Optical pulse shaping approaches to coherent control

The last part of the twentieth century has experienced a huge resurge of activity in the field of coherent light–matter interaction, more so in attempting to exert control over such interactions. Birth of coherent control was originally spurred by the theoretical understanding of the quantum interferences that lead to energy randomization and experimental developments in ultrafast laser spectroscopy. The theoretical predictions on control of reaction channels or energy randomization processes are still more dramatic than the experimental demonstrations, though this gap between the two is consistently reducing over the recent years with realistic theoretical models and technological developments. Experimental demonstrations of arbitrary optical pulse shaping have made some of the previously impracticable theoretical predictions possible to implement. Starting with the simple laser modulation schemes to provide proof-of-the-principle demonstrations, feedback loop pulse shaping systems have been developed that can actively manipulate some atomic and molecular processes. This tremendous experimental boost of optical pulse shaping developments has prospects and implications into many more new directions, such as quantum computing and terabit/sec data communications. This review captures certain aspects and impacts of optical pulse shaping into the fast developing areas of coherent control and other related fields. Currently available reviews focus on one or the other detailed aspects of coherent control, and the reader will be referred to such details as and when necessary for issues that are dealt in brief here. We will focus on the current issues including control of intramolecular dynamics and make connections to the future concepts, such as, quantum computation, biomedical applications, etc.