Altering the Course of Quantum Dynamics Phenomena

普林斯顿大学的Hersch Rabitz得到了理论和计算化学项目的支持，为控制量子现象开发新的理论概念，并从控制过程中提取机械和其他物理信息。整个研究计划有两个组成部分：受控量子现象的理论分析，以及用于控制和分析量子现象的实验室可执行算法的开发。设计和分析研究是先进的实验室算法开发的先导。虽然这个研究项目本质上是理论和计算的，但这项工作的目标是对提高实验室量子控制实验的成功和价值产生直接影响。这项研究旨在提高操纵分子过程和更一般量子现象的能力，同时提取尽可能多的物理信息。自从激光发明以来，化学家们一直梦想着有选择地激发分子内的区域，从而导致受控的化学反应发生。然而，这些能量在分子中重新分配得如此之快，以至于不可能将足够的能量集中在一个选定的键上，从而导致它断裂。随着激光脉冲调制技术的出现和量子控制理论的应用，现在看来，激光选择化学可能成为现实，最终实际应用。

Hersch Rabitz of Princeton University is supported by the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Program to develop new theoretical concepts for the control of quantum phenomena and to extract mechanistic and other physical information from the control process. The overall research program has two components: theoretical analysis of controlled quantum phenomena, and development of laboratory executable algorithms for the control and analysis of quantum phenomena. The design and analysis studies serve as forerunners to the advanced laboratory algorithm developments. Although this research project is theoretical and computational in nature, the goal of the work is to have a direct impact on enhancing the success and value of laboratory quantum control experiments. This research aims to advance the capabilities for manipulating molecular processes and more general quantum phenomena while simultaneously extracting as much physical information as possible. Since the invention of the laser, chemists have dreamed of selectively exciting regions within a molecule and thus causing a controlled chemical reaction to occur. However, that energy redistributes in molecules so rapidly that it is it not possible to concentrate enough energy in a selected bond to cause it to break. With the advent of laser pulse modulation techniques and the application of quantum control theory, it now appears that laser selective chemistry could potentially become a reality with ultimately practical applications.