Simulating quantum field theories on continuous-variable quantum computers

Abel, Steven; Spannowsky, Michael; Williams, Simon

Abstract

We delve into the use of photonic quantum computing to simulate quantum mechanics and extend its application towards quantum field theory. We develop and prove a method that leverages this form of continuous-variable quantum computing (CVQC) to reproduce the time evolution of quantum-mechanical states under arbitrary Hamiltonians, and we demonstrate the method's remarkable efficacy with various potentials. Our method centers on constructing an evolver state, a specially prepared quantum state that induces the desired time evolution on the target state. This is achieved by introducing a non-Gaussian operation using a measurement-based quantum computing approach, enhanced by machine learning. Furthermore, we propose a framework in which these methods can be extended to encode field theories in CVQC without discretizing the field values, thus preserving the continuous nature of the fields. This opens new avenues for quantum computing applications in quantum field theory.

Citation

Abel, S., Spannowsky, M., & Williams, S. (2024). Simulating quantum field theories on continuous-variable quantum computers. Physical Review A, 110(1), Article 012607. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.110.012607

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 18, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Jul 8, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024-07
• Deposit Date: Aug 16, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 16, 2024
• Journal: Physical Review A
• Print ISSN: 2469-9926
• Electronic ISSN: 2469-9934
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 110
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 012607
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.110.012607
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2757040