Qiskit Quantum Circuits Posit Singlet state in Radical Pair-based Magnetoreception of Migratory Birds

Abstract

Quantum computing applications in diverse domains are emerging rapidly. Given the limitations of classical computing techniques, the peculiarity of quantum circuits, which can observe quantum phenomena such as superposition, entanglement, and quantum coherence, is remarkable. This capability enables them to achieve measurement sensitivities far beyond classical limits. Research on radical pair-based magnetoreception in migratory birds has been a focus area for quite some time. A quantum mechanics-based computing approach, thus unsurprisingly, identifies a scope of application. In this study, to observe the phenomenon, electron-nucleus spin quantum circuits for different geomagnetic fluxes have been simulated and run through IBM Qiskit quantum processing units with error mitigation techniques. The results of different quantum states are consistent, suggesting singlet-triplet mechanisms that can be emulated, resembling the environment-enabling flights of migratory birds through generations of the avian species. The four-qubit model emulating electron-nucleus systems mimicking the environmental complexity outcome shows the sensitiveness to change of magnetic flux index, high probability of singlet-triplet dynamics, and upholding radical pair model states by the purity of the sub-system and full system outcome of coherence, the hallmark of singlet state dominance. The work involved performing fifty quantum circuits for different magnetic field values, each with one thousand and twenty-four shots for measurement, either in the simulator or on real quantum hardware, and for two error mitigation techniques, preceded by a noise model of a simulator run.