Optimal control of quantum molecular systems

Concerns the finding of an appropriate excitation of molecular-scale physical systems to achieve site-specific chemistry or dissociation in polyatomic molecules. Results based on physically motivated guesses for optical pumping strategies have been disappointing. An optimal control formulation of the quantum molecular control problem is presented. In particular, the existence of a solution to the optimal control problem in which the Schrodinger equation governs the evolution of the state of the distributed parameter system considered, as is the numerical approximation of the optimal control problem. An example of pulse design for achieving dissociation in a diatomic quantum system is provided