Quantum Simulation of Dynamical Transition Rates in Open Quantum Systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces a quantum simulation framework for efficiently estimating transition rates in open quantum systems, reducing computational complexity and validated on IBM quantum hardware.

Contribution

The authors develop a novel quantum-simulation method that avoids Lindbladian numerics, enabling practical estimation of transition rates in open quantum systems.

Findings

Validated on a spin-1/2 decoherence model with IBM quantum processor

Successfully applied to the Caldeira-Leggett model of quantum Brownian motion

Demonstrated potential for quantum advantage in open-system kinetics simulations

Abstract

Estimating transition rates in open quantum systems is hampered by computing-resource demands that grow rapidly with system size. We present a quantum-simulation framework that enables efficient estimation by recasting the transition rate, given as the time derivative of an equilibrium correlation function, into a set of independently measurable contributions. Each contribution term is evaluated as the expectation value of a parameter-tuned quantum process, thereby circumventing explicit Lindbladian numerics. We validate our method on a spin-1/2 decoherence model using an IBM quantum processor. Further, we apply the method to the Caldeira-Leggett model of quantum Brownian motion as a realistic and practically relevant setting and reaffirm the theoretical soundness and practical implementability. These results provide evidence that quantum simulation can deliver substantial computational advantages in studying open-system kinetics for quantum chemistry on an intermediate-scale quantum computer.