Challenges with Differentiable Quantum Dynamics

TL;DR

This paper examines the challenges of applying automatic differentiation to complex-valued quantum dynamics, highlighting the lack of suitable computational tools and the need for enhanced scientific computing support.

Contribution

The paper identifies limitations in current automatic differentiation frameworks for quantum dynamics and advocates for broader support of complex-valued, differentiable numerical methods.

Findings

No existing framework fully supports differentiable quantum dynamics tasks.

A need for scientific computing libraries to better handle complex-valued differentiation.

Highlights gaps in current automatic differentiation tools for quantum applications.

Abstract

Differentiable quantum dynamics require automatic differentiation of a complex-valued initial value problem, which numerically integrates a system of ordinary differential equations from a specified initial condition, as well as the eigendecomposition of a matrix. We explored several automatic differentiation frameworks for these tasks, finding that no framework natively supports our application requirements. We therefore demonstrate a need for broader support of complex-valued, differentiable numerical integration in scientific computing libraries.