Glaser group
Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Tracked papers
- 51 (2000–2026)
Topics
The most frequent field-map topics among the PI' tracked papers.
- Spins & NMR 18
- Time-optimal control 15
- Composite pulses 11
- Gates 11
- Robust control 10
- Maximum principle 5
- GRAPE 4
- Superconducting 4
Recent papers
-
Uncovering Latent Structures in Robust Pulse Sequences: A Model-Based Reinforcement Learning Approach for Adaptable Quantum Control
Abstract
Real-time adaptive control of quantum systems requires rapid generation of robust, high-fidelity pulses across a continuous range of operating conditions. Standard optimization algorithms such as gradient-ascent pulse engineering (GRAPE) solve each instance independently, discarding information between runs and requiring costly reinitialization when parameters change. We present an approach to robust optimal quantum control based on model-based reinforcement learning, in which a single neural network -- embedding the Hamiltonian directly into the training pipeline -- generates robust gates across an entire family of gate configurations, without pre-computed training data. Demonstrated on a single-spin (two-level) system, the trained networks produce pulses for arbitrary rotation angles over a range of pulse durations, detunings, and field inhomogeneities in milliseconds, at fidelities comparable to multi-seed GRAPE. The framework is inherently adaptable: any parameter entering the Hamiltonian can serve as a network input, extending the approach to different systems and control settings. Beyond speed, the network reveals structure in the control landscape: it discovers the same structured phase profiles that appear in GRAPE solutions -- made identifiable through fidelity-invariant symmetry transformations -- but more consistently than independent optimization. This consistency enables smooth interpolation across the entire trained parameter space.
-
Dynamical Decoupling using Universal Optimal Tracking
Abstract
Dynamical decoupling (DD) is a widely used and resource-efficient technique for error suppression, but conventional DD relies on periodically repeating a short pulse block to refocus the qubit state during idle periods. Imperfections in this block cause residual errors to accumulate, ultimately degrading state recovery over long idle times. Here, we introduce a universal optimal tracking approach that extends the original tracking concept to a fully state-independent setting for designing DD sequences. By monitoring the qubit's evolution at predefined waypoints during optimization, the method dynamically compensates residual errors while preserving regular refocusing. Experimental demonstrations on a superconducting-qubit platform confirm the suppression of error accumulation under static control imperfections, in agreement with numerical predictions. Complementary simulations further show that optimal-tracking-based sequences maintain strong performance under time-dependent noise. These results establish optimal tracking as a practical and hardware-agnostic approach to designing short, robust DD sequences suitable for noisy quantum devices.
-
Superconducting Qubit Gates Robust to Parameter Fluctuations
Abstract
State-of-the-art single-qubit gates on superconducting transmon qubits can achieve the fidelities required for error-corrected computations. However, parameter fluctuations due to qubit instabilities, environmental changes, and control inaccuracies make it difficult to maintain this performance. To mitigate the effects of these parameter variations, we numerically derive gates robust to amplitude and frequency errors using gradient ascent pulse engineering (GRAPE). We analyze how fluctuations in qubit frequency, drive amplitude, and coherence affect gate performance over time. The robust pulses suppress coherent errors from drive amplitude drifts over 15 times more than a Gaussian pulse with derivative removal by adiabatic gate (DRAG) corrections. Furthermore, the robust gates, originally designed to compensate for quasi-static errors, also demonstrate resilience to stochastic, time-dependent noise, which is reflected in the dephasing time. They suppress added errors during increases in dephasing by up to 1.7 times more than DRAG.
