Randomized Quantum Optimal Control

Abstract

Quantum optimal control (QOC) aims to find control functions that optimally steer a quantum system toward a target operation. We introduce a \emph{randomized} QOC framework where optimization is carried over an ensemble of control functions and their probabilities, instead of a single set of functions. Using this framework, we prove that randomized QOC can reach a target accuracy faster than any deterministic protocol under the same resource constraints. We also develop general symmetry-based constructions that convert a given control into an ensemble of controls that can systematically reduce the error. We benchmark these constructions for CNOT implementation and find that the resulting randomized protocol quadratically suppresses the error of the optimized deterministic solution. In addition, we introduce randomized GRAPE, which generalizes GRAPE to directly optimize control ensembles and their associated probabilities. Finally, as a related application, we discuss randomized boundary-pulse constructions {that enhance} robustness against coherent noise.