Quantum Calculation of Classical Kinetic Equations: A Novel Approach for
Numerical Analysis of 6D Boltzmann-Maxwell Equations in Collisionless
Plasmas Using Quantum Computing
Abstract
A novel quantum algorithm for solving the Boltzmann-Maxwell equations of
the 6D collisionless plasma is proposed. The equation describes the
kinetic behavior of plasma particles in electromagnetic fields and is
known for the classical first-principles equations in various domains,
from space to laboratory plasmas. We have constructed a quantum
algorithm for a future fault-tolerant large-scale quantum computer to
accelerate its costly computation. This algorithm consists mainly of two
routines: the Boltzmann solver and the Maxwell solver. Quantum
algorithms undertake these dual procedures, while classical algorithms
facilitate their interplay. Each solver has a similar structure
consisting of three steps: Encoding, Propagation, and Integration. We
conducted a preliminary implementation of the quantum algorithm and
performed a parallel validation against a comparable classical approach.
IBM Qiskit was used to implement all quantum circuits.