Monotonically convergent optimal control theory of quantum systems under a nonlinear interaction with the control field

We consider the optimal control of quantum systems interacting nonlinearly with an electromagnetic field. We propose monotonically convergent algorithms to solve the optimal equations. The monotonic behavior of the algorithm is ensured by a nonstandard choice of the cost, which is not quadratic in the field. These algorithms can be constructed for pure- and mixed-state quantum systems. The efficiency of the method is shown numerically for molecular orientation with a nonlinearity of order 3 in the field. Discretizing the amplitude and the phase of the Fourier transform of the optimal field, we show that the optimal solution can be well approximated by pulses that could be implemented experimentally.