Type: Article
Publication Date: 2019-06-12
Citations: 229
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.122.230401
We develop an extension of the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) algorithm---multistate contracted VQE (MC-VQE)---that allows for the efficient computation of the transition energies between the ground state and several low-lying excited states of a molecule, as well as the oscillator strengths associated with these transitions. We numerically simulate MC-VQE by computing the absorption spectrum of an ab initio exciton model of an 18-chromophore light-harvesting complex from purple photosynthetic bacteria.