Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters

The Quantum Information Science Challenge for Chemistry

Gregory D. Scholes, Alexandra Olaya-Castro, Shaul Mukamel, Adam Kirrander, Kang-Kuen Ni, Gordon J. Hedley, Natia L. Frank

Published Jan 29, 2025• 27 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We discuss the goals and the need for quantum information science (QIS) in chemistry. It is important to identify concretely how QIS matters to chemistry, and we articulate some of the most pressing and interesting research questions at the interface between chemistry and QIS, that is, "chemistry-centric" research questions relevant to QIS. We propose in what ways and in what new directions the field should innovate, in particular where a chemical perspective is essential. Examples of recent research in chemistry that inspire scrutiny from a QIS perspective are provided, and we conclude with a wish list of open research problems.

DOI
10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c02955

Related papers

The Critical Role of Chemistry in Advancing Quantum Information Science

Linda Nhon, Theodore G. Goodson III

Advancements in the field of Quantum Information Science (QIS) are expected to produce groundbreaking technologies in computing, sensing, and communications. These developments could have an impact on the economy and workforce of the United States. In order to achieve this vision and sustain U.S. leadership in QIS, however, a robust research enterprise needs to be established. Presently, QIS has reached an inflection point for new discoveries; searching for novel quantum molecular materials that are operational, practical, and efficient is now the new frontier. Since chemistry is the study of manipulating molecular properties across different lengths and time-scales, it has a tremendous opportunity to take a leading role in this untapped domain. Blending QIS and chemistry together will accelerate progress in designing new quantum molecular materials, developing novel measurement tools and techniques, and establishing new quantum computing standards. A recent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report, Advancing Chemistry and Quantum Information Science, points to fundamental research areas at the interface of these two disciplines that should be pursued in the near-term. Here, a brief overview of these research directions as well as collaboration and infrastructure needs identified from the report are presented.

Journal of the American Chemical Society•May 23, 2025•3 citations

Physical Chemistry of Quantum Information Science

Tanya Zelevinsky, Artur F. Izmaylov, Anastassia N. Alexandrova

I n this Physical Chemistry of Quantum Information Science (QIS) Virtual Special Issue, we delve into the research areas that have attracted significant attention and promise to reshape the landscape of quantum information science with a focus on molecular and materials systems.The topics explored here encompass theoretical and computational pursuits as well as cutting-edge experiments.The issue was inspired by recent innovations and discoveries in this active research field.Control of molecular quantum states has improved dramatically thanks to advances in producing cold molecular beams and trapped gas samples. 1 Manipulation of individual molecules in optical tweezers and of many-body interactions in various optical lattice configurations has opened exciting possibilities. 2 Likewise, control of quantum states has been achieved or proposed in a variety of materials, from defects in bulk materials to thin films and quantum dots and even large molecules such as dyes and fullerenes.The breadth of quantum technologies to which these molecular and materials platforms have the potential to cater is vast, including areas of sensing, computing, quantum optics, and beyond.Specifically, quantum computing may be poised to augment classical computations and offer solutions for challenging chemical problems, while quantum sensors can exhibit unprecedented sensitivity.These possibilities go beyond what is attainable with today's limited number of materials platforms, illustrating the central role of chemistry in the field of QIS.In this Virtual Special Issue, we explore quantum information science where molecular systems take center stage.We investigate the topic of quantum algorithms tailored for quantum chemistry, molecular dynamics, and statistical mechanics.This includes a quest to enhance the accuracy of classical computations for difficult chemistry problems involving strongly correlated systems in the works by A.

The Journal of Physical Chemistry A•Dec 14, 2023•7 citations

Quantum Information and Computation for Chemistry

Olson, Jonathan, Yudong Cao, Jonathan Romero +7 more

The NSF Workshop in Quantum Information and Computation for Chemistry assembled experts from directly quantum-oriented fields such as algorithms, chemistry, machine learning, optics, simulation, and metrology, as well as experts in related fields such as condensed matter physics, biochemistry, physical chemistry, inorganic and organic chemistry, and spectroscopy. The goal of the workshop was to summarize recent progress in research at the interface of quantum information science and chemistry as well as to discuss the promising research challenges and opportunities in the field. Furthermore, the workshop hoped to identify target areas where cross fertilization among these fields would result in the largest payoff for developments in theory, algorithms, and experimental techniques. The ideas can be broadly categorized in two distinct areas of research that obviously have interactions and are not separated cleanly. The first area is quantum information for chemistry, or how quantum information tools, both experimental and theoretical can aid in our understanding of a wide range of problems pertaining to chemistry. The second area is chemistry for quantum information, which aims to discuss the several aspects where research in the chemical sciences can aid progress in quantum information science and technology. The results of the workshop are summarized in this report.

