Quantum Framework for Simulating Linear PDEs with Robin Boundary Conditions

Abstract: We propose an explicit, oracle-free quantum framework for numerically simulating general linear partial differential equations (PDEs) that extends previous work \cite{guseynov2024efficientPDE} to also encompass (a) Robin boundary conditions (which includes Neumann and Dirichlet boundary conditions as special cases), (b) inhomogeneous terms, and (c) variable coefficients in space and time. Our approach begins with a general finite-difference discretization and applies the Schrodingerisation technique to transform the resulting system into one satisfying unitary quantum evolution so quantum simulation can be applied. For the Schrodinger equation corresponding to the discretized PDE, we construct an efficient block-encoding of $H$, scaling polylogarithmically with the number of grid points $N$. This object is compatible with quantum signal processing, to create the evolution operator $e^{-iHt}$. The oracle-free nature of our method allows us to count complexity in more fundamental units (C-NOTs and one-qubit rotations), bypassing the inefficiencies of oracle queries. Thus, the overall algorithm scales polynomially with $N$ and linearly with spatial dimension $d$, offering a polynomial speedup in $N$ and an exponential advantage in $d$, alleviating the classical curse of dimensionality. The correctness and efficiency of the proposed approach are further supported by numerical simulations. By explicitly defining the quantum operations and their resource requirements, our approach stands as a practical solution for solving PDEs, distinct from others that rely on oracle queries and purely asymptotic scaling methods.