Ab initio calculations have an essential role in our fundamental understanding of quantum many-body systems across many subfields, from strongly correlated fermions^1,2,3 to quantum chemistry^4,5,6 and from atomic and molecular systems^7,8,9 to nuclear physics^{10,11,12,13,14}. One of the primary challenges is to perform accurate calculations for systems where the interactions may be complicated and difficult for the chosen computational method to handle. Here we address the problem by introducing an approach called wavefunction matching. Wavefunction matching transforms the interaction between particles so that the wavefunctions up to some finite range match that of an easily computable interaction. This allows for calculations of systems that would otherwise be impossible owing to problems such as Monte Carlo sign cancellations. We apply the method to lattice Monte Carlo simulations^15,16 of light nuclei, medium-mass nuclei, neutron matter and nuclear matter. We use high-fidelity chiral effective field theory interactions^17,18 and find good agreement with empirical data. These results are accompanied by insights on the nuclear interactions that may help to resolve long-standing challenges in accurately reproducing nuclear binding energies, charge radii and nuclear-matter saturation in ab initio calculations^19,20.

从头计算在我们对跨多个子领域的量子多体系统的基本理解中发挥着至关重要的作用，从强相关费米子^1,2,3到量子化学^4,5,6，从原子和分子系统^7,8,9到核物理^{10,11,12,13,14}。主要挑战之一是对交互可能复杂并且所选计算方法难以处理的系统进行精确计算。在这里，我们通过引入一种称为波函数匹配的方法来解决这个问题。波函数匹配转换粒子之间的相互作用，使得一定范围内的波函数与易于计算的相互作用相匹配。这允许对由于蒙特卡罗符号消除等问题而无法进行的系统进行计算。我们将该方法应用于轻核、中等质量核、中子物质和核物质的晶格蒙特卡罗模拟^15,16 。我们使用高保真手性有效场论相互作用^17,18并发现与经验数据非常吻合。这些结果伴随着对核相互作用的见解，这可能有助于解决在从头计算中准确再现核结合能、电荷半径和核物质饱和度方面长期存在的挑战^19,20。