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arXiv:2404.10001

Feasibility of first principles molecular dynamics in fault-tolerant quantum computer by quantum phase estimation

Ichio Kikuchi, Akihito Kikuchi

Published Apr 1, 2024• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

This article shows a proof of concept regarding the feasibility of ab initio molecular simulation, wherein the wavefunctions and the positions of nuclei are simultaneously determined by the quantum algorithm, as is realized by the so-called Car-Parrinello method by classical computing. The approach used in this article is of a hybrid style, which shall be realized by future fault-tolerant quantum computer. First, the basic equations are approximated by polynomials. Second, those polynomials are transformed to a specific form, wherein all variables (representing the wavefunctions and the atomic coordinates) are given by the transformations acting on a linear space of monomials with finite dimension, and the unknown variables could be determined as the eigenvalues of those transformation matrices. Third, the eigenvalues are determined by quantum phase estimation. Following these three steps, namely, symbolic, numeric, and quantum steps, we can determine the optimized electronic and atomic structures of molecules.

DOI
10.31219/osf.io/5vp4z

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This article shows a proof of concept regarding the feasibility of ab initio molecular simulation, wherein the wavefunctions and the positions of nuclei are simultaneously determined by the quantum algorithm, as is realized by the so-called Car-Parrinello method by classical computing. The approach used in this article is of a hybrid style, which shall be realized by future fault-tolerant quantum computer. First, the basic equations are approximated by polynomials. Second, those polynomials are transformed to a specific form, wherein all variables (representing the wavefunctions and the atomic coordinates) are given by the transformations acting on a linear space of monomials with finite dimension, and the unknown variables could be determined as the eigenvalues of those transformation matrices. Third, the eigenvalues are determined by quantum phase estimation. Following these three steps, namely, symbolic, numeric, and quantum steps, we can determine the optimized electronic and atomic structures of molecules.
In this paper, we present a quantum algorithm that enables us to perform first-principles molecular dynamics. In this algorithm, the optimum of wavefunctions and atomic structures is given by a root of a system of polynomial equations derived from the first principles of quantum mechanics. The computational steps consist of symbolic and quantum parts. First, the symbolic computation prepares a set of matrices whose eigenvalues are the roots of the given equation. Second, the quantum computation evaluates the eigenvectors and eigenvalues. In a preceding work, the authors presented another algorithm directed to the same end, and its deficiency is the complexity of the symbolic computations, which would be enormous in the worst cases. In this study, we try to reduce the cost of symbolic computation, utilizing the latest achievements of classical algorithms. Finally, we show how to transform this classical algorithm into a quantum one.
In this paper, we propose a cost-reduced method for finite-temperature molecular dynamics on a near-term quantum computer, Quantum Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics (QCPMD). One of the most promising applications of near-term quantum computers is quantum chemistry. It has been expected that simulations of molecules via molecular dynamics can be also efficiently performed on near-term quantum computers by applying a promising near-term quantum algorithm of the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE). However, this method may demand considerable computational costs to achieve a sufficient accuracy, and otherwise, statistical noise can significantly affect the results. To resolve these problems, we invent an efficient method for molecular time evolution inspired by Car-Parrinello method. In our method, parameters characterizing the quantum state evolve based on equations of motion instead of being optimized. Furthermore, by considering Langevin dynamics, we can make use of the intrinsic statistical noise. As an application of QCPMD, we propose an efficient method for vibrational frequency analysis of molecules in which we can use the results of the molecular dynamics calculated by QCPMD. Numerical experiments show that our method can precisely simulate the Langevin dynamics at the equilibrium state, and we can successfully predict a given molecule's eigen frequencies. Furthermore, in the numerical simulation, our method achieves a substantial cost reduction compared with molecular dynamics using the VQE. Our method achieves an efficient computation without using widely employed method of the VQE. In this sense, we open up a new possibility of molecular dynamics on near-term quantum computers. We expect our results inspire further invention of efficient near-term quantum algorithms for simulation of molecules.
