Molecular dynamics on quantum annealers

In this work we demonstrate a practical prospect of using quantum annealers for simulation of molecular dynamics. A methodology developed for this goal, dubbed Quantum Differential Equations (QDE), is applied to propagate classical trajectories for the vibration of the hydrogen molecule in several regimes: nearly harmonic, highly anharmonic, and dissociative motion. The results obtained using the D-Wave 2000Q quantum annealer are all consistent and quickly converge to the analytical reference solution. Several alternative strategies for such calculations are explored and it was found that the most accurate results and the best efficiency are obtained by combining the quantum annealer with classical post-processing (greedy algorithm). Importantly, the QDE framework developed here is entirely general and can be applied to solve any system of first-order ordinary nonlinear differential equations using a quantum annealer.

Automated summary

In this work, the authors demonstrate the practical prospect of using quantum annealers for simulating molecular dynamics. They develop a methodology called Quantum Differential Equations (QDE) to propagate classical trajectories for the vibration of the hydrogen molecule. The results obtained using the D-Wave 2000Q quantum annealer are consistent, quickly converging to the analytical reference solution. Combining the quantum annealer with classical post-processing yields the most accurate results and highest efficiency. The QDE framework developed here is general and can be applied to solve any system of first-order ordinary nonlinear differential equations using a quantum annealer.