A fast quantum algorithm for solving partial differential equations

The numerical solution of partial differential equations (PDEs) is essential in computational physics. Over the past few decades, various quantum-based methods have been developed to formulate and solve PDEs. Solving PDEs incurs high-time complexity for high-dimensional real-world problems, and using traditional methods becomes practically inefficient. This paper presents a fast hybrid classical-quantum paradigm based on successive over-relaxation (SOR) to accelerate solving PDEs. Using the discretization method, this approach reduces the PDE solution to solving a system of linear equations, which is then addressed using the block SOR method. The block SOR method is employed to address qubit limitations, where the entire system of linear equations is decomposed into smaller subsystems. These subsystems are iteratively solved block-wise using Advantage quantum computers developed by D-Wave Systems, and the solutions are subsequently combined to obtain the overall solution. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated by solving the heat equation for a square plate with fixed boundary temperatures and comparing the results with the best existing method. Experimental results show that the proposed method can accelerate the solution of high-dimensional PDEs by using a limited number of qubits up to 2 times the existing method.