Quantum algorithms for quantum field theories

Quantum field theory reconciles quantum mechanics and special relativity, and plays a central role in many areas of physics. We developed a quantum algorithm to compute relativistic scattering probabilities in a massive quantum field theory with quartic self-interactions (φ(4) theory) in spacetime o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inScience (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 336; no. 6085; p. 1130
Main Authors Jordan, Stephen P, Lee, Keith S M, Preskill, John
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.06.2012
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ISSN1095-9203
DOI10.1126/science.1217069

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Summary:Quantum field theory reconciles quantum mechanics and special relativity, and plays a central role in many areas of physics. We developed a quantum algorithm to compute relativistic scattering probabilities in a massive quantum field theory with quartic self-interactions (φ(4) theory) in spacetime of four and fewer dimensions. Its run time is polynomial in the number of particles, their energy, and the desired precision, and applies at both weak and strong coupling. In the strong-coupling and high-precision regimes, our quantum algorithm achieves exponential speedup over the fastest known classical algorithm.
ISSN:1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1217069