ECCOMAS 2024

Quantum Boltzmann Methods

  • Schalkers, Merel (Delft University of Technology)
  • Möller, Matthias (Delft University of Technology)

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The unparalleled strengths of quantum computers is their ability to work efficiently in an exponentially large space, at least theoretically. This has been the starting point for research into how this feature can be exploited to solve practical problems on (future) quantum computers that will have a sufficient number of stable qubits. Recently there has been a boom of research in computational fluid dynamics as a potential application area for quantum computers. Due to its highly parallel nature specifically the lattice Boltzmann method is a great candidate for quantum computational fluid dynamics (QCFD). In this talk we discuss the current state of the art of (lattice) Boltzmann methods on quantum computers and give insight into the main challenges to be solved in order for the field to move forward. In this talk we discuss two algorithms that can be used to solve CFD problems on a quantum computer. The first is the efficient and fail-safe collisionless Boltzmann method where we implement only the advection and the reflection step, this implementation can be used for highly rarified gases, where particle-particle interactions play no significant role. The second is an implementation of the lattice Boltzmann method including a lattice gas inspired collision term, where the price is paid in an overall increase in complexity of the algorithm. Finally we discuss our newest research which allows to calculate values of interest, such as drag and lift, directly and efficiently on a quantum computer using so-called observables.