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Quantum Algorithms for Quantum Field Theories

Published

Author(s)

Stephen P. Jordan, Keith S. Lee, John Preskill

Abstract

Quantum field theory reconciles quantum mechanics and special relativity, and plays a central role in many areas of physics. We develop a quantum algorithm to compute relativistic scattering probabilities in a massive quantum field theory with quartic self-interactions (phi-fourth theory) in continuous spacetime of four and fewer dimensions. Its runtime is polynomial in the number of particles, their energy, and the desired precision, and applies at both weak and strong coupling. In the strong-coupling and high-precision regimes, our quantum algorithm achieves exponential speedup over the fastest known classical algorithm.
Citation
Science
Volume
336
Issue
6085

Keywords

quantum algorithm, simulation, quantum field theory, phi-fourth, scattering, quantum computer

Citation

Jordan, S. , Lee, K. and Preskill, J. (2012), Quantum Algorithms for Quantum Field Theories, Science, [online], https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1217069 (Accessed April 23, 2024)
Created June 1, 2012, Updated November 10, 2018