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  • Open Access

Three-flavor supernova neutrino simulation using a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm with qutrits

Daniel J. Heimsoth1,*, Pooja Siwach2,3, and A. Baha Balantekin1,†

  • *Contact author: dheimsoth@wisc.edu
  • †Contact author: baha@physics.wisc.edu
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Phys. Rev. D 114, 043055 – Published 21 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/8kcg-l79c

Abstract

We simulate a self-interacting three-flavor neutrino system within a core-collapse supernova using a hybrid classical-quantum algorithm on a qutrit computer. Based on the Dirac-Frenkel evolution equations, we employ a variation of the quantum-assisted simulator to calculate the system’s time evolution operator by performing qutrit Hadamard tests to find expectation values of unitary operators in the Hamiltonian. The time evolution simulation is then done classically. We find that the hybrid algorithm produces results comparable to an exact numerical integration out to times of t≈30ω0−1 with time step δt=0.005ω0−1, where ω0 is the energy scale of the single neutrino vacuum oscillations. We discuss the lessons learned in simulating neutrino systems using this hybrid quantum-classical algorithm, along with the advantages it offers over quantum Trotterization.

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Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. D 114, 043055– Published 21 August, 2026
  • Received 5 May 2026
  • Accepted 21 July 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

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