Simulating Strong-Field Quantum Electrodynamics on Near-Term Quantum Computers
Abstract: Quantum field theory in the presence of strong background fields contains interesting problems where quantum computers may someday provide a valuable computational resource. Here we perform quantum simulations of strong-field QED (SFQED) in 3+1 dimensions, using real-time nonlinear Breit-Wheeler pair-production as a prototypical process. The strong-field QED Hamiltonian is derived, and the interactions relevant for Breit-Wheeler are transformed into a quantum circuit. Quantum simulations of a "null double slit" experiment are found to agree well with classical simulations following the application of various error mitigation strategies, including an asymmetric depolarization algorithm which we develop and adapt to the case of Trotterization with a time-dependent Hamiltonian.
Bio: Luis is a 2nd year physics graduate student working with Patrick Draper on quantum computing for particle physics.
