Analytic pulse design for selective population transfer in many-level quantum systems: Maximizing the amplitude of population oscillations

State-selective preparation and manipulation of discrete-level quantum systems such as atoms, molecules, or quantum dots is the ultimate tool for many diverse fields such as laser control of chemical reactions, atom optics, high-precision metrology, and quantum computing. Rabi oscillations are one of the simplest, yet potentially quite useful mechanisms for achieving such manipulation. Rabi theory establishes that in the two-level systems resonant drive leads to the periodic and complete population oscillations between the two system levels. In this paper an analytic optimization algorithm for producing Rabi-like oscillations in the general discrete many-level quantum system is presented.