Stochastic differential equations (SDEs), which model uncertain phenomena as the time evolution of random variables, are exploited in various fields of natural and social sciences such as finance. Since SDEs rarely admit analytical solutions and must usually be solved numerically with huge classical-computational resources in practical applications, there is strong motivation to use quantum computation to accelerate the calculation. Here, we propose a quantum-classical hybrid algorithm that solves SDEs based on variational quantum simulation. We first approximate the target SDE by a trinomial tree structure with discretization and then formulate it as the time-evolution of a quantum state embedding the probability distributions of the SDE variables. We embed the probability distribution directly in the amplitudes of the quantum state whereas the previous studies took the square-root of the probability distribution in the amplitudes. Our embedding enables us to construct simple quantum circuits that simulate the time-evolution of the state for general SDEs. We also develop a scheme to compute the expectation values of the SDE variables and discuss whether our scheme can achieve quantum speedup for the expectation-value evaluations of the SDE variables. Finally, we numerically validate our algorithm by simulating several types of stochastic processes. Our proposal provides a new direction for simulating SDEs on quantum computers.
Stochastic differential equations (SDEs), which model uncertain phenomena as the time evolution of random variables, are exploited in various fields of natural and social sciences such as finance. Since SDEs rarely admit analytical solutions and must usually be solved numerically with huge classical-computational resources in practical applications, there is strong motivation to use quantum computation to accelerate the calculation. Here, we propose a quantum-classical hybrid algorithm that solves SDEs based on variational quantum simulation. We first approximate the target SDE by a trinomial tree structure with discretization and then formulate it as the time-evolution of a quantum state embedding the probability distributions of the SDE variables. We embed the probability distribution directly in the amplitudes of the quantum state whereas the previous studies took the square-root of the probability distribution in the amplitudes. Our embedding enables us to construct simple quantum circuits that simulate the time-evolution of the state for general SDEs. We also develop a scheme to compute the expectation values of the SDE variables and discuss whether our scheme can achieve quantum speedup for the expectation-value evaluations of the SDE variables. Finally, we numerically validate our algorithm by simulating several types of stochastic processes. Our proposal provides a new direction for simulating SDEs on quantum computers.
Stochastic differential equations (SDEs) model noisy dynamical systems across quantitative finance, chemistry, physics, and climate science. Classical solvers-Euler-Maruyama schemes, Monte Carlo methods, and finite-difference PDE solvers for Fokker-Planck equations-suffer from exponential growth in computational cost with dimension and accuracy requirements. We present a family of quantum algorithms for simulating and solving SDEs with improved scaling. Our approach combines Hamiltonian simulation for drift terms, quantum random number generation for noise increments, and quantum amplitude estimation for computing expectations. For linear and semilinear SDEs with Lipschitz coefficients, we prove that relevant quantities (option prices, expected hitting times, moments) can be estimated to accuracy ε in time Õ(poly(d)polylog(1/ε)), versus classical O(poly(d)/ε 2). For nonlinear SDEs, we introduce variational quantum schemes leveraging parameterized circuits, with a priori error bounds and trainability analysis avoiding barren plateaus. We analyze multi-asset Black-Scholes models, Heston stochastic volatility, and Langevin dynamics for molecular coarse-graining, quantifying resource requirements (qubits, gate depth, oracle calls). Numerical simulations on small instances demonstrate polynomial-to-super-polynomial empirical speedups in accuracy for fixed runtime, establishing SDE solving as a promising quantum-accelerated task with practical applications.
Inspired by recent progress in quantum algorithms for ordinary and partial differential equations, we study quantum algorithms for stochastic differential equations (SDEs). Firstly we provide a quantum algorithm that gives a quadratic speed-up for multilevel Monte Carlo methods in a general setting. As applications, we apply it to compute expectation values determined by classical solutions of SDEs, with improved dependence on precision. We demonstrate the use of this algorithm in a variety of applications arising in mathematical finance, such as the Black-Scholes and Local Volatility models, and Greeks. We also provide a quantum algorithm based on sublinear binomial sampling for the binomial option pricing model with the same improvement.
