Speeding up adiabatic quantum state transfer by using dressed states

Abstract: We develop new pulse schemes to significantly speed up adiabatic state transfer protocols. Our general strategy involves adding corrections to an initial control Hamiltonian which harness non-adiabatic transitions. These corrections define a set of dressed states that the system follows exactly during the state transfer. We apply this approach to STIRAP protocols and show that a suitable choice of dressed states allows one to design fast protocols that do not require additional couplings, while simultaneously minimizing the occupancy of the "intermediate" level.