arXiv:1706.05413•Jun 16, 2017•15 citations

Foundations of Quantum Information for Physical Chemistry

Weijun Wu, Gregory D. Scholes

Quantum information, a field in which great advances have been made in the past decades, now presents opportunities for advanced chemistry. One roadblock to progress, especially for experimental chemical science, is that new concepts and technical definitions need to be learned. In this paper, we review some basic, but sometimes misunderstood, concepts of quantum information based on the mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics that will be useful for chemists interested in discovering ways that chemistry can contribute to the quantum information field. We cover topics including qubits and their density matrix formalism, quantum measurement as a quantum operation, information theory, and entanglement. We focus on the difference between the concepts in the quantum context and the classic context. We also discuss the relation and distinction among entanglement, correlation, and coherence. We aim to clarify the rigorous definition of these concepts and then indicate some examples in physical chemistry.

arXiv:2311.12238•The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters•Apr 8, 2024•22 citations

Undergraduate Research in Quantum Information Science

David W. Lyons

Quantum Information Science (QIS) is an interdisciplinary field involving mathematics, computer science, and physics. Appealing aspects include an abundance of accessible open problems, active interest and support from government and industry, and an energetic, open, and collaborative international research culture. We describe our student–faculty joint work in QIS that has led to many student co-authored papers in research journals. We address program structure and funding, and describe the work performed by our students.

PRIMUS•Jul 1, 2016•0 citations

Basic Research Perspective on Quantum Information Science for the Aerospace Community

Grace D. Metcalfe, Boyan Tabakov, Tristan Nguyen +2 more

Scientific and technological progress has repeatedly revolutionized society, from the invention of steam-power-driven machines that brought forth the Industrial Age to the development of the transistor that sparked the Information Age. As societies and economies become more connected through global communication networks and reliant on computational power, the demand for faster, more efficient, and secure information capabilities escalates commensurately. Enter Quantum Information Science (QIS) (QIS), a field founded on the physical laws of quantum mechanics that introduce extraordinary different and powerful paradigms for generating, manipulating, measuring, securing, and processing information. While many quantum effects are generally well understood and form the basis of widely exploited current technology, QIS is still a richly underexplored research area. This overview provides a basic research perspective on the foundational resources that empower QIS, the main challenges in exploiting QIS for practical applications, and the need for input from researchers outside quantum physics, such as those from the aerospace community, to stimulate new ideas and advance progress in QIS. This paper introduces key QIS concepts and continues with discussions on each of the following subareas: sensing, computation and algorithms, networks, and information security. The paper concludes with an outlook of the field as it relates to aerospace.

