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arXiv:2512.09623

Quantum Gradient Flow Algorithm for Symmetric Positive Definite Systems via Quantum Eigenvalue Transformation: Towards Quantum CAE

Yuto Lewis Terashima, Tadashi Kadowaki, Yohichi Suzuki, Mayu Muramatsu, Katsuhiro Endo

quant-phSubmitted Dec 10, 2025• Announced Dec 11, 2025• 0 citations
v1 · Dec 10, 2025v2 · Feb 5, 2026
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Abstract

In this study, we propose the Quantum Gradient Flow Algorithm (QGFA), a novel quantum algorithm for solving symmetric positive definite (SPD) linear systems based on the variational formulation and time-evolution dynamics. Conventional quantum linear solvers, such as the quantum matrix inverse algorithm (QMIA), focus on approximating the matrix inverse through quantum signal processing (QSP). However, QMIA suffers from a crucial drawback: its computational efficiency deteriorates as the condition number increases. In contrast, classical SPD linear solvers, such as the steepest descent and conjugate gradient methods, are known for their fast convergence, which stems from the variational optimization principle of SPD systems. Inspired by this, we develop QGFA, which obtains the solution vector through the gradient-flow process of the corresponding quadratic energy functional. To validate the proposed method, we apply QGFA to the displacement-based finite element method (FEM) for two-dimensional linear elastic problems under plane stress conditions. The algorithm demonstrates accurate convergence toward classical FEM solutions even with a moderate number of QSP phase factors. Compared with QMIA, QGFA achieves lower relative errors and faster convergence when initialized with suitable initial states, demonstrating its potential as an efficient preconditioned quantum linear solver. The proposed framework provides a physically interpretable connection between classical iterative solvers and quantum computational paradigms. These findings suggest that QGFA can serve as a foundation for future developments in Quantum Computer-Aided Engineering (Quantum CAE), including nonlinear and multiphysics simulations.

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Quantum-Based Methods for Solving Partial Differential Equations in Electromagnetics Engineering

Emanuel Colella, Luca Bastianelli, Valter Mariani Primiani +2 more

Quantum methods for solving partial differential equations (PDEs) generally fall into a few general categories, each leveraging different quantum mechanisms to achieve potential speedups. One well-known approach is the quantum linear system solver, epitomized by the Harrow-Hassidim-Lloyd (HHL) algorithm, which uses phase estimation and eigenvalue inversion to solve large, sparse linear systems arising from discretized linear PDEs [1]. This method can yield exponential improvements over classical solvers under certain conditions (mostly when the matrix is well-conditioned and sparse). More recent developments, such as Quantum Singular Value Transformation (QSVT), provide a framework for matrix inversion in a more flexible way, often improving on the cost and error dependence of earlier solvers [2]. Time-dependent PDEs can be tackled via Hamiltonian simulations. The Trotter-Suzuki method decomposes the exponential of a Hamiltonian into products of exponentials of simpler sub-Hamiltonians, allowing a piecewise approximation of continuous dynamics [3]. Continuous-time quantum walks, which treat a PDE operator as a Hamiltonian that governs the walk, similarly simulate processes like diffusion or wave propagation on discretized grids or graphs [4]. Beyond direct simulation, variational quantum algorithms have emerged as a promising route in the noisy intermediate-scale quantum era. These approaches encode the PDE solution as a parameterized quantum state and optimize the parameters via classical feedback, thereby minimizing a cost function tied to the PDE residual or energy functional [5]. Quantum annealing or adiabatic methods, meanwhile, can solve optimization problems derived from PDE constraints by adiabatically evolving a simple initial Hamiltonian to the final problem Hamiltonian and staying in the system's ground state [3]. In our study, we implement a new parameterized quantum model, specifically designed to solve large linear systems on quantum hardware. This model is less deep and computationally faster than the proposed one in [5], reducing the complexity and speeding up convergence times. Such improvements are particularly valuable in cases where classical algorithms may fail due to the problem's size or complexity. Ongoing research is focusing on generalized quantum models that can be adapted to practical PDE problems for solving large electromagnetic problems where classical computers can fail.

