Quantum algorithm for time-dependent differential equations using Dyson series

Dominic W. Berry and Pedro C. S. Costa

School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia

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Abstract

Time-dependent linear differential equations are a common type of problem that needs to be solved in classical physics. Here we provide a quantum algorithm for solving time-dependent linear differential equations with logarithmic dependence of the complexity on the error and derivative. As usual, there is an exponential improvement over classical approaches in the scaling of the complexity with the dimension, with the caveat that the solution is encoded in the amplitudes of a quantum state. Our method is to encode the Dyson series in a system of linear equations, then solve via the optimal quantum linear equation solver. Our method also provides a simplified approach in the case of time-independent differential equations.

Many computational problems that need to be solved in science and engineering are in the form of differential equations. Here we provide a method to solve differential equations on quantum computers in the case where the equations depend on time. Our method provides exponential accuracy, which means that the computation time depends only logarithmically on the allowable error. Similarly, the computational complexity only depends logarithmically on the rate of change of the equations, allowing efficient solution for rapidly changing equations. Our method also provides a simplified approach for the time-independent case.

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