Information Thresholds in Adaptive Quantum Control of Nonadiabatic Molecular Dynamics:
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Ultrafast photochemical reactions can undergo strongly nonadiabatic dynamics near conical intersections, where electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom become coupled and conventional descriptions based on electronic populations alone may become insufficient for control. This paper proposes an information-aware framework for adaptive quantum control in which the information supplied to a controller is treated as an explicit experimental variable. Using a benchmark four-mode linear vibronic-coupling model of pyrazine, the proposed computational study compares control performance across a hierarchy of information levels, from final reaction outcomes and electronic populations to nuclear observables, electronic coherences, and complete quantum-state information. The central hypothesis is that the minimum information required to achieve a specified control fidelity depends on proximity to the nonadiabatic branching region. This is formalized through an information-threshold function relating control fidelity to conical-intersection proximity, with particular emphasis on the marginal benefit of coherence and nuclear information. The manuscript provides a reproducible computational protocol, including pulse parameterization, optimization, information ablation, control objectives, validation criteria, and falsification tests. No simulations or new numerical calculations are reported; the numerical predictions are explicitly identified as hypotheses requiring future computational testing.
Source: ChemRxiv
Authors: Oluwatoni Sobande, Oluwatoni. E Sobande
Institution: Lagos State University
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7213445554