arXiv subjects

Ugo Boscain

Publications and source records attributed to Ugo Boscain.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Charged particle motion in a strong magnetic field: The first order expansion

We provide a mathematically rigorous derivation of the first order expansion of the motion of a charged particle in a strong magnetic field. In contrast to the derivations that can be found in the physics literature we solely assume throughout that the magnetic field is strong. In particular we do not need to make any structural assumptions on the particle motion, such as the gyroradius being small in comparison to the magnetic length scale. Instead, some of the additional assumptions which are usually made in the physics literature turn out to be an a posteriori consequence in our approach. Our approach further justifies the utilisation of the guiding centre approximation at "bounce points" within magnetic mirrors, a situation which violates the usual assumptions which are made in the physics literature when deriving the guiding centre approximation.

math-ph↗

arXiv2025

A solution to the mystery of the sub-harmonic series via a linear model of the cochlea

In this paper, we study a simple linear model of the cochlea as a set of vibrating strings. We make hypothesis that the information sent to the auditory cortex is the energy stored in the strings and consider all oscillation modes of the strings. We show the emergence of the sub-harmonic series whose existence was hypothesized in the XVI century to explain the consonance of the minor chord. We additionally show how the nonlinearity of the energy can be used to study the emergence of the combination tone (Tartini's third sound) shedding new light on this long debated subject.

eess.SP↗

arXiv2025

Enhancing the controllability of quantum systems via a static field

We provide a sufficient condition for the controllability of a bilinear closed quantum system steered by a static field and a time-varying field, based on the notion of weakly conically connected spectrum. More precisely, we show that if a controlled Hamiltonian with two inputs has a weakly conically connected spectrum, then, freezing one of the two inputs at almost every constant value, the obtained single-input system is controllable. The result is illustrated with two examples, enantio-selective excitation in a chiral molecule and the driven Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian.

math.OC↗

arXiv2025

Charged particle motion in a strong magnetic field: Applications to plasma confinement

We derive the zero order approximation of a charged particle under the influence of a strong magnetic field in a mathematically rigorous manner and clarify in which sense this approximation is valid. We use this to further rigorously derive a displacement formula for the pressure of plasma equilibria and compare our findings to results in the physics literature. The main novelty of our results is a qualitative estimate of the confinement time for optimised plasma equilibria with respect to the gyro frequency. These results are of interest in the context of plasma fusion confinement.

math-ph↗

arXiv2025

Schr\"odinger evolution on surfaces in 3D contact sub-Riemannian manifolds

Let $M$ be a 3-dimensional contact sub-Riemannian manifold and $S$ a surface embedded in $M$. Such a surface inherits a field of directions that becomes singular at characteristic points. The integral curves of such field define a characteristic foliation $\mathscr{F}$. In this paper we study the Schr\"odinger evolution of a particle constrained on $\mathscr{F}$. In particular, we relate the self-adjointness of the Schr\"odinger operator with a geometric invariant of the foliation. We then classify a special family of its self-adjoint extensions: those that yield disjoint dynamics.

math.SP↗

arXiv2025

Ensemble control of n-level quantum systems with a scalar control

In this paper we discuss how a general bilinear finite-dimensional closed quantum system with dispersed parameters can be steered between eigenstates. We show that, under suitable conditions on the separation of spectral gaps and the boundedness of parameter dispersion, rotating wave and adiabatic approximations can be employed in cascade to achieve population inversion between arbitrary eigenstates. We propose an explicit control law and test numerically the sharpness of the conditions on several examples.

math.OC↗

arXiv2024

Schr{\"o}dinger eigenfunctions sharing the same modulus and applications to the control of quantum systems

