Researchers advance photonic simulations
Iranian researchers demonstrate a photonic quantum circuit approach for calculating helium’s energy levels, highlighting its potential for quantum computing.
Researchers at the Iranian Center for Quantum Technologies have developed a four-mode photonic quantum circuit approach to calculate the ground and excited-state energies of neutral helium, demonstrating a potential pathway for quantum chemistry simulations.
The approach uses a continuous-variable quantum circuit incorporating beam splitters, phase shifters and cross-Kerr interactions.
By applying the variational quantum deflation (VQD) algorithm, the researchers calculated helium's ground state and three excited states while preserving photon number and spin-related constraints.
In ideal simulations, the circuit achieved 100% confinement within the target computational subspace, preventing leakage into unwanted states.
The calculated ground-state energy differed from the exact benchmark by approximately 7.03 × 10⁻⁶ Hartree, demonstrating high computational accuracy.
The research highlights the potential of photonic quantum circuits for simulating atomic and molecular systems.
Although the latest results are simulation-based, the approach could support future developments in integrated quantum photonics, particularly as researchers explore more complex optical circuits and scalable quantum computing architectures.
