Co-Design of Quantum Hardware and Algorithms in Nuclear and High Energy Physics

Abstract

Quantum computing (QC) has emerged as a promising technology, and is believed to have the potential to advance nuclear and high energy physics (NHEP) by harnessing quantum mechanical phenomena to accelerate computations. In this paper, we give a brief overview of the current state of quantum computing by highlighting challenges it poses and opportunities it offers to the NHEP community. Noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) computers, while limited by imperfections and small scale, may hold promise for near-term quantum advantages when coupled with co-designed quantum algorithms and special-purpose quantum processing units (QPUs). We explore various applications in NHEP, including quantum simulation, event classification, and realtime experiment control, emphasising the potential of variational quantum circuits and related techniques. To identify current interests of the community, we perform an analysis of recent literature in NHEP related to QC.