Quantum Decoherence of Electronic Excitations of a Biomolecule due to Solvent Interactions

Jacques P. Bothma, Joel Gilmore, Ross H. McKenzie

Peter van der Walle, Maaike T.W. Milder, Jennifer L. Herek +1 more

Peter van der Walle, Maaike T.W. Milder, L. Kuipers +1 more

Yi Gao, Shi‐Jie Xiong

Kenneth J. Mei, William R. Borrelli, Andy Vong +1 more

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Decoherence is a fundamental phenomenon that occurs when an entangled quantum state interacts with its environment, leading to collapse of the wave function. The inevitability of decoherence provides one of the most intrinsic limits of quantum computing. However, there has been little study of the precise chemical motions from the environment that cause decoherence. Here, we use quantum molecular dynamics simulations to explore the photodissociation of Na 2 + in liquid Ar, in which solvent fluctuations induce decoherence and thus determine the products of chemical bond breaking. We use machine learning to characterize the solute–solvent environment as a high-dimensional feature space that allows us to predict when and onto which photofragment the bonding electron will localize. We find that reaching a requisite photofragment separation and experiencing out-of-phase solvent collisions underlie decoherence during chemical bond breaking. Our work highlights the utility of machine learning for interpreting complex solution-phase chemical processes as well as identifies the molecular underpinnings of decoherence.

Carlos Bistafa, Josh J. M. Kirsopp, A. M. Romero +2 more

We developed a method to include solvent effects on electronic transition calculations using quantum computing, employing the subspace-search variational quantum eigensolver (SSVQE) algorithm and the average solvent electrostatic configuration (ASEC) model. The SSVQE algorithm is used to calculate the energy of ground and excited states of organic molecules, and the ASEC model is used to describe the electrostatic contribution of the solvent effect at room temperature. By comparing the results with complete active space configuration interaction calculations, we demonstrate that the solvent effect is properly accounted for in the calculation of each state energy value performed by the quantum algorithm. Furthermore, the gas-liquid shift of the electronic transitions is also correctly described, with values that present semiquantitative agreement with results obtained through more sophisticated treatment using classical computers and experimental values, demonstrating that the solvation model is robust even when paired with quantum algorithms. The ASEC-SSVQE method opens the possibility of using noisy intermediate-scale quantum devices to study the spectroscopy properties of solvated molecules, with the inclusion of thermodynamic effects.