TENSOR NETWORKS: A USEFUL METHOD FOR QUANTUM CHEMISTRY?

In recent years, tensor networks have emerged in physics as a very powerful compressed representation of quantum states which allows the formulation of efficient algorithms for ground states, thermal states, and out-of-equilibrium evolution of strongly correlated quantum systems. The formal similarity between problems in theoretical physics and quantum chemistry suggests that these methods might also be useful there. I will give a non-technical introduction to tensor networks and related algorithms, show how they translate to chemistry, and assess their potential for quantum chemistry. Following my own recent interests, I will then focus more specifically on approaches to the quantum dynamics of chemical systems, illustrated by results for some classical problems in chemistry, and the potential of smart basis transformations to maximize the descriptive power of tensor networks.