Coherent control, quantum chaos, and decoherence in molecular dynamics

Extensive coherent control of quantum chaotic diffusion in periodically kicked dynamics is demonstrated in both a paradigm of quantum chaos and molecular systems in pulsed microwave fields. The origin of the control in deviations from random matrix theory is identified, and the survival of the control in the presence of decoherence effects is studied.; Next, a fundamental principle in quantum physics with regard to indistinguishability and interference between multiple pathways to the same final state is applied to the significant field of coherent control. Later, coherent control of diatom-diatom elastic and inelastic scattering of identical molecules is demonstrated by revealing an intriguing role of quantum entanglement in coherent control problems.; Finally, quantum classical correspondence in conservative chaotic systems is carefully examined using a distribution function strategy. Further, the role of decoherence in improving the correspondence is computationally studied from several complementary perspectives.