Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2008/iii/paper-61/1/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 61 1 a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A reachable set contains all states attainable from a specified initial state by admissible control inputs in the allowed times, and controllability means that every target in the declared state space is reachable from every initial state. For a closed quantum control system, distinguish pure-state controllability on state rays, density operator controllability on fixed-spectrum unitary orbits, and unitary operator controllability for entire propagators. State engineering asks for a particular state transfer; process engineering asks for an entire quantum gate, which must act correctly on every input. A closed Hamiltonian evolution preserves density-operator eigenvalues, so arbitrary mixed states of different spectra cannot be connected even by a fully operator-controllable system.
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