On applications of quantum computing to plasma simulations

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Dodin, I. Y., Startsev, E. A.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866909226187620352
author Dodin, I. Y.
Startsev, E. A.
author_facet Dodin, I. Y.
Startsev, E. A.
contents Quantum computing is gaining increased attention as a potential way to speed up simulations of physical systems, and it is also of interest to apply it to simulations of classical plasmas. However, quantum information science is traditionally aimed at modeling linear Hamiltonian systems of a particular form that is found in quantum mechanics, so extending the existing results to plasma applications remains a challenge. Here, we report a preliminary exploration of the long-term opportunities and likely obstacles in this area. First, we show that many plasma-wave problems are naturally representable in a quantumlike form and thus are naturally fit for quantum computers. Second, we consider more general plasma problems that include non-Hermitian dynamics (instabilities, irreversible dissipation) and nonlinearities. We show that by extending the configuration space, such systems can also be represented in a quantumlike form and thus can be simulated with quantum computers too, albeit that requires more computational resources compared to the first case. Third, we outline potential applications of hybrid quantum--classical computers, which include analysis of global eigenmodes and also an alternative approach to nonlinear simulations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2005_14369
institution arXiv
publishDate 2020
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle On applications of quantum computing to plasma simulations
Dodin, I. Y.
Startsev, E. A.
Plasma Physics
Quantum Physics
Quantum computing is gaining increased attention as a potential way to speed up simulations of physical systems, and it is also of interest to apply it to simulations of classical plasmas. However, quantum information science is traditionally aimed at modeling linear Hamiltonian systems of a particular form that is found in quantum mechanics, so extending the existing results to plasma applications remains a challenge. Here, we report a preliminary exploration of the long-term opportunities and likely obstacles in this area. First, we show that many plasma-wave problems are naturally representable in a quantumlike form and thus are naturally fit for quantum computers. Second, we consider more general plasma problems that include non-Hermitian dynamics (instabilities, irreversible dissipation) and nonlinearities. We show that by extending the configuration space, such systems can also be represented in a quantumlike form and thus can be simulated with quantum computers too, albeit that requires more computational resources compared to the first case. Third, we outline potential applications of hybrid quantum--classical computers, which include analysis of global eigenmodes and also an alternative approach to nonlinear simulations.
title On applications of quantum computing to plasma simulations
topic Plasma Physics
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.14369