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arXiv:2004.06516 · Communications in Mathematical Physics

Quantum vs. Classical Algorithms for Solving the Heat Equation

Noah Linden, Ashley Montanaro, Changpeng Shao

Published Aug 24, 2022• 75 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract Quantum computers are predicted to outperform classical ones for solving partial differential equations, perhaps exponentially. Here we consider a prototypical PDE—the heat equation in a rectangular region—and compare in detail the complexities of ten classical and quantum algorithms for solving it, in the sense of approximately computing the amount of heat in a given region. We find that, for spatial dimension $$d \ge 2$$ d≥2 , there is an at most quadratic quantum speedup in terms of the allowable error $$\epsilon $$ ϵ using an approach based on applying amplitude estimation to an accelerated classical random walk. However, an alternative approach based on a quantum algorithm for linear equations is never faster than the best classical algorithms.

DOI
10.1007/s00220-022-04442-6

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Abstract Quantum computers are predicted to outperform classical ones for solving partial differential equations, perhaps exponentially. Here we consider a prototypical PDE—the heat equation in a rectangular region—and compare in detail the complexities of ten classical and quantum algorithms for solving it, in the sense of approximately computing the amount of heat in a given region. We find that, for spatial dimension d≥2d \ge 2d≥2 d≥2 , there is an at most quadratic quantum speedup in terms of the allowable error ϵ\epsilon ϵ ϵ using an approach based on applying amplitude estimation to an accelerated classical random walk. However, an alternative approach based on a quantum algorithm for linear equations is never faster than the best classical algorithms.
Quantum computers can produce a quantum encoding of the solution of a system of differential equations exponentially faster than a classical algorithm can produce an explicit description. However, while high-precision quantum algorithms for linear ordinary differential equations are well established, the best previous quantum algorithms for linear partial differential equations (PDEs) have complexity p o l y ( 1 / ϵ ) , where ϵ is the error tolerance. By developing quantum algorithms based on adaptive-order finite difference methods and spectral methods, we improve the complexity of quantum algorithms for linear PDEs to be p o l y ( d , log ⁡ ( 1 / ϵ ) ) , where d is the spatial dimension. Our algorithms apply high-precision quantum linear system algorithms to systems whose condition numbers and approximation errors we bound. We develop a finite difference algorithm for the Poisson equation and a spectral algorithm for more general second-order elliptic equations.
In recent years, quantum linear system algorithms have been applied to partial differential equations (PDEs), particularly in high-dimensional settings, demonstrating an exponential speedup in dimension. Concurrently, randomized and quantum-inspired classical linear solvers have emerged, showing computational complexity comparable to their quantum counterparts in many application areas. In this paper, we investigate the applicability of these quantum-inspired classical algorithms to PDEs. We provide both upper and lower bounds on their computational complexity, proving that these methods cannot achieve exponential speedup in dimension for discretizations of high-dimensional Poisson problems. Our theoretical findings definitively demonstrate that quantum-inspired classical algorithms are not competitive with quantum algorithms for solving PDEs, confirming that quantum methods retain a significant advantage for high-dimensional problems.
Quantum computing has emerged as a promising avenue for achieving significant speedup, particularly in large-scale PDE simulations, compared to classical computing. One of the main quantum approaches involves utilizing Hamiltonian simulation, which is directly applicable only to Schrödinger-type equations. To address this limitation, Schrödingerisation techniques have been developed, employing the warped transformation to convert general linear PDEs into Schrödinger-type equations. However, despite the development of Schrödingerisation techniques, the explicit implementation of the corresponding quantum circuit for solving general PDEs remains to be designed. In this paper, we present detailed implementation of a quantum algorithm for general PDEs using Schrödingerisation techniques. We provide examples of the heat equation, and the advection equation approximated by the upwind scheme, to demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach. Complexity analysis is also carried out to demonstrate the quantum advantages of these algorithms in high dimensions over their classical counterparts.
The finite element method is used to approximately solve boundary value problems for differential equations. The method discretizes the parameter space and finds an approximate solution by solving a large system of linear equations. Here we investigate the extent to which the finite element method can be accelerated using an efficient quantum algorithm for solving linear equations. We consider the representative general question of approximately computing a linear functional of the solution to a boundary value problem and compare the quantum algorithm's theoretical performance with that of a standard classical algorithm---the conjugate gradient method. Prior work claimed that the quantum algorithm could be exponentially faster but did not determine the overall classical and quantum run times required to achieve a predetermined solution accuracy. Taking this into account, we find that the quantum algorithm can achieve a polynomial speedup, the extent of which grows with the dimension of the partial differential equation. In addition, we give evidence that no improvement of the quantum algorithm can lead to a superpolynomial speedup when the dimension is fixed and the solution satisfies certain smoothness properties.
Differential equations are the foundation of mathematical models representing the universe's physics. Hence, it is significant to solve partial and ordinary differential equations, such as Navier-Stokes, heat transfer, convection-diffusion, and wave equations, to model, calculate and simulate the underlying complex physical processes. However, it is challenging to solve coupled nonlinear high dimensional partial differential equations in classical computers because of the vast amount of required resources and time. Quantum computation is one of the most promising methods that enable simulations of more complex problems. One solver developed for quantum computers is the quantum partial differential equation (PDE) solver, which uses the quantum amplitude estimation algorithm (QAEA). This paper proposes an efficient implementation of the QAEA by utilizing Chebyshev points for numerical integration to design robust quantum PDE solvers. A generic ordinary differential equation, a heat equation, and a convection-diffusion equation are solved. The solutions are compared with the available data to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. We show that the proposed implementation provides a two-order accuracy increase with a significant reduction in solution time.
Abstract. Partial differential equation (PDE) models with multiple temporal/spatial scales are prevalent in several disciplines such as physics, engineering, and many others. These models are of great practical importance but notoriously difficult to solve due to prohibitively small mesh and time step sizes limited by the scaling parameter and CFL condition. Another challenge in scientific computing could come from curse-of-dimensionality. In this paper, we aim to provide a quantum algorithm, based on either direct approximations of the original PDEs or their homogenized models, for prototypical multiscale problems inPDEs, including elliptic, parabolic, and hyperbolic PDEs. To achieve this, we will lift these problems to higher dimensions and leverage the recently developed Schrödingerization based quantum simulation algorithms to efficiently reduce the computational cost of the resulting high-dimensional and multiscale problems. We will examine the error contributions arising from discretization, homogenization, and relaxation, and analyze and compare the complexities of these algorithms in order to identify the best algorithms in terms of complexities for different equations in different regimes.