High-performance computing is nowadays at the heart of research activities. In particular, fundamental research in theoretical nuclear physics relies on efficient numerical codes to carry out ab initio calculations of atomic nuclei. These calculations make it possible to establish systematic predictions, both for fundamental studies of nuclear systems and to support experimental activities. Considerable progress has been made in this field in recent years, leading the CEA team to perform, in 2026, the first ab initio calculation of the heavy nucleus uranium-238.

Despite these advances, ab initio calculations of nuclear structure and, in particular, calculations of reactions involving heavy nuclei remain extremely challenging. In this context, quantum computing is emerging as a new computational paradigm with the potential to transform current approaches and help overcome some of the existing computational bottlenecks. With this long-term perspective in mind, the CEA team launched a research activity several years ago dedicated to quantum algorithms applied to the nuclear many-body problem.

Building on this work, the aim of this PhD project is to develop quantum algorithms for calculating many-body Green’s functions. Green’s functions are a central quantity in many-body theory: they capture correlations between the constituents of a system and provide easy access to observable quantities. Furthermore, these functions are relevant not only to the study of the static properties of atomic nuclei, but are also naturally suited to describing dynamical processes, such as nuclear reactions. These latter properties make them particularly promising for quantum computing, where the dynamical evolution of a quantum system can be encoded naturally.

The project will focus on hybrid computational protocols that combine quantum and classical operations. The algorithms will be implemented and tested on quantum emulators and, where possible, on digital quantum computing platforms. The results of this project will help shape the computational strategies to be implemented in future ab initio nuclear theory research.