-
Motion-Insensitive Time-Optimal Control of Optical Qubits
Abstract
In trapped-atom quantum computers, high-fidelity control of optical qubits is challenging due to the motion of atoms in the trap. If not corrected, the atom motion gets entangled with the qubit degrees of freedom through two fundamental mechanisms, (i) photon recoil and (ii) thermal motion, both leading to a reduction of the gate fidelity. We develop motion-insensitive pulses that suppress both sources of infidelity by modulating the phase of the driving laser field in time. To eliminate photon recoil, we use bang-bang pulses$-$derived using time-optimal control$-$which shorten the gate duration by about 20 times compared to conventional pulses. However, even when photon recoil is eliminated, we find that the gate error does not vanish, but is rather limited by a bound arising from thermal motion-induced entanglement. Remarkably, this bound is independent of the Rabi frequency, meaning that, unlike for photon recoil, operating in the resolved sideband regime does not mitigate this source of infidelity. To overcome this bound, we derive smooth-phase pulses, which allow for a further reduction of the gate error by more than an order of magnitude for typical thermal atoms. Motion-insensitive pulses can be refined to compensate for laser inhomogeneities, enhancing the gate performance in practical situations. Our results are validated through simulations of one-qubit gates operating on the optical clock transition of ${}^{88}$Sr atoms trapped in an optical tweezers array.
-
Quantum optimal control in quantum technologies. Strategic report on current status, visions and goals for research in Europe
Abstract
Quantum optimal control, a toolbox for devising and implementing the shapes of external fields that accomplish given tasks in the operation of a quantum device in the best way possible, has evolved into one of the cornerstones for enabling quantum technologies. The last few years have seen a rapid evolution and expansion of the field. We review here recent progress in our understanding of the controllability of open quantum systems and in the development and application of quantum control techniques to quantum technologies. We also address key challenges and sketch a roadmap for future developments.
-
Application of the Small Tip-Angle approximation in the Toggling Frame for the design of analytic robust pulses in Quantum Control
Abstract
We apply the Small Tip-Angle Approximation in the Toggling Frame in order to analytically design robust pulses against resonance offsets for state to state transfer in two-level quantum systems. We show that a broadband or a local robustness up to an arbitrary order can be achieved. We provide different control parameterizations to satisfy experimental constraints and limitations on the amplitude or energy of the pulse. A comparison with numerical optimal solutions is made.
-
Selective and Robust Time-Optimal Rotations of Spin Systems
Abstract
We study the selective and robust time-optimal rotation control of several spin-1/2 particles with different offset terms. For that purpose, the Pontryagin Maximum Principle is applied to a model of two spins, which is simple enough for analytic computations and sufficiently complex to describe inhomogeneity effects. We find that selective and robust controls are respectively described by singular and regular trajectories. Using a geometric analysis combined with numerical simulations, we determine the optimal solutions of different control problems. Selective and robust controls can be derived analytically without numerical optimization. We show the optimality of several standard control mechanisms in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, but new robust controls are also designed.
-
Robust control of an ensemble of springs: Application to Ion Cyclotron Resonance and two-level Quantum Systems
Abstract
We study the simultaneous control of an ensemble of springs with different frequencies by means of adiabatic, shortcut to adiabaticity and optimal processes. The linearity of the system allows us to derive analytical expressions for the control fields and the time evolution of the dynamics. We discuss the relative advantages of the different solutions. These results are applied in two different examples. For Ion Cyclotron Resonance, we show how to optimally control ions by means of electric field. Using a mapping between spins and springs, we derive analytical shortcut protocols to realize robust and selective excitations of two-level quantum systems.
-
Purity Speed Limit of Open Quantum Systems from Magic Subspaces
Abstract
We introduce the concept of Magic Subspaces for the control of dissipative N- level quantum systems whose dynamics are governed by Lindblad equation. For a given purity, these subspaces can be defined as the set of density matrices for which the rate of purity change is maximum or minimum. Adding fictitious control fields to the system so that two density operators with the same purity can be connected in a very short time, we show that magic subspaces allow to derive a purity speed limit, which only depends on the relaxation rates. We emphasize the superiority of this limit with respect to established bounds and its tightness in the case of a two-level dissipative quantum system. The link between the speed limit and the corresponding time-optimal solution is discussed in the framework of this study. Explicit examples are described for two- and three- level quantum systems.
-
Robust control of a NOT gate by composite pulses
Abstract
We present a general procedure to implement a NOT gate by composite pulses robust against both offset uncertainties and control field variations. We define different degrees of robustness in this two-parameter space, namely along one, two or all directions. We show that the phases of the composite pulse satisfy a nonlinear system, and can be computed analytically or numerically.