Quantum Algorithm to calculate dispersion bands of mechanical metamaterials

Investigating the vibro-elastic dispersion relations of architected materials presents a significant challenge due to the complex interplay between the material's microstructure, inherent physical properties, and wave propagation characteristics. Leveraging on the rapidly growing power of quantum computing, we employ quantum algorithms that are tailored to Noisy Intermediate-scale Quantum (NISQ) specifications to calculate band structures of elastic waves. We demonstrate predictions of dispersion bands with the Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE) algorithm for selected architected materials. This research prepares the metamaterial research community for the upcoming era of quantum computing.