Digital quantum simulation of cosmological particle creation with IBM quantum computers

We use digital quantum computing to simulate the creation of particles in a dynamic spacetime. We consider a system consisting of a minimally coupled massive quantum scalar field in a spacetime undergoing homogeneous and isotropic expansion, transitioning from one stationary state to another through a brief inflationary period. We simulate two vibration modes, positive and negative for a given field momentum, by devising a quantum circuit that implements the time evolution. With this circuit, we study the number of particles created after the universe expands at a given rate, both by simulating the circuit and by actual experimental implementation on IBM quantum computers, consisting of hundreds of quantum gates. We find that state-of-the-art error mitigation techniques are useful to improve the estimation of the number of particles and the fidelity of the state.