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Main Authors: Berkheim, Jonathan, Tannor, David J.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.08522
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author Berkheim, Jonathan
Tannor, David J.
author_facet Berkheim, Jonathan
Tannor, David J.
contents In nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Composite Pulses (CPs) are widely used to correct for pulse imperfections, e.g., RF field inhomogeneity and resonance offset. Although robust pulse sequences have been developed throughout the years, the imperfection of the initial state has not been widely discussed in the literature as an additional systematic error. In previous work, we developed a classical canonical framework to perform stability analysis and used this as a measure of CP robustness. In that work, a single initial condition was allowed to evolve under various pulse imperfections. The current work extends this approach to $2D$ distributions of initial conditions on the Bloch Sphere; the objective is to minimize the area in order to preserve coherence, while maximizing population inversion of the entire distribution. As a case study, we investigate Levitt's $90(x)180(y)90(x)$ pulse sequence, when there is a spread in initial conditions. The canonical framework enables us to assess the robustness of Levitt's pulse sequence, and we find that it is maintained to a great extent even when considering a spread of initial conditions. Nevertheless, by conducting a numerical optimization, we have identified several variants of Levitt's pulse sequence that produce a larger coherent population inversion when there is a spread in initial conditions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_08522
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The robustness of composite pulses elucidated by classical mechanics. II. The role of initial state imperfection
Berkheim, Jonathan
Tannor, David J.
Atomic Physics
Quantum Physics
In nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Composite Pulses (CPs) are widely used to correct for pulse imperfections, e.g., RF field inhomogeneity and resonance offset. Although robust pulse sequences have been developed throughout the years, the imperfection of the initial state has not been widely discussed in the literature as an additional systematic error. In previous work, we developed a classical canonical framework to perform stability analysis and used this as a measure of CP robustness. In that work, a single initial condition was allowed to evolve under various pulse imperfections. The current work extends this approach to $2D$ distributions of initial conditions on the Bloch Sphere; the objective is to minimize the area in order to preserve coherence, while maximizing population inversion of the entire distribution. As a case study, we investigate Levitt's $90(x)180(y)90(x)$ pulse sequence, when there is a spread in initial conditions. The canonical framework enables us to assess the robustness of Levitt's pulse sequence, and we find that it is maintained to a great extent even when considering a spread of initial conditions. Nevertheless, by conducting a numerical optimization, we have identified several variants of Levitt's pulse sequence that produce a larger coherent population inversion when there is a spread in initial conditions.
title The robustness of composite pulses elucidated by classical mechanics. II. The role of initial state imperfection
topic Atomic Physics
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.08522