Compact Few-Body QCD Encoding for Quantum Computers #worldresearchawards #research #Quantum
Towards Few-Body QCD on a Quantum Computer Quantum computers are rapidly emerging as powerful tools for simulating complex quantum systems. Among the most ambitious targets is Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) —the fundamental theory describing quarks and gluons. While full-scale QCD simulations remain a grand challenge, recent advances show promising progress in the few-body regime. In this post, we explore a compact encoding strategy that makes few-body QCD simulations more feasible on near-term quantum hardware. Why QCD Is So Challenging QCD is the theory of the strong interaction, part of the Standard Model of particle physics. It describes how quarks interact via gluons, governed by a non-Abelian gauge symmetry (SU(3)). Its rich structure gives rise to phenomena such as confinement, asymptotic freedom, and the formation of hadrons. Classically, QCD simulations rely on lattice QCD techniques, which are computationally demanding even on supercomputers. The difficulty stems fr...