Optimal control of a qubit in an optical cavity

We study quantum information processing by means of optimal control theory. To this end, we analyze the damped Jaynes–Cummings model, and derive optimal control protocols that minimize the heating or energy dispersion rates, and controls that drive the system at the quantum speed limit. Special emphasis is put on analyzing the subtleties of optimal control theory for our system. In particular, it is shown how two fundamentally different approaches to the quantum speed limit can be reconciled by carefully formulating the problem. (paper)