Stochastic Fluctuations in Multilevel Adiabatic Population Transfer

Abstract

The ability to control the quantum state of matter is a goal that is being pursued by current research efforts. Theoretical calculations have shown that with a properly tailored electromagnetic field pulse, atoms and molecules can be driven to predetermined target states with high efficiency. For example, in state selective chemistry, if highly excited vibrational levels of the reactants are selectively excited, then branching ratios in chemical reactions can be controlled to achieve higher yield of the target product¹. The technique of adiabatic population transfer utilizing so-called counterintuitive pulse sequences is a particularly effective technique to achieve this efficient, selective population transfers². However, the promise of this technique to provide a practical means of coherent control lies in its robustness to stochastic fluctuations, which we now demonstrate.