Simulation of Lennard-Jones Potential on a Quantum Computer

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the simulation of a Lennard-Jones potential in a one-dimensional system using a 5-qubit quantum computer, showcasing quantum advantage in simulating time-dependent physical problems.

Contribution

It presents the first implementation of Lennard-Jones potential simulation on a real quantum device, including Hamiltonian mapping and comparison with classical simulation.

Findings

Successful simulation on IBM quantum hardware

Comparison shows quantum simulation aligns with classical results

Highlights potential of quantum computers for physical simulations

Abstract

Simulation of time dynamical physical problems has been a challenge for classical computers due to their time-complexity. To demonstrate the dominance of quantum computers over classical computers in this regime, here we simulate a semi-empirical model where two neutral particles interact through Lennard-Jones potential in a one-dimensional system. We implement the above scenario on the IBM quantum experience platform using a 5-qubit real device. We construct the Hamiltonian and then efficiently map it to quantum operators onto quantum gates using the time-evolutionary unitary matrix obtained from the Hamiltonian. We verify the results collected from the QASM-simulator and compare it with that of the 5-qubit real chip ibmqx2.