Quantum Simulation of Molecular Collisions with Superconducting Qubits

Abstract

We introduce a protocol for the fast simulation of $n$-dimensional quantum systems on $n$-qubit quantum computers with tunable couplings. A mapping is given between the control parameters of the quantum computer and the matrix elements of $H_{\rm s}(t)$, an arbitrary, real, time-dependent $n\times n$ dimensional Hamiltonian that is simulated in the $n$-dimensional `single excitation' subspace of the quantum computer. A time-dependent energy/time rescaling minimizes the simulation time on hardware having a fixed coherence time. We demonstrate how three tunably coupled phase qubits simulate a three-channel molecular collision using this protocol, then study the simulation's fidelity as a function of total simulation time.