Boson Sampling for Molecular Vibronic Spectra

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that boson sampling, a quantum computing approach, can be adapted to efficiently compute molecular vibronic spectra, including complex effects, offering a practical application beyond theoretical interest.

Contribution

It introduces a modified boson sampling setup capable of generating molecular vibronic spectra, bridging quantum computing and molecular spectroscopy.

Findings

Boson sampling can be used to compute molecular vibronic spectra.

The method accounts for complex effects like Duschinsky rotations.

It provides a practical quantum tool for molecular computations.

Abstract

Quantum computers are expected to be more efficient in performing certain computations than any classical machine. Unfortunately, the technological challenges associated with building a full-scale quantum computer have not yet allowed the experimental verification of such an expectation. Recently, boson sampling has emerged as a problem that is suspected to be intractable on any classical computer, but efficiently implementable with a linear quantum optical setup. Therefore, boson sampling may offer an experimentally realizable challenge to the Extended Church-Turing thesis and this remarkable possibility motivated much of the interest around boson sampling, at least in relation to complexity-theoretic questions. In this work, we show that the successful development of a boson sampling apparatus would not only answer such inquiries, but also yield a practical tool for difficult molecular computations. Specifically, we show that a boson sampling device with a modified input state can be used to generate molecular vibronic spectra, including complicated effects such as Duschinsky rotations.