A meaningful optimal control problem in quantum and classical physics

In this paper we study and solve an optimal control problem motivated by applications in quantum and classical physics. Although apparently simple, this optimal control problem is not easy to solve and we resort to various elaborated methods of optimal control theory. We finally show its relationships to two problems in physics: the computation of the ground state for 1D Schr{ö}dinger operators with a finite potential well, and the optimal dynamical Kapitza stabilization problem.