01439nas a2200181   4500008004300000245007000043210006800113260001300181300001200194490000700206520090200213100002501115700001701140700002301157700002001180700002101200856003601221       2010                        en_Ud  00aTwo-dimensional almost-Riemannian structures with tangency points0 aTwodimensional almostRiemannian structures with tangency points  bElsevier  a793-8070 v273 a<p>Two-dimensional almost-Riemannian structures are generalized Riemannian structures on surfaces for which a local orthonormal frame is given by a Lie bracket generating pair of vector fields that can become collinear. We study the relation between the topological invariants of an almost-Riemannian structure on a compact oriented surface and the rank-two vector bundle over the surface which defines the structure. We analyse the generic case including the presence of tangency points, i.e. points where two generators of the distribution and their Lie bracket are linearly dependent. The main result of the paper provides a classification of oriented almost-Riemannian structures on compact oriented surfaces in terms of the Euler number of the vector bundle corresponding to the structure. Moreover, we present a Gauss-Bonnet formula for almost-Riemannian structures with tangency points.</p>1 aAgrachev, Andrei, A.1 aBoscain, Ugo1 aCharlot, Grégoire1 aGhezzi, Roberta1 aSigalotti, Mario  uhttp://hdl.handle.net/1963/387002083nas a2200109   4500008004300000245007400043210006900117520171700186100001701903700001701920856003601937       2006                        en_Ud  00aTime Minimal Trajectories for a Spin 1/2 Particle in a Magnetic field0 aTime Minimal Trajectories for a Spin 12 Particle in a Magnetic f3 aIn this paper we consider the minimum time population transfer problem for the z-component\\nof the spin of a (spin 1/2) particle driven by a magnetic field, controlled along the x axis, with bounded amplitude. On the Bloch sphere (i.e. after a suitable Hopf projection), this problem can be attacked with techniques of optimal syntheses on 2-D manifolds. Let (-E,E) be the two energy levels, and |omega (t)| ≤ M the bound on the field amplitude. For each couple of values E and M, we determine the time optimal synthesis starting from the level -E and we provide the explicit expression of the time optimal trajectories steering the state one to the state two, in terms of a parameter that can be computed solving numerically a suitable equation. For M/E << 1, every time optimal trajectory is bang-bang and in particular the corresponding control is periodic with frequency of the order of the resonance frequency wR = 2E. On the other side, for M/E > 1, the time optimal trajectory steering the state one to the state two is bang-bang with exactly one switching. Fixed E we also prove that for M → ∞ the time needed to reach the state two tends to zero. In the case M/E > 1 there are time optimal trajectories containing a singular arc. Finally we compare these results with some known results of Khaneja, Brockett and Glaser and with those obtained by controlling the magnetic field both on the x and y directions (or with one external field, but in the rotating wave approximation). As byproduct we prove that the qualitative shape of the time optimal synthesis presents different patterns, that cyclically alternate as M/E → 0, giving a partial proof of a conjecture formulated in a previous paper.1 aBoscain, Ugo1 aMason, Paolo  uhttp://hdl.handle.net/1963/173400714nas a2200109   4500008004300000245007100043210006900114520035100183100001700534700001700551856003600568       2005                        en_Ud  00aTime minimal trajectories for two-level quantum systems with drift0 aTime minimal trajectories for twolevel quantum systems with drif3 aOn a two-level quantum system driven by an external field, we consider the population transfer problem from the first to the second level, minimizing the time of transfer, with bounded field amplitude. On the Bloch sphere (i.e. after a suitable Hopf projection), this problem can be attacked with techniques of optimal syntheses on 2-D manifolds.1 aBoscain, Ugo1 aMason, Paolo  uhttp://hdl.handle.net/1963/168801372nas a2200109   4500008004300000245007100043210006800114520100700182100001701189700002001206856003601226       2005                        en_Ud  00aTime Optimal Synthesis for Left-Invariant Control Systems on SO(3)0 aTime Optimal Synthesis for LeftInvariant Control Systems on SO33 aConsider the control system given by $\\\\dot x=x(f+ug)$, where $x\\\\in SO(3)$, $|u|\\\\leq 1$ and $f,g\\\\in so(3)$ define two perpendicular left-invariant vector fields normalized so that $\\\\|f\\\\|=\\\\cos(\\\\al)$ and $\\\\|g\\\\|=\\\\sin(\\\\al)$, $\\\\al\\\\in ]0,\\\\pi/4[$. In this paper, we provide an upper bound and a lower bound for $N(\\\\alpha)$, the maximum number of switchings for time-optimal trajectories. More precisely, we show that $N_S(\\\\al)\\\\leq N(\\\\al)\\\\leq N_S(\\\\al)+4$, where $N_S(\\\\al)$ is a suitable integer function of $\\\\al$ which for $\\\\al\\\\to 0$ is of order $\\\\pi/(4\\\\alpha).$ The result is obtained by studying the time optimal synthesis of a projected control problem on $R P^2$, where the projection is defined by an appropriate Hopf fibration. Finally, we study the projected control problem on the unit sphere $S^2$. It exhibits interesting features which will be partly rigorously derived and partially described by numerical simulations.1 aBoscain, Ugo1 aChitour, Yacine  uhttp://hdl.handle.net/1963/2258