An Approach for Calculating Astrophysical Opacities on Quantum Computers

Learn about a quantum algorithmic protocol for calculating astrophysical opacities in this 46-minute conference talk from IPAM's Bridging the Gap Between NISQ and FTQC Workshop. Discover how to discretize and simulate interacting atomic and photonic subsystems to determine opacity through frequency-resolved measurements of photon registers. Explore how this approach efficiently adapts resolution from single features to entire spectra by adding more qubits, with detailed error budgets and resource estimates examined for the classically challenging problem of solar iron opacity. Gain insights into cutting-edge quantum computing applications in astrophysics through this collaborative research from Sandia National Laboratories, presented by Andrew Baczewski alongside work with Shivesh Pathak and Alina Kononov.