In this paper we investigate when linearly independent eigenfunctions of the Schr\''odinger operator may have the same modulus. General properties are established and the one-dimensional case is treated in full generality. The study is motivated by its application to the bilinear control of the Schr{\"o}dinger equation. By assuming that the potentials of interaction satisfy a saturation property and by adapting a strategy recently proposed by Duca and Nersesyan, we discuss when the system can be steered arbitrarily fast between energy levels. Extensions of the previous results to quantum graphs are finally presented.

math.OC↗

arXiv2023

Quantum control of ro-vibrational dynamics and application to light-induced molecular chirality

Achiral molecules can be made temporarily chiral by excitation with electric fields, in the sense that an average over molecular orientations displays a net chiral signal [Tikhonov et al., Sci. Adv. 8, eade0311 (2022)]. Here, we go beyond the assumption of molecular orientations to remain fixed during the excitation process. Treating both rotations and vibrations quantum mechanically, we identify conditions for the creation of chiral vibrational wavepackets -- with net chiral signals -- in ensembles of achiral molecules which are initially randomly oriented. Based on the analysis of symmetry and controllability, we derive excitation schemes for the creation of chiral wavepackets using a combination of (a) microwave and IR pulses and (b) a static field and a sequence of IR pulses. These protocols leverage quantum rotational dynamics for pump-probe spectroscopy of chiral vibrational dynamics, extending the latter to regions of the electromagnetic spectrum other than the UV.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Surfaces of genus $g\geq 1$ in 3D contact sub-Riemannian manifolds

We consider surfaces embedded in a 3D contact sub-Riemannian manifold and the problem of the finiteness of the induced distance (i.e., the infimum of the length of horizontal curves that belong to the surface). Recently it has been proved that for a surface having the topology of a sphere embedded in a tight co-orientable structure, the distance is always finite. In this paper we study closed surfaces of genus larger than 1, proving that such surfaces can be embedded in such a way that the induced distance is finite or infinite. We then study the structural stability of the finiteness/not-finiteness of the distance.

math.DG↗

arXiv2023

Embedding the Grushin Cylinder in ${\bf R}^3$and Schroedinger evolution

We consider the evolution of a free quantum particle on the Grushin cylinder, under different type of quantizations. In particular we are interested to understand if the particle can cross the singular set, i.e., the set where the structure is not Riemannian. We consider intrinsic and extrinsic quantizations, where the latter are obtained by embedding the Grushin structure isometrically in ${\bf R}^3$ (with singularities). As a byproduct we provide formulas to embed the Grushin cylinder in ${\bf R^3}$ that could be useful for other purposes. Such formulas are not global, but permit to study the embedding arbitrarily close to the singular set. We extend these results to the case of $α$-Grushin cylinders.

math.FA↗

arXiv2022

Quantum optimal control in quantum technologies. Strategic report on current status, visions and goals for research in Europe

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.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Local controllability does imply global controllability

We say that a control system is locally controllable if the attainable set from any state $x$ contains an open neighborhood of $x$, while it is controllable if the attainable set from any state is the entire state manifold. We show in this note that a control system satisfying local controllability is controllable. Our self-contained proof is alternative to the combination of two previous results by Kevin Grasse.

math.OC↗

arXiv2021

Lie algebra for rotational subsystems of a driven asymmetric top

We present an analytical approach to construct the Lie algebra of finite-dimensional subsystems of the driven asymmetric top rotor. Each rotational level is degenerate due to the isotropy of space, and the degeneracy increases with rotational excitation. For a given rotational excitation, we determine the nested commutators between drift and drive Hamiltonians using a graph representation. We then generate the Lie algebra for subsystems with arbitrary rotational excitation using an inductive argument.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Classical and quantum controllability of a rotating symmetric molecule

