Quantum computing uses the physical principles of very small systems to develop computing platforms which can solve problems that are intractable on conventional supercomputers. There are challenges not only in building the required hardware but also in identifying the most promising application areas and developing the corresponding quantum algorithms. The availability of intermediate-scale noisy quantum computers is now propelling the developments of novel algorithms, with applications across a variety of domains, including in aeroscience. Variational quantum algorithms are particularly promising because they are comparatively noise tolerant and aim to achieve a quantum advantage with only a few hundred qubits. Furthermore, they are applicable to a wide range of optimization problems arising throughout the natural sciences and industry. To demonstrate the possibilities for the aeroscience community, we give a perspective on how variational quantum algorithms can be used in computational fluid dynamics. We discuss how classical problems are translated into quantum algorithms and their logarithmic scaling with problem size. For an explicit example, we apply this method to Burgers’s equation in one spatial dimension. We argue that a quantum advantage over classical computing methods could be achieved by the end of this decade if quantum hardware progresses as currently envisaged and emphasize the importance of joining up development of quantum algorithms with application-specific expertise to achieve a real-world impact.
Quantum computing uses the physical principles of very small systems to develop computing platforms which can solve problems that are intractable on conventional supercomputers. There are challenges not only in building the required hardware but also in identifying the most promising application areas and developing the corresponding quantum algorithms. The availability of intermediate-scale noisy quantum computers is now propelling the developments of novel algorithms, with applications across a variety of domains, including in aeroscience. Variational quantum algorithms are particularly promising because they are comparatively noise tolerant and aim to achieve a quantum advantage with only a few hundred qubits. Furthermore, they are applicable to a wide range of optimization problems arising throughout the natural sciences and industry. To demonstrate the possibilities for the aeroscience community, we give a perspective on how variational quantum algorithms can be used in computational fluid dynamics. We discuss how classical problems are translated into quantum algorithms and their logarithmic scaling with problem size. For an explicit example, we apply this method to Burgers’s equation in one spatial dimension. We argue that a quantum advantage over classical computing methods could be achieved by the end of this decade if quantum hardware progresses as currently envisaged and emphasize the importance of joining up development of quantum algorithms with application-specific expertise to achieve a real-world impact.
Quantum computing uses the physical principles of very small systems to develop computing platforms which can solve problems that are intractable on conventional supercomputers. There are challenges not only in building the required hardware, but also in identifying the most promising application areas and developing the corresponding quantum algorithms. The availability of intermediate-scale noisy quantum computers is now propelling the developments of novel algorithms, with applications across a variety of domains, including in aeroscience. Variational quantum algorithms are particularly promising since they are comparatively noise tolerant and aim to achieve a quantum advantage with only a few hundred qubits. Furthermore, they are applicable to a wide range of optimization problems arising throughout the natural sciences and industry. To demonstrate the possibilities for the aeroscience community, we give a perspective on how variational quantum algorithms can be utilized in computational fluid dynamics. We discuss how classical problems are translated into quantum algorithms and their logarithmic scaling with problem size. As an explicit example we apply this method to Burgers' Equation in one spatial dimension. We argue that a quantum advantage over classical computing methods could be achieved by the end of this decade if quantum hardware progresses as currently envisaged and emphasize the importance of joining up development of quantum algorithms with application-specific expertise to achieve real-world impact.
