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.