In this paper we study the controllability problem for a symmetric-top molecule, both for its classical and quantum rotational dynamics. The molecule is controlled through three orthogonal electric fields interacting with its electric dipole. We characterize the controllability in terms of the dipole position: when it lies along the symmetry axis of the molecule neither the classical nor the quantum dynamics are controllable, due to the presence of a conserved quantity, the third component of the total angular momentum; when it lies in the orthogonal plane to the symmetry axis, a quantum symmetry arises, due to the superposition of symmetric states, which has no classical counterpart. If the dipole is neither along the symmetry axis nor orthogonal to it, controllability for the classical dynamics and approximate controllability for the quantum dynamics are proved to hold. The approximate controllability of the symmetric-top Schroedinger equation is established by using a Lie-Galerkin method, based on block-wise approximations of the infinite-dimensional systems.

math-ph↗

arXiv2021

Quantum confinement for the curvature Laplacian $-Δ+cK$ on 2D-almost-Riemannian manifolds

Two-dimension almost-Riemannian structures of step 2 are natural generalizations of the Grushin plane. They are generalized Riemannian structures for which the vectors of a local orthonormal frame can become parallel. Under the 2-step assumption the singular set $Z$, where the structure is not Riemannian, is a 1D embedded submanifold. While approaching the singular set, all Riemannian quantities diverge. A remarkable property of these structures is that the geodesics can cross the singular set without singularities, but the heat and the solution of the Schrödinger equation (with the Laplace-Beltrami operator $Δ$) cannot. This is due to the fact that (under a natural compactness hypothesis), the Laplace-Beltrami operator is essentially self-adjoint on a connected component of the manifold without the singular set. In the literature such phenomenon is called quantum confinement. In this paper we study the self-adjointness of the curvature Laplacian, namely $-Δ+cK$, for $c\in(0,1/2)$ (here $K$ is the Gaussian curvature), which originates in coordinate-free quantization procedures (as for instance in path-integral or covariant Weyl quantization). We prove that there is no quantum confinement for this type of operators.

math.FA↗

arXiv2021

Ensemble qubit controllability with a single control via adiabatic and rotating wave approximations

In the physics literature it is common to see the rotating wave approximation andthe adiabatic approximation used "in cascade" to justify the use of chirped pulses for two-level quantum systems driven by one external field, in particular when the resonance frequency of the system is not known precisely. Both approximations need relatively long time and are essentially based on averaging theory of dynamical systems. Unfortunately, the two approximations cannot be done independently since, in a sense, the two time scales interact. The purpose of this paper is to study how the cascade of the two approximations can be justified and how large becomes the final time as the fidelity goes to one, while preserving the robustness of the adiabatic strategy. Our first result, based on high-order averaging techniques, gives a precise quantification of the uncertainty interval of the resonance frequency for which the population inversion works. As a byproduct of this result, we prove that it is possible to control an ensemble of spin systems by a single real-valued control, providing a non-trivial extension of a celebrated result of ensemble controllability with two controls by Khaneja and Li.

math-ph↗

arXiv2021

An auditory cortex model for sound processing

The reconstruction mechanisms built by the human auditory system during sound reconstruction are still a matter of debate. The purpose of this study is to refine the auditory cortex model introduced in [9], and inspired by the geometrical modelling of vision. The algorithm transforms the degraded sound in an 'image' in the time-frequency domain via a short-time Fourier transform. Such an image is then lifted in the Heisenberg group and it is reconstructed via a Wilson-Cowan differo-integral equation. Numerical experiments on a library of speech recordings are provided, showing the good reconstruction properties of the algorithm.

math.AP↗

arXiv2021

Effective adiabatic control of a decoupled Hamiltonian obtained by rotating wave approximation

In this paper we study up to which extent we can apply adiabatic control strategies to a quantum control model obtained by rotating wave approximation. In particular, we show that, under suitable assumptions on the asymptotic regime between the parameters characterizing the rotating wave and the adiabatic approximations, the induced flow converges to the one obtained by considering the two approximations separately and by combining them formally in cascade. As a consequence, we propose explicit control laws which can be used to induce desired populations transfers, robustly with respect to parameter dispersions in the controlled Hamiltonian.

math.OC↗