Joint control of coherent transmission, reflection, and absorption

Controlling multiple wave properties simultaneously poses a key challenge in coherent control of wave transport. We present a theory for joint coherent control of transmission, reflection, and absorption in linear systems. We prove that the numerical range provides the mathematical structure governing achievable responses, and reveal non-abelian effects due to non-commutativity between transmission, reflection, and absorption matrices. We provide an algorithm to achieve arbitrary target responses. Our results establish a theoretical foundation for joint coherent control of waves.