We work out the theory and applications of a fast quasiadiabatic approach to speed up slow adiabatic manipulations of quantum systems by driving a control parameter as near to the adiabatic limit as possible over the entire protocol duration. We find characteristic time scales, such as the minimal time to achieve fidelity 1, and the optimality of the approach within the iterative superadiabatic sequence. Specifically, we show that the population inversion in a two-level system, the splitting and cotunneling of two-interacting bosons, and the stirring of a Tonks-Girardeau gas on a ring to achieve mesoscopic superpositions of many-body rotating and nonrotating states can be significantly speeded up.

• Received 20 November 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.92.043406

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©2015 American Physical Society