This work studies quantum algorithms to solve high-dimensional stochastic differential equations (SDEs) dXt=A(t)Xtdt+B(t)dWt. Aiming for a speed-up in the dimension N of Xt, we generate quantum states that encode Xt in the amplitudes, while most of the existing quantum methods for SDEs employ binary encoding. A key challenge is the amplitude encoding of the noise term, and we address this by utilizing the quantum circuit implementation of a pseudorandom number generator (PRNG). We propose two methods: the Dyson series-based method and the Euler-Maruyama (EM)-based method. In the former, we express the noise term via the Dyson series approximation of the time evolution operator, while in the latter, it is approximated using the EM time discretization. Both methods use the quantum linear systems solver to generate the amplitude-encoding state of Xt, making only polylog(N) queries to the PRNG circuit and the block-encodings of A and B. Additionally, going beyond state preparation, we present methods to estimate expectations of functions of Xt using the state.
Quantum Monte Carlo integration (QMCI), a quantum algorithm for calculating expectations that provides a quadratic speed-up compared to its classical counterpart, is now attracting increasing interest in the context of its industrial and scientific applications. In this paper, we propose the first application of QMCI to solving McKean-Vlasov stochastic differential equations (MVSDEs), a nonlinear class of SDEs whose drift and diffusion coefficients depend on the law μt of the solution Xt —appearing in fields such as finance and fluid mechanics. We focus on the problem setting where the coefficients depend on μt through expectations of some functions E[φk(Xt)] , and the goal is to compute the expectation of a function E[ϕ(XT)] at a terminal time T . We devise a quantum algorithm that leverages QMCI to compute these expectations, combined with a high-order time discretization method for SDEs and extrapolation of the expectations in time. The proposed algorithm estimates E[ϕ(XT)] with accuracy ϵ , making O(1/ϵ1+2/p) queries to the quantum circuit for time evolution over one step, where p∈(1,2] is the weak order of the SDE discretization method. This demonstrates the speed-up over the well-known classical algorithm called the particle method with complexity of O(1/ϵ3) . We conduct numerical demonstrations of our quantum algorithm applied to examples of MVSDEs, with some parts emulated classically, and observe that the accuracy and complexity behave as expected.
Stochastic nonlinear dynamics underlie many models in engineering and computational physics, yet accurate high-dimensional simulation remains challenging. We present a quantum algorithm for a broad class of N-dimensional stochastic differential equations with dissipation and quadratic drift. The algorithm applies to strongly nonlinear systems with all-to-all interactions, thereby extending the scope of previously known quantum algorithms that were limited to weak nonlinearity and sparse systems. For norm-preserving drifts, a condition satisfied by key fluid dynamics discretizations, our method approximates expectation values of low-order correlation functions with rigorous error bounds at a cost polynomial in log(N) and linear in the evolution time. Our main technical advance is a subroutine for simulating an auxiliary system of N interacting quantum harmonic oscillators with cost polylogarithmic in N. Finally, we formulate turbulence models, including Navier-Stokes and damped Euler equations, within this framework, opening a route to quantum simulation of strongly nonlinear SDEs governing turbulence and nonlinear wave dynamics.
This paper introduces Quantum-Inspired Stochastic Differential Equations (QSDEs), a novel approach to modeling stochastic systems by leveraging core concepts from quantum mechanics. Traditional Stochastic Differential Equations (SDEs) often rely on Gaussian noise, which can be a significant limitation when accurately representing complex, real-world phenomena. QSDEs propose a fundamental shift by incorporating superposition and entanglement principles to model noise, moving beyond Gaussian distributions. The core mechanism involves introducing a "quantum noise" term, denoted as *η(t, x, P)*, where *η* is a superposition of probability distributions dynamically adjusted based on the system's state *x*. This allows for a more nuanced representation of uncertainty, potentially leading to vastly improved simulations across diverse fields. We outline the theoretical framework, explore the key mathematical formulations, and discuss the potential impact of QSDEs on areas such as financial modeling, physics simulations, and control systems. The central claim of this work is that classical SDEs can be significantly enhanced by incorporating quantum mechanical principles.