A Quasi-separation Principle and Newton-like Scheme for Coherent Quantum LQG Control

Abstract This paper is concerned with constructing an optimal controller in the coherent quantum Linear Quadratic Gaussian problem. A coherent quantum controller is itself a quantum system and is required to be physically realizable. The use of coherent control avoids the need for classical measurements which inherently entail the loss of quantum information. Physical realizability corresponds to the equivalence of the controller to an open quantum harmonic oscillator and relates its state-space matrices to the Hamiltonian, coupling and scattering operators of the oscillator. The Hamiltonian parameterization of the controller is combined with Frechet differentiation of the LQG cost with respect to the state-space matrices to obtain equations for the optimal controller. A quasi-separation principle for the gain matrices of the quantum controller is established, and a Newton-like iterative scheme for numerical solution of the equations is outlined.