Noise-Resilient Quantum Power Flow

TL;DR

This paper introduces a noise-resilient quantum power flow algorithm suitable for current noisy quantum computers, enabling practical power flow analysis with promising real-device case studies.

Contribution

It proposes a NISQ-compatible quantum power flow method using variational circuits and noise-resilient solvers, advancing practical quantum power system analysis.

Findings

Effective power flow calculation on noisy quantum devices

Validation on IBM's real quantum hardware

Short-depth quantum circuits enable practical implementation

Abstract

Quantum power flow (QPF) provides inspiring directions for tackling power flow's computational burdens leveraging quantum computing. However, existing QPF methods are mainly based on noise-sensitive quantum algorithms, whose practical utilization is significantly hindered by the limited capability of today's noisy-intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices. This paper devises a NISQ-QPF algorithm, which enables power flow calculation on noisy quantum computers. The main contributions include: (1) a variational quantum circuit (VQC)-based AC power flow formulation, which enables QPF using short-depth quantum circuits; (2) noise-resilient QPF solvers based on the variational quantum linear solver (VQLS) and modified fast decoupled power flow; (3) a practical NISQ-QPF framework for implementable and reliable power flow analysis on noisy quantum machines. Promising case studies validate the effectiveness and accuracy of NISQ-QPF on IBM's real, noisy quantum devices.