We present a comprehensive review of quantum approaches for solving partial differential equations (PDEs) arising in computational fluid dynamics (CFD). We examine fully quantum approaches, including quantum linear system algorithms (QLSAs), ranging from the Harrow--Hassidim--Lloyd (HHL) algorithm to quantum singular value transformation (QSVT), Hamiltonian simulation, and quantum lattice Boltzmann methods (QLBMs), while emphasizing hybrid quantum--classical approaches, including quantum physics-informed neural networks (QPINNs) and amplitude-encoded variational PDE solvers. We focus on hardware-agnostic algorithms compatible with present noisy processors and emerging fault-tolerant architectures. For each framework, we analyze the mathematical formulation, algorithmic structure, and principal limitations. We also examine tensor-network (TN) representations, since CFD fields, differential operators, and geometrical information can often be encoded efficiently in low-rank form. The TN formalism bridges CFD discretizations and quantum states, operators, and circuits, enabling compact representations to be translated into tensor-programmable variational quantum algorithms (TP-VQAs). We further review benchmark problems, including Poisson, reaction, diffusion, and nonlinear model equations, and assess how well quantum algorithms capture key features of fluid dynamics. Our analysis highlights that potential quantum advantage is highly problem dependent and governed by condition number, representational complexity, state preparation, and measurement constraints. We outline capabilities, limitations, and challenges toward scalable quantum algorithms for CFD.
Abstract This article is meant to review of current state-of-the-art of quantum computing applied to computational fluid dynamics and discuss possible applications of Quantum computing technologies in the area of thermofluid-dynamics. Quantum computers are devices that use quantum mechanical phenomena like superposition, entanglement and interference to perform calculations, with a theoretical high speed-up compared with traditional computing solutions, especially for computer science applications but also for engineering applications, like structural optimization, resolution of linear system and analysis of complex dynamics. Beside the consideration about the hardware implementation of these type of devices, this article propose a simplified taxonomy of the technologies that can be currently envisioned for the resolution of thermofluid dynamics problems, identifying the three main approaches, i.e., the traditional algorithmic or circuital approach (with the use of serval algorithms dedicated to the resolution of partial differential equations as well as algorithms dedicated to optimization and search), the analog approach (with the development of direct simulations given the analogy between quantum mechanical systems, like the Schrödinger flow or the Dirac Majorana formulation, and fluid problems, like the inviscid flow or the Lattice Boltzmann model), and the applications based on machine learning techniques. The article discusses practical examples which highlight the flexibility of the methods as well as their intrinsic limitations that hinder the application to many industrial problems, i.e. the simplifications requires to manage physical non-linearities, or the absence of a general purpose algorithm, indicating, beside the intrinsic properties of each method, the technology readiness level (TRL) of this type of approach and the required level of modelling.
Quantum computing is a rapidly developing field that has seen a huge amount of interest in the last couple of decades due to its promise of revolutionizing several domains of business and science. It presents a new way of doing computations by making use of fundamental properties of quantum mechanics such as superposition and entanglement. Optimization, on the other hand, is a field that is omnipresent in the industry and where small improvements can have a significant impact. This thesis aims to tackle optimization problems using quantum algorithms.NP-hard optimization problems are not believed to be exactly solvable through general polynomial time algorithms. Variational quantum algorithms (VQAs) to address such combinatorial problems have been of great interest recently. Such algorithms are heuristic and aim to obtain an approximate solution. The hardware, however, is still in its infancy and the current Noisy Intermediate Scale Quantum (NISQ) computers are not able to optimize industrially relevant problems. Moreover, the storage of qubits and introduction of entanglement require extreme physical conditions.An issue with contemporary quantum optimization algorithms such as the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) is that they scale linearly with problem size. To tackle this issue, we present the LogQ encoding, using which we can design quantum variational algorithms that scale logarithmically with problem size - opening an avenue for treating optimization problems of unprecedented scale on gate-based quantum computers. We show how this algorithm can be applied to several combinatorial optimization problems such as Maximum Cut, Minimum Partition, Maximum Clique and Maximum Weighted Independent Set (MWIS). Subsequently, these algorithms are tested on a quantum simulator with graph sizes of over a hundred nodes and on a real quantum computer up to graph sizes of 256. To our knowledge, these constitute the largest realistic combinatorial optimization problems ever run on a NISQ device, overcoming previous problem sizes by almost tenfold.Next, we apply the LogQ encoding to two use-cases for large companies such as TotalEnergies. Fleet conversion is the process of transitioning a fleet of vehicles to more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives. It is modeled as a column generation scheme with the MWIS problem as the sub-problem or worker problem. We use the LogQ method to solve the MWIS Workers and demonstrate how quantum and classical solvers can be used together in a hybrid manner to approach an industrial-sized use-case. Mesh segmentation refers to the process of dividing a complex mesh (composed of vertices, edges, and faces) into meaningful and semantically coherent parts or regions. Mesh segmentation plays an important part in computer modeling, which is extensively used in the core domains of TotalEnergies' activities such as Earth imaging, physical modeling for reservoirs, and others. We define the problem as a graph optimization problem and use the LogQ encoding to solve it.
