Simulating fluid vortex interactions on a superconducting quantum processor

Vortex interactions are commonly observed in atmospheric turbulence, plasma dynamics, and collective behaviors in biological systems. However, accurately simulating these complex interactions is highly challenging due to the need to capture fine-scale details over extended timescales, which places computational burdens on traditional methods. In this study, we introduce a quantum vortex method, reformulating the Navier–Stokes (NS) equations within a quantum mechanical framework to enable the simulation of multi-vortex interactions on a quantum computer. We construct the effective Hamiltonian for the vortex system and implement a spatiotemporal evolution circuit to simulate its dynamics over prolonged periods. By leveraging eight qubits on a superconducting quantum processor with gate fidelities of 99.97% for single-qubit gates and 99.76% for two-qubit gates, we successfully reproduce natural vortex interactions. Overall, we establish a framework that reformulates vortex dynamics into a normalized wavefunction representation compatible with quantum system unitary evolution, combined with the designed spatiotemporal encoding scheme, providing a concrete pathway toward leveraging quantum resources in fluid systems. Despite recent progress, simulations of complex fluid dynamics phenomena on quantum computers remain challenging. Here, the authors present a quantum friendly reformulation of vortex dynamics with a spatiotemporal encoding scheme and apply it to simulations on a superconducting quantum processor.