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arXiv:1008.3451 · The Journal of Chemical Physics

Quantum computing applied to calculations of molecular energies: CH2 benchmark

Libor Veis, Jiří Pittner

Published Nov 17, 2010• 66 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Quantum computers are appealing for their ability to solve some tasks much faster than their classical counterparts. It was shown in [Aspuru-Guzik et al., Science 309, 1704 (2005)] that they, if available, would be able to perform the full configuration interaction (FCI) energy calculations with a polynomial scaling. This is in contrast to conventional computers where FCI scales exponentially. We have developed a code for simulation of quantum computers and implemented our version of the quantum FCI algorithm. We provide a detailed description of this algorithm and the results of the assessment of its performance on the four lowest lying electronic states of CH(2) molecule. This molecule was chosen as a benchmark, since its two lowest lying (1)A(1) states exhibit a multireference character at the equilibrium geometry. It has been shown that with a suitably chosen initial state of the quantum register, one is able to achieve the probability amplification regime of the iterative phase estimation algorithm even in this case.

DOI
10.1063/1.3503767

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Quantum computers are appealing for their ability to solve some tasks much faster than their classical counterparts. It was shown in [Aspuru-Guzik et al., Science 309, 1704 (2005)] that they, if available, would be able to perform the full configuration interaction (FCI) energy calculations with a polynomial scaling. This is in contrast to conventional computers where FCI scales exponentially. We have developed a code for simulation of quantum computers and implemented our version of the quantum FCI algorithm. We provide a detailed description of this algorithm and the results of the assessment of its performance on the four lowest lying electronic states of CH(2) molecule. This molecule was chosen as a benchmark, since its two lowest lying (1)A(1) states exhibit a multireference character at the equilibrium geometry. It has been shown that with a suitably chosen initial state of the quantum register, one is able to achieve the probability amplification regime of the iterative phase estimation algorithm even in this case.
Quantum computers are capable to efficiently perform full configuration interaction (FCI) calculations of atoms and molecules by using the quantum phase estimation (QPE) algorithm. Because the success probability of the QPE depends on the overlap between approximate and exact wave functions, efficient methods to prepare accurate initial guess wave functions enough to have sufficiently large overlap with the exact ones are highly desired. Here, we propose a quantum algorithm to construct the wave function consisting of one configuration state function, which is suitable for the initial guess wave function in QPE-based FCI calculations of open-shell molecules, based on the addition theorem of angular momentum. The proposed quantum algorithm enables us to prepare the wave function consisting of an exponential number of Slater determinants only by a polynomial number of quantum operations.
Over the last century, ingenious physical and mathematical insights paired with rapidly advancing technology have allowed the field of quantum chemistry to advance dramatically. However, efficient methods for the exact simulation of quantum systems on classical computers do not exist. The present paper reports an extension of one of the authors’ previous work [Aspuru-Guzik et al., Science 309 p. 1704, (2005)] where it was shown that the chemical Hamiltonian can be efficiently simulated using a quantum computer. In particular, we report in detail how a set of molecular integrals can be used to create a quantum circuit that allows the energy of a molecular system with fixed nuclear geometry to be extracted using the phase estimation algorithm proposed by Abrams and Lloyd [Phys. Rev. Lett. 83 p. 5165, (1999)]. We extend several known results related to this idea and present numerical examples of the state preparation procedure required in the algorithm. With future quantum devices in mind, we provide a complete example using the Hydrogen molecule, of how a chemical Hamiltonian can be simulated using a quantum computer. Some of the results we present here represent an extension of our recent collaboration appearing in B. P. Lanyon et al. [Nature Chem., advance online publication, doi: 10.1038/nchem.483 (2010)].
Abstract Modeling chemical reactions and complicated molecular systems has been proposed as the “killer application” of a future quantum computer. Accurate calculations of derivatives of molecular eigenenergies are essential toward this end, allowing for geometry optimization, transition state searches, predictions of the response to an applied electric or magnetic field, and molecular dynamics simulations. In this work, we survey methods to calculate energy derivatives, and present two new methods: one based on quantum phase estimation, the other on a low-order response approximation. We calculate asymptotic error bounds and approximate computational scalings for the methods presented. Implementing these methods, we perform geometry optimization on an experimental quantum processor, estimating the equilibrium bond length of the dihydrogen molecule to within 0.0140.0140.014 0.014 Å of the full configuration interaction value. Within the same experiment, we estimate the polarizability of the H 2{}_{2}2​ 2 molecule, finding agreement at the equilibrium bond length to within 0.060.060.06 0.06 a.u. ( 2%2 \%2% 2% relative error).
The full configuration interaction (full-CI) method is capable of providing the numerically best wave functions and energies of atoms and molecules within basis sets being used, although it is intractable for classical computers. Quantum computers can perform full-CI calculations in polynomial time against the system size by adopting a quantum phase estimation algorithm (QPEA). In the QPEA, the preparation of initial guess wave functions having sufficiently large overlap with the exact wave function is recommended. The Hartree-Fock (HF) wave function is a good initial guess only for closed shell singlet molecules and high-spin molecules carrying no spin-β unpaired electrons, around their equilibrium geometry, and thus, the construction of multiconfigurational wave functions without performing post-HF calculations on classical computers is highly desired for applying the method to a wide variety of chemistries and physics. In this work, we propose a method to construct multiconfigurational initial guess wave functions suitable for QPEA-based full-CI calculations on quantum computers, by utilizing diradical characters computed from spin-projected UHF wave functions. The proposed approach drastically improves the wave function overlap, particularly in molecules with intermediate diradical characters.
We present an efficient quantum algorithm for beyond‐Born–Oppenheimer molecular energy computations. Our approach combines the quantum full configuration interaction method with the nuclear orbital plus molecular orbital method. We give the details of the algorithm and demonstrate its performance by classical simulations. Two isotopomers of the hydrogen molecule (H2, HT) were chosen as representative examples and calculations of the lowest rotationless vibrational transition energies were simulated. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Simulating a quantum system is more efficient on a quantum computer than on a classical computer. The time required for solving the Schrödinger equation to obtain molecular energies has been demonstrated to scale polynomially with system size on a quantum computer, in contrast to the well-known result of exponential scaling on a classical computer. In this paper, we present a quantum algorithm to obtain the energy spectrum of molecular systems based on the multiconfigurational self-consistent field (MCSCF) wave function. By using a MCSCF wave function as the initial guess, the excited states are accessible. Entire potential energy surfaces of molecules can be studied more efficiently than if the simpler Hartree-Fock guess was employed. We show that a small increase of the MCSCF space can dramatically increase the success probability of the quantum algorithm, even in regions of the potential energy surface that are far from the equilibrium geometry. For the treatment of larger systems, a multi-reference configuration interaction approach is suggested. We demonstrate that such an algorithm can be used to obtain the energy spectrum of the water molecule.