Pre-stack and post-stack seismic inversion using quantum computing

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Vashisth, Divakar, Lessard, Rodney, Mukerji, Tapan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Vashisth, Divakar
Lessard, Rodney
Mukerji, Tapan
author_facet Vashisth, Divakar
Lessard, Rodney
Mukerji, Tapan
contents Quantum computing harnesses the principles of quantum mechanics to solve problems that are intractable for classical computers. Quantum annealing, a specialized approach within quantum computing, is particularly effective for optimization tasks, as it leverages quantum tunneling to escape local minima and efficiently explore complex energy landscapes. In geosciences, many problems are framed as high-dimensional optimization problems, including seismic inversion, which aims to estimate subsurface impedances from seismic data for accurate geological interpretation and resource exploration. This study presents a novel application of quantum computing for seismic inversion, marking the first instance of inverting seismic data to estimate both P-wave and S-wave impedances using a quantum annealer. Building upon our prior work, which demonstrated the estimation of acoustic impedances from post-stack data using a two-step framework, we propose an enhanced workflow capable of inverting both post-stack and pre-stack seismic data in a single step. This advancement significantly reduces the number of qubits per model parameter (from 20 to 5) while improving computational speed (from 20 seconds to 6.3 seconds). The seismic inversion is implemented using the D-Wave Leap hybrid solver, achieving impedance estimation within 4-9 seconds, with the quantum processing unit (QPU) contributing just 0.043-0.085 seconds. Comparative analysis with simulated annealing reveals that quantum annealing produces impedance models closely matching true values in a single epoch, whereas simulated annealing requires 10 epochs for improved accuracy. These findings underscore the transformative potential of quantum computing for real-time, high-precision seismic inversion, marking a crucial step toward fully quantum-driven geophysical solutions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_03808
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Pre-stack and post-stack seismic inversion using quantum computing
Vashisth, Divakar
Lessard, Rodney
Mukerji, Tapan
Quantum Physics
Geophysics
Quantum computing harnesses the principles of quantum mechanics to solve problems that are intractable for classical computers. Quantum annealing, a specialized approach within quantum computing, is particularly effective for optimization tasks, as it leverages quantum tunneling to escape local minima and efficiently explore complex energy landscapes. In geosciences, many problems are framed as high-dimensional optimization problems, including seismic inversion, which aims to estimate subsurface impedances from seismic data for accurate geological interpretation and resource exploration. This study presents a novel application of quantum computing for seismic inversion, marking the first instance of inverting seismic data to estimate both P-wave and S-wave impedances using a quantum annealer. Building upon our prior work, which demonstrated the estimation of acoustic impedances from post-stack data using a two-step framework, we propose an enhanced workflow capable of inverting both post-stack and pre-stack seismic data in a single step. This advancement significantly reduces the number of qubits per model parameter (from 20 to 5) while improving computational speed (from 20 seconds to 6.3 seconds). The seismic inversion is implemented using the D-Wave Leap hybrid solver, achieving impedance estimation within 4-9 seconds, with the quantum processing unit (QPU) contributing just 0.043-0.085 seconds. Comparative analysis with simulated annealing reveals that quantum annealing produces impedance models closely matching true values in a single epoch, whereas simulated annealing requires 10 epochs for improved accuracy. These findings underscore the transformative potential of quantum computing for real-time, high-precision seismic inversion, marking a crucial step toward fully quantum-driven geophysical solutions.
title Pre-stack and post-stack seismic inversion using quantum computing
topic Quantum Physics
Geophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.03808