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This is one of the tasks for which a functional quantum computer is needed. Simulating quantum systems with classical computers is (as far as it is known today)
by tsimionescu 3y ago
This is one of the tasks for which a functional quantum computer is needed. Simulating quantum systems with classical computers is (as far as it is known today) exponentially hard. Even simulating a hydrogen nucleus (which has a single proton made out of 3 quarks) is actually too complex for even the biggest classical computer we can build. An oxygen atom is FAR beyond what we could ever simulate with any known algorithm.
Note: it's not currently proven that it's impossible for classical algorithms to simulate quantum systems in polynomial time, but it is strongly believed to be the case.
- semi-extrinsic 3y agoDo we know any quantum algorithm by which a quantum computer would be able to simulate nuclear physics better than a classical one? The interactions inside a nucleus are completely different from regular quantum mechanics with electrons etc. like in a quantum computer.
- btilly 3y agohttps://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0808245105 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0808245105 shows them winning on multi-body atom problems. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-39263-7 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-39263-7 shows them winning on simulating a nucleus.
- bsder 3y agoIF you can build a scalable quantum computer, it can do this. Note that "if"--it's a big, unsolved problem right now. The problem right now is that once you start adding qubits the noise in the system grows faster than your signal.
- btilly 3y agoThe question is whether the algorithm was known, and not whether we have the technology to actually implement the algorithm.
- tsimionescu 3y agoUltimately all quantum systems are described by the Schrodinger equation (or its refinements), and theoretical quantum computers can solve that more efficiently than classical computers (as far as it is known).