First steps towards the quantum simulation of jet quenching

TL;DR

This paper proposes a quantum simulation approach to model jet quenching, specifically momentum broadening in a QCD medium, aiming to eventually simulate full parton showers beyond classical computational limits.

Contribution

It introduces a novel quantum simulation strategy for single particle momentum broadening in QCD, paving the way for simulating complete medium-induced parton showers.

Findings

Quantum simulation of momentum broadening is feasible in principle.

The approach can potentially extract the jet quenching parameter .

This work marks a first step towards full quantum simulation of jet quenching phenomena.

Abstract

The leading order $\alpha_s$ effect in jet quenching corresponds to the broadening of the jet's transverse momentum, due to the multiple interactions with the underlying medium. A complete understanding of momentum broadening is critical for the success of jet quenching phenomenology. In this talk, we introduce a strategy to quantum simulate single particle momentum broadening in a QCD background medium. We argue that it is, in principle, possible to extract the jet quenching parameter $\hat{q}$ from such an algorithm. More importantly, this corresponds to the first step towards simulating full medium induced parton showers, which is far beyond the capabilities of classical computers.