Quantum Simulation of Hadronization: From String Breaking to Event Generation

@misc{bauer2026quantum,
  title = {{Quantum Simulation of Hadronization: From String Breaking to Event Generation}},
  author = {Christian W. Bauer and Anthony N. Ciavarella and Jad C. Halimeh and Yannick Meurice and Stephen Mrenna and Martin J. Savage and Giovanni Cataldi and Henry Froland and Dorota M. Grabowska and Sebastian Grieninger and Kenneth Heitritter and Michael Hite and Marc Illa and Saurabh V. Kadam and Henry Lamm and Zhiyao Li and Zane Ozzello and Vincent R. Pascuzzi and Blake Senseman and Kaidi Xu and Xiaojun Yao and Nikita A. Zemlevskiy},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2611.00214},
  eprint = {2611.00214},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.00214},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Quantum Simulation of Hadronization: From String Breaking to Event Generation
AU  - Christian W. Bauer
AU  - Anthony N. Ciavarella
AU  - Jad C. Halimeh
AU  - Yannick Meurice
AU  - Stephen Mrenna
AU  - Martin J. Savage
AU  - Giovanni Cataldi
AU  - Henry Froland
AU  - Dorota M. Grabowska
AU  - Sebastian Grieninger
AU  - Kenneth Heitritter
AU  - Michael Hite
AU  - Marc Illa
AU  - Saurabh V. Kadam
AU  - Henry Lamm
AU  - Zhiyao Li
AU  - Zane Ozzello
AU  - Vincent R. Pascuzzi
AU  - Blake Senseman
AU  - Kaidi Xu
AU  - Xiaojun Yao
AU  - Nikita A. Zemlevskiy
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/11/01
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2611.00214
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.00214
AB  - High-energy collisions produce large numbers of quarks and gluons that are bound into hadrons by the confining interactions of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). This hadronization process is intrinsically real-time and non-perturbative. Event generators describe hadronization using phenomenological models with parameters fitted to data rather than calculated from QCD. Uncertainties in these models limit the precision of certain measurements at the Large Hadron Collider. Quantum computers could enable first-principles simulations of these dynamics. Existing quantum simulations of gauge theories have demonstrated string-breaking dynamics. This white paper summarizes the conclusions of the InQubator for Quantum Simulation workshop \textit{From String Dynamics to Event Generation with Quantum Simulation}. We develop a roadmap for extending these simulations to inform phenomenological models of hadronization. A sequence of toy models is proposed for connecting current quantum simulations to QCD. The observables that should be extracted are listed, and the challenges that separate present simulations from quantitative predictions are identified. We propose a staged program in which quantum simulations first provide qualitative modifications to event generators and later provide quantitative input.
ER  -