To maximize the value of fault-tolerant quantum computers, it is essential to develop concrete applications beyond well-established domains such as chemistry and condensed-matter physics. Here we construct and compile quantum algorithms to simulate the structure of atomic nuclei -- a topic that has received relatively little attention from the quantum computing community despite its similarities to the electronic structure problem in chemistry -- via effective shell-model Hamiltonians and no-core-shell-model Hamiltonians with three-body interactions derived from chiral effective field theory. Furthermore, we provide quantum resource estimates, in terms of Toffoli gate and qubit counts, for these algorithms, which, to our knowledge, are the first such estimates for fault-tolerant quantum simulation of atomic nuclei. Notably, the estimates for 32^{32}32Mg and 219^{219}219At shell-model Hamiltonians are comparable to recent estimates of Femoco simulations, a standard benchmark in chemistry. For no-core-shell-model Hamiltonians suitable for light nuclei (up to 40^{40}40Ca or so), we find that resource requirements are significantly higher, suggesting that more bespoke strategies are required to make such simulations practicable. Throughout this work, we draw upon the similarities between nuclear and electronic structure problems, while also highlighting challenges that are specific to the former. We hope this work will spur long-term collaborations between the nuclear and quantum computing community with the ultimate goal of realizing useful nuclear simulations on quantum computers.
Ab-initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) is a powerful tool to simulate physical movements of molecules for investigating properties of materials. While AIMD is successful in some applications, circumventing its high computational costs is imperative to perform large-scale and long-time simulations. In recent days, near-term quantum computers have attracted much attentions as a possible solution to alleviate the challenge. Specifically, Kuroiwa et al. proposed a new AIMD method called quantum Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics (QCPMD), which exploits the Car-Parrinello method and Langevin formulation to realize cost-efficient simulations at the equilibrium state, using near-term quantum devices. In this work, we build on the proposed QCPMD method and introduce the classical shadow technique to further improve resource efficiency of the simulations. More precisely, classical shadows are used to estimate the forces of all nuclei simultaneously, implying this approach is more effective as the number of molecules increases. We numerically study the performance of our scheme on the H2\text{H}_2H2​ molecule and show that QCPMD with classical shadows can simulate the equilibrium state. Our results will give some insights into efficient AIMD simulations on currently-available quantum computers.
Quantum simulation of molecular electronic structure is one of the most promising applications of quantum computing. However, achieving chemically accurate predictions for strongly correlated systems requires quantum phase estimation (QPE) on fault-tolerant quantum computing (FTQC) devices. Existing resource estimates for typical FTQC architectures suggest that such calculations demand millions of physical qubits, thereby placing them beyond the reach of near-term devices. Here, we investigate the feasibility of performing QPE for chemically relevant molecular systems in an early-FTQC regime, characterized by partial fault tolerance, constrained qubit budgets, and limited circuit depth. Our framework is based on single-ancilla, Trotter-based QPE implementations combined with partially randomized time evolution. Within this framework, we develop a novel Hamiltonian optimization strategy, termed unitary weight concentration, that reduces algorithmic cost by reshaping linear-combination-of-unitaries representations. Applying this framework to active-space models of iron-sulfur clusters, cytochrome P450 active sites, and CO2_22​-utilization catalysts, we perform end-to-end resource estimation using the latest version of the space-time efficient analog rotation (STAR) architecture. Our results indicate that ground-state energy estimation for active spaces of approximately 20 to 50 spatial orbitals, well beyond the reach of classical full configuration interaction, is achievable using ∼105\sim 10^5∼105 physical qubits, with runtimes on the order of days to weeks. These findings demonstrate that while full-fledged fault-tolerant quantum computers will be required for even larger molecular simulations, chemically meaningful quantum chemistry problems are already within reach in an experimentally relevant, early-FTQC regime.
Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) is a valuable technique for studying molecules and materials at finite temperatures where the nuclei evolve on potential energy surfaces obtained from accurate electronic structure calculations. In this work, we present an approach to running AIMD simulations on noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ)-era quantum computers. The electronic energies are calculated on a quantum computer using the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) method. Algorithms for computation of analytical gradients entirely on a quantum computer require quantum fault-tolerant hardware, which is beyond NISQ-era. Therefore, we compute the energy gradients numerically using finite differences, the Hellmann–Feynman theorem, and a correlated sampling technique. This method only requires additional classical calculations of electron integrals for each degree of freedom without any additional computations on a quantum computer beyond the initial VQE run. As a proof of concept, AIMD simulations are demonstrated for the H2 molecule on IBM quantum devices. In addition, we demonstrate the validity of the method for larger molecules using full configuration interaction wave functions. As quantum hardware and noise mitigation techniques continue to improve, the method can be utilized for studying larger molecular systems.