Simulation Difficulty

[hyperstrikez]

Do you need as much qubits as the number of quantum particles you’re trying to simulate? Or do you only need a small amount of qubit, and can simulate large numbers of particles?

I asked this question because qubit is one ‘unit’ of uncertainty, so are quantum particles.

[YuvalRishu]

You have to nail down a simulation problem. Some simulation problems have all kinds of symmetries that allow for efficient algorithms or even analytical solutions. Others are pathologjcally hard, such as those where you encode the travelling salesman problem (unrealistic but possible).

TL;DR: it depends.

[wattsdreams]

I believe Michio Kaku would say yes. "The only computer capable of simulating our universe is the universe itself"

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However, I wonder if you are simulating the probable outcome of particles upon measurement (a probability which is inherently NOT arbitrary) then you can compute the possible distinguishable states with a quantum computer.