  We describe a novel approach to prepare, detect and characterize magnetic
quantum phases in ultra-cold spinor atoms loaded in optical superlattices. Our
technique makes use of singlet-triplet spin manipulations in an array of
isolated double well potentials in analogy to recently demonstrated quantum
control in semiconductor quantum dots. We also discuss the many-body
singlet-triplet spin dynamics arising from coherent coupling between nearest
neighbor double wells and derive an effective description for such system. We
use it to study the generation of complex magnetic states by adiabatic and
non-equilibrium dynamics.
