Lewis-Ermakov approach for the time-dependent two-level system
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Abstract
We construct an explicit Lewis-Ermakov-type dynamical invariant for time-dependent two-level systems by exploiting their algebraic correspondence with the time-dependent harmonic oscillator through the $su(2)$ and $su(1,1)$ algebras, which share the common complexification $sl(2,\mathbb{C})$. This invariant provides a closed-form evolution operator and an exact propagator for arbitrary time-dependent coupling $a(t)$ and detuning $b(t)$. We illustrate the method on representative scenarios, including Landau-Zener transitions, non-Hermitian dissipative processes, and adiabatic rapid passage, and we obtain inverse-engineered shortcuts to adiabaticity with fully explicit control fields when the auxiliary scaling function is taken to be real.