We present a quantum-inspired tensor-network framework for solving advection-diffusion-reaction (ADR) partial differential equations. Discretized solution fields are encoded as matrix product states (MPS), while differential operators are represented as matrix product operators (MPOs). Time integration is performed entirely in tensor-network form using explicit Euler updates with controlled truncation. The method is evaluated on one- and two-dimensional ADR problems and compared with high-accuracy Runge-Kutta reference solutions. Numerical results show that the proposed representation remains compact, stable, and accurate across a range of dynamical regimes. The solver captures both local solution profiles and global observables while maintaining small bond dimensions throughout the simulation. These results highlight the potential of tensor networks as efficient structure-preserving tools for PDE simulation in multiple spatial dimensions.
We investigate quantum-inspired tensor networks (QTNs) for approximating flow maps of hydrodynamic partial differential equations (PDEs). Motivated by the effective low-rank structure that emerges after tensorization of discretized transport and diffusion dynamics, we encode PDE states as matrix product states (MPS) and represent the evolution operator as a structured low-rank matrix product operator (MPO) in tensor-train form (e.g., arising from finite-difference discretizations assembled in MPO form). The MPO is applied directly in MPS form, and rank growth is controlled via canonicalization and SVD-based truncation after each step. We provide theoretical context through standard matrix product properties, including exact MPS representability bounds, local optimality of SVD truncation, and a Lipschitz-type multi-step error propagation estimate. Experiments on one- and two-dimensional linear advection-diffusion and nonlinear viscous Burgers equations demonstrate accurate short-horizon prediction, favorable scaling in smooth diffusive regimes, and error growth in nonlinear multi-step predictions.
Classical numerical techniques for solving partial differential equations (PDEs) become computationally expensive as the dimension of the discretized differential operator increases. For PDEs giving rise to Sturm--Liouville problems, tensor network (TN) methods can be highly productive: an operator of dimension
N×N can be represented as a matrix product operator (MPO) using only
n=log2(N) qubits, enabling computation of eigenvalues and eigenvectors via imaginary time evolution (ITE). However, this remains computationally challenging. First, most methods for generating MPOs of large operators without explicit tensor-product structure require prohibitively large memory. Second, the number of Trotterization steps for convergence in conventional ITE increases rapidly with
n. We present techniques to mitigate both challenges for certain sparse, structured differential operators. To address the first, we construct the MPO by expanding the operator in the Pauli-string basis, enabled by an analytical expression for the Pauli basis coefficients that reduces the memory requirement from
O(2n+1) to
O(2n). To address the second, we propose a multistage state-refinement heuristic that accelerates ITE convergence, reducing convergence time by up to two orders of magnitude. Using this TN framework, we compute the first 32 eigenstates of a Laplacian of dimension exceeding
106 with fidelity above
0.95 using a 20-qubit MPO. We further validate the method on the 2D anharmonic oscillator and investigate disordered systems, where increasing random potential strength degrades accuracy and limits the approach.
In this work, we implement a tensor network-based quantum algorithm to solve unsteady, nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs). The challenge lies in how to effectively represent, encode, process, and evolve the nonlinear system of PDEs on quantum computers. We will discuss the new techniques using the compressible 1-dimensional (1D) Burgers' equation as an example, because it represents the fundamental nonlinear feature and yet removes certain complexity in physics, allowing us to focus on the design of quantum algorithms. Previous attempts to solve nonlinear PDEs in quantum computation have often involved storing multiple copies of solutions or employing linearizations. Neither is practical due to exponential scaling with evolution time or insufficient solution accuracy. Our framework is based on matrix product states (MPSs) and matrix product operators (MPOs). For example, the velocity field is represented by MPS, whereas the linear and nonlinear spatial differential terms of the velocity field are processed by MPOs. Our primary focus herein is to verify and validate the various tensor network components of the algorithm using solutions obtained by the classical algorithms on high performance computing (HPC) architectures. We use a classical time marching method to demonstrate the functionality of the tensor network operations to model the PDE and their robustness with the time evolution of the system. Our classical simulation results demonstrate the utility of tensor network-based operations in modeling nonlinear PDEs and highlight the necessity as well as potential advantages of using quantum simulations for these techniques.
This is a set of lectures on tensor networks with a strong emphasis on the core algorithms involving Matrix Product States (MPS) and Matrix Product Operators (MPO). Compared to other presentations, particular care has been given to disentangle aspects of tensor networks from the quantum many-body problem: MPO/MPS algorithms are presented as a way to deal with linear algebra on extremely (exponentially) large matrices and vectors, regardless of any particular application. The lectures include well-known algorithms to find eigenvectors of MPOs (the celebrated DMRG), solve linear problems, and recent learning algorithms that allow one to map a known function into an MPS (the Tensor Cross Interpolation, or TCI, algorithm). The lectures end with a discussion of how to represent functions and perform calculus with tensor networks using the "quantics" representation. They include the detailed analytical construction of important MPOs such as those for differentiation, indefinite integration, convolution, and the quantum Fourier transform. Three concrete applications are discussed in detail: the simulation of a quantum computer (either exactly or with compression), the simulation of a quantum annealer, and techniques to solve partial differential equations (e.g. Poisson, diffusion, or Gross-Pitaevskii) within the "quantics" representation. The lectures have been designed to be accessible to a first-year PhD student and include detailed proofs of all statements.
We present an efficient classical algorithm based on the construction of a unitary quantum circuit for simulating the Isotropic Wave Equation (IWE) in one, two, or three dimensions. Using an analogy with the massless Dirac equation second order time and space derivatives in the IWE are reduced to first order, resulting in a Schrödinger equation of motion. Exact diagonalization of the unitary circuit in combination with Tensor Networks allows simulation of the wave equation with a resolution of 1013grid points on a laptop. A method for encoding arbitrary analytical functions into diagonal Matrix Product Operators (MPOs) is employed to prepare and evolve a Matrix Product State (MPS) encoding the solution. Since the method relies on the Quantum Fourier Transform, which has been shown to generate small entanglement when applied to arbitrary MPSs, simulating the evolution of initial conditions with sufficiently low bond dimensions to high accuracy becomes highly efficient, up to the cost of Trotterized propagation and sampling of the wavefunction. We conclude by discussing possible extensions of the approach for carrying out Tensor Network simulations of other partial differential equations such as Maxwell's equations.