AIAA Journal•Sep 13, 2023•6 citations
We discuss the goals and the need for quantum information science (QIS) in chemistry. It is important to identify concretely how QIS matters to chemistry, and we articulate some of the most pressing and interesting research questions at the interface between chemistry and QIS, that is, "chemistry-centric" research questions relevant to QIS. We propose in what ways and in what new directions the field should innovate, in particular where a chemical perspective is essential. Examples of recent research in chemistry that inspire scrutiny from a QIS perspective are provided, and we conclude with a wish list of open research problems.
Advancements in the field of Quantum Information Science (QIS) are expected to produce groundbreaking technologies in computing, sensing, and communications. These developments could have an impact on the economy and workforce of the United States. In order to achieve this vision and sustain U.S. leadership in QIS, however, a robust research enterprise needs to be established. Presently, QIS has reached an inflection point for new discoveries; searching for novel quantum molecular materials that are operational, practical, and efficient is now the new frontier. Since chemistry is the study of manipulating molecular properties across different lengths and time-scales, it has a tremendous opportunity to take a leading role in this untapped domain. Blending QIS and chemistry together will accelerate progress in designing new quantum molecular materials, developing novel measurement tools and techniques, and establishing new quantum computing standards. A recent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report, Advancing Chemistry and Quantum Information Science, points to fundamental research areas at the interface of these two disciplines that should be pursued in the near-term. Here, a brief overview of these research directions as well as collaboration and infrastructure needs identified from the report are presented.
I n this Physical Chemistry of Quantum Information Science (QIS) Virtual Special Issue, we delve into the research areas that have attracted significant attention and promise to reshape the landscape of quantum information science with a focus on molecular and materials systems.The topics explored here encompass theoretical and computational pursuits as well as cutting-edge experiments.The issue was inspired by recent innovations and discoveries in this active research field.Control of molecular quantum states has improved dramatically thanks to advances in producing cold molecular beams and trapped gas samples. 1 Manipulation of individual molecules in optical tweezers and of many-body interactions in various optical lattice configurations has opened exciting possibilities. 2 Likewise, control of quantum states has been achieved or proposed in a variety of materials, from defects in bulk materials to thin films and quantum dots and even large molecules such as dyes and fullerenes.The breadth of quantum technologies to which these molecular and materials platforms have the potential to cater is vast, including areas of sensing, computing, quantum optics, and beyond.Specifically, quantum computing may be poised to augment classical computations and offer solutions for challenging chemical problems, while quantum sensors can exhibit unprecedented sensitivity.These possibilities go beyond what is attainable with today's limited number of materials platforms, illustrating the central role of chemistry in the field of QIS.In this Virtual Special Issue, we explore quantum information science where molecular systems take center stage.We investigate the topic of quantum algorithms tailored for quantum chemistry, molecular dynamics, and statistical mechanics.This includes a quest to enhance the accuracy of classical computations for difficult chemistry problems involving strongly correlated systems in the works by A.
The NSF Workshop in Quantum Information and Computation for Chemistry assembled experts from directly quantum-oriented fields such as algorithms, chemistry, machine learning, optics, simulation, and metrology, as well as experts in related fields such as condensed matter physics, biochemistry, physical chemistry, inorganic and organic chemistry, and spectroscopy. The goal of the workshop was to summarize recent progress in research at the interface of quantum information science and chemistry as well as to discuss the promising research challenges and opportunities in the field. Furthermore, the workshop hoped to identify target areas where cross fertilization among these fields would result in the largest payoff for developments in theory, algorithms, and experimental techniques. The ideas can be broadly categorized in two distinct areas of research that obviously have interactions and are not separated cleanly. The first area is quantum information for chemistry, or how quantum information tools, both experimental and theoretical can aid in our understanding of a wide range of problems pertaining to chemistry. The second area is chemistry for quantum information, which aims to discuss the several aspects where research in the chemical sciences can aid progress in quantum information science and technology. The results of the workshop are summarized in this report.
Quantum information, a field in which great advances have been made in the past decades, now presents opportunities for advanced chemistry. One roadblock to progress, especially for experimental chemical science, is that new concepts and technical definitions need to be learned. In this paper, we review some basic, but sometimes misunderstood, concepts of quantum information based on the mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics that will be useful for chemists interested in discovering ways that chemistry can contribute to the quantum information field. We cover topics including qubits and their density matrix formalism, quantum measurement as a quantum operation, information theory, and entanglement. We focus on the difference between the concepts in the quantum context and the classic context. We also discuss the relation and distinction among entanglement, correlation, and coherence. We aim to clarify the rigorous definition of these concepts and then indicate some examples in physical chemistry.
Quantum Information Science (QIS) is an interdisciplinary field involving mathematics, computer science, and physics. Appealing aspects include an abundance of accessible open problems, active interest and support from government and industry, and an energetic, open, and collaborative international research culture. We describe our student–faculty joint work in QIS that has led to many student co-authored papers in research journals. We address program structure and funding, and describe the work performed by our students.
Scientific and technological progress has repeatedly revolutionized society, from the invention of steam-power-driven machines that brought forth the Industrial Age to the development of the transistor that sparked the Information Age. As societies and economies become more connected through global communication networks and reliant on computational power, the demand for faster, more efficient, and secure information capabilities escalates commensurately. Enter Quantum Information Science (QIS) (QIS), a field founded on the physical laws of quantum mechanics that introduce extraordinary different and powerful paradigms for generating, manipulating, measuring, securing, and processing information. While many quantum effects are generally well understood and form the basis of widely exploited current technology, QIS is still a richly underexplored research area. This overview provides a basic research perspective on the foundational resources that empower QIS, the main challenges in exploiting QIS for practical applications, and the need for input from researchers outside quantum physics, such as those from the aerospace community, to stimulate new ideas and advance progress in QIS. This paper introduces key QIS concepts and continues with discussions on each of the following subareas: sensing, computation and algorithms, networks, and information security. The paper concludes with an outlook of the field as it relates to aerospace.