USNC-URSI Radio Science Meeting•Jul 13, 2025•0 citations
In this study, we propose the Quantum Gradient Flow Algorithm (QGFA), a novel quantum algorithm for solving symmetric positive definite (SPD) linear systems based on the variational formulation and time-evolution dynamics. Conventional quantum linear solvers, such as the quantum matrix inverse algorithm (QMIA), focus on approximating the matrix inverse through quantum signal processing (QSP). However, QMIA suffers from a crucial drawback: its computational efficiency deteriorates as the condition number increases. In contrast, classical SPD linear solvers, such as the steepest descent and conjugate gradient methods, are known for their fast convergence, which stems from the variational optimization principle of SPD systems. Inspired by this, we develop QGFA, which obtains the solution vector through the gradient-flow process of the corresponding quadratic energy functional. To validate the proposed method, we apply QGFA to the displacement-based finite element method (FEM) for two-dimensional linear elastic problems under plane stress conditions. The algorithm demonstrates accurate convergence toward classical FEM solutions even with a moderate number of QSP phase factors. Compared with QMIA, QGFA achieves lower relative errors and faster convergence when initialized with suitable initial states, demonstrating its potential as an efficient preconditioned quantum linear solver. The proposed framework provides a physically interpretable connection between classical iterative solvers and quantum computational paradigms. These findings suggest that QGFA can serve as a foundation for future developments in Quantum Computer-Aided Engineering (Quantum CAE), including nonlinear and multiphysics simulations.
Linear equations play a pivotal role in many areas of science and engineering, making efficient solutions to linear systems highly desirable. The development of quantum algorithms for solving linear systems has been a significant breakthrough, with such algorithms rapidly becoming some of the most influential in quantum computing. Subsequent advances have focused on improving the efficiency of quantum linear solvers and extending their core techniques to address various challenges, such as least-squares data fitting. In this article, we introduce a new quantum algorithm for solving linear systems based on the gradient descent method. Inspired by the vector/density state formalism, we represent a point, or vector, as a density state-like entity, enabling us to leverage recent advancements in quantum algorithmic frameworks, such as block encoding, to directly manipulate operators and carry out the gradient descent method in a quantum setting. The operator corresponding to the intermediate solution is updated iteratively, with a provable guarantee of convergence. The quantum state representing the final solution to the linear system can then be extracted by further measurement. We provide a detailed complexity analysis and compare our approach with existing methods, demonstrating significant improvement in certain aspects.
Many computational fluid dynamics (CFD) algorithms solve partial differential equations by discretization, resulting in large and sparse systems of linear equations. While iterative methods are widely used to solve these systems classically, most existing quantum linear system solvers target the solution through matrix inversion rather than approximating it using an iterative procedure. In this work, we develop a quantum implementation of the Jacobi method based on quantum singular value transformation (QSVT). By reformulating the Jacobi iteration as a polynomial transformation of a block-encoded operator, the algorithm requires only a constant ancilla overhead with respect to the number of iterations while maintaining a circuit depth that scales linearly with the iteration number. We demonstrate the algorithm for one- and two-dimensional Poisson problems, including the pressure Poisson equation arising in Chorin's projection method for the lid-driven cavity flow. The proposed algorithm provides a promising building block for future quantum implementations of multigrid methods and preconditioning techniques, bringing quantum algorithms closer to established CFD solution strategies.
Quantum linear system algorithms (QLSAs) for gate-based quantum computing can provide exponential speedups for solving linear systems but face challenges when applied to finite element problems due to the growth of the condition number with problem size. Furthermore, QLSAs cannot use an approximate solution or initial guess to output an improved solution. Here, we present Quantum Relaxation for Linear System (qRLS), as an iterative approach for gate-based quantum computers by embedding linear stationary iterations into a larger block linear system. The condition number of the block linear system scales linearly with the number of iterations independent of the size and condition number of the original system. The well-conditioned system enables a practical iterative solution of finite element problems using the state-of-the-art Quantum Signal Processing (QSP) variant of QLSAs, for which we provide numerical results using a quantum computer simulator. The iteration complexity demonstrates favorable scaling relative to classical architectures, as the solution time is independent of system size and requires O(log(N)) qubits. This represents an exponential efficiency gain, offering a new approach for iterative finite element problem-solving on quantum hardware.
