Numerical Solution of the Dynamic Programming Equation for the Optimal Control of Quantum Spin Systems

The purpose of this paper is to describe the numerical solution of the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) for an optimal control problem for quantum spin systems. This HJB equation is a first order nonlinear partial differential equation defined on a Lie group. We employ recent extensions of the theory of viscosity solutions from Euclidean space to Riemannian manifolds to interpret possibly non-differentiable solutions to this equation. Results from differential topology on the triangulation of manifolds are then used to develop a finite difference approximation method, which is shown to converge using viscosity solution techniques. An example is provided to illustrate the method.