An optimum Hamiltonian for non-Hermitian quantum evolution and the complex Bloch sphere

Abstract

For a quantum system governed by a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian, we studied the problem of obtaining an optimum Hamiltonian that generates nonunitary transformations of a given initial state into a certain final state in the smallest time τ. The analysis is based on the relationship between the states of the two-dimensional subspace of the Hilbert space spanned by the initial and final states and the points of the two-dimensional complex Bloch sphere. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.