The solution for non-linear, complex partial differential Equations (PDEs) is achieved through numerical approximations, which yield a linear system of equations. This approach is prevalent in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), but it restricts the mesh size since the solution of the linear system becomes computationally intractable when the mesh resolution increases. The reliance on the ability of High-Performance Computers (HPC) to scale up and meet these requirements is myopic; such very high-fidelity simulations require a paradigm shift in computing. This paper presents an exploration of quantum methodologies aimed at achieving high accuracy in solving such a large system of equations. Leveraging recent works in Quantum Linear Solver Algorithms (QLSA) and variational algorithms suitable for Quantum Simulation in HPC, we aspire to push the boundaries of CFD-relevant problems that can be solved on hybrid quantum-classical framework. To this end, we consider the 2D, transient, incompressible, viscous, non-linear coupled Burgers equation as a test problem and investigate the accuracy of our approach by comparing results with a classical linear system of equation solvers, such as the Generalized Minimal RESidual method (GMRES). Through rigorous testing, our findings demonstrate that our quantum methods yield results comparable in accuracy to traditional approaches. Additionally, we demonstrate the accuracy, scalability, and consistency of our quantum method. Lastly, we present an insightful estimation of the resources our quantum algorithm needs to solve systems with nearly 2 billion mesh points.
Quantum computing not only holds the potential to solve long-standing problems in quantum physics, but also to offer speed-ups across a broad spectrum of other fields. Access to a computational space that incorporates quantum effects, such as superposition and entanglement, enables the derivation of promising quantum algorithms for important tasks, including preparing the ground state of a quantum system or predicting its evolution over time. Successfully tackling these tasks promises insights into significant theoretical and technological questions, such as superconductivity and the design of new materials. The aim of quantum algorithms is to use a series of quantum operations in a quantum circuit to solve a problem beyond the reach of classical computers. However, the noise and limited scale of current quantum computers restricts these circuits to moderate sizes and depths. As a result, many prominent algorithms are currently infeasible to run for problem sizes of practical interest. In response, recent research focused on variational quantum algorithms, which allow the selection of circuits that act within a quantum device's capabilities. Yet, these algorithms can require the execution of a large number of circuits, leading to prohibitively long computation times. This doctoral thesis develops two main techniques to reduce these quantum computational resource requirements, with the goal of scaling up application sizes on current quantum processors. The first approach is based on stochastic approximations of computationally costly quantities, such as quantum circuit gradients or the quantum geometric tensor (QGT). The second method takes a different perspective on the QGT, leading to a potentially more efficient description of time evolution on current quantum computers. Both techniques rely on maintaining available information and only computing necessary corrections, instead of re-computing possibly redundant data. The main focus of application for our algorithms is the simulation of quantum systems, broadly defined as including the preparation of ground and thermal states, and the real- and imaginary-time propagation of a system. The developed subroutines, however, can further be utilized in the fields of optimization or machine learning. Our algorithms are benchmarked on a range of representative models, such as Ising or Heisenberg spin models, both in numerical simulations and experiments on the hardware. In combination with error mitigation techniques, the latter is scaled up to 27 qubits; into a regime that variational quantum algorithms are challenging to scale to on noisy quantum computers without our algorithms.