. Remarkably, control can modify the open-system dynamics to the point where the entropy change turns negative, thus achieving cooling of translational motion without any reliance on internal degrees of freedom.