An introduction to quantum computing for quantum chemistry

Kimika Teorikoa Seminar

Quantum simulation is widely regarded as one of the most promising applications of quantum computing, with particular relevance to quantum chemistry. In this talk, I will provide an introductory overview of how
molecular electronic structure problems can be formulated and solved on quantum computers.

I begin by discussing the general methodology for mapping fermionic Hamiltonians onto qubit representations suitable for quantum hardware. Then I will focus on discussing/describing two of the most widely used quantum algorithms for computing molecular ground-state energies: the Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE) and Subspace Quantum Diagonalization (SQD).
Finally, I will highlight the current capabilities of these approaches, offering a perspective on their potential and limitations for near-term quantum devices.