This manuscript presents the Quantum Finite Element Method (Q-FEM) developed for use in noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) computers and employs the variational quantum linear solver (VQLS) algorithm. The proposed method leverages the classical FEM procedure to perform the unitary decomposition of the stiffness matrix and employs generator functions to design explicit quantum circuits corresponding to the unitaries. Q-FEM keeps the structure of the finite element discretization intact allowing for the use of variable element lengths and material coefficients in FEM discretization. The proposed method is tested on a steady-state heat equation discretized using linear and quadratic shape functions. Numerical verification studies are performed on the IBM QISKIT simulator and it is demonstrated that Q-FEM is effective in converging to the correct solution for a variety of problems and model discretizations, including with different element lengths, variable coefficients, and different boundary conditions. The formalism developed herein is general and can be extended to problems with higher dimensions. However, numerical examples also demonstrate that the number of parameters for the variational ansatz scale exponentially with the number of qubits, and increases the odds of convergence. Moreover, the deterioration of system conditioning with problem size results in barren plateaus and convergence difficulties.
Generalized eigenvalue problems (GEPs) play an important role in the variety of fields including engineering, machine learning, and quantum chemistry. Especially, many problems in these fields can be reduced to finding the minimum or maximum eigenvalue of GEPs. One of the key problems to handle GEPs is that the memory usage and computational complexity explode as the size of the system of interest grows. This paper aims at extending sequential quantum optimizers for GEPs. Sequential quantum optimizers are a family of algorithms that iteratively solve the analytical optimization of single-qubit gates in a coordinate descent manner. The contribution of this paper is as follows. First, we formulate the GEP as the minimization or maximization problem of the fractional form of the expectations of two Hermitians. We then show that the fractional objective function can be analytically minimized or maximized with respect to a single-qubit gate by solving a GEP of a $4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}4$ matrix. Second, we show that a system of linear equations characterized by a positive-definite Hermitian can be formulated as a GEP and thus be attacked using the proposed method. Finally, we demonstrate two applications to important engineering problems formulated with the finite-element method. Through the demonstration, we have the following bonus finding; a problem having a real-valued solution can be solved more effectively using quantum gates generating a complex-valued state vector, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Quantum methods for solving partial differential equations (PDEs) generally fall into a few general categories, each leveraging different quantum mechanisms to achieve potential speedups. One well-known approach is the quantum linear system solver, epitomized by the Harrow-Hassidim-Lloyd (HHL) algorithm, which uses phase estimation and eigenvalue inversion to solve large, sparse linear systems arising from discretized linear PDEs [1]. This method can yield exponential improvements over classical solvers under certain conditions (mostly when the matrix is well-conditioned and sparse). More recent developments, such as Quantum Singular Value Transformation (QSVT), provide a framework for matrix inversion in a more flexible way, often improving on the cost and error dependence of earlier solvers [2]. Time-dependent PDEs can be tackled via Hamiltonian simulations. The Trotter-Suzuki method decomposes the exponential of a Hamiltonian into products of exponentials of simpler sub-Hamiltonians, allowing a piecewise approximation of continuous dynamics [3]. Continuous-time quantum walks, which treat a PDE operator as a Hamiltonian that governs the walk, similarly simulate processes like diffusion or wave propagation on discretized grids or graphs [4]. Beyond direct simulation, variational quantum algorithms have emerged as a promising route in the noisy intermediate-scale quantum era. These approaches encode the PDE solution as a parameterized quantum state and optimize the parameters via classical feedback, thereby minimizing a cost function tied to the PDE residual or energy functional [5]. Quantum annealing or adiabatic methods, meanwhile, can solve optimization problems derived from PDE constraints by adiabatically evolving a simple initial Hamiltonian to the final problem Hamiltonian and staying in the system's ground state [3]. In our study, we implement a new parameterized quantum model, specifically designed to solve large linear systems on quantum hardware. This model is less deep and computationally faster than the proposed one in [5], reducing the complexity and speeding up convergence times. Such improvements are particularly valuable in cases where classical algorithms may fail due to the problem's size or complexity. Ongoing research is focusing on generalized quantum models that can be adapted to practical PDE problems for solving large electromagnetic problems where classical computers can fail.