  A framework for simulating the real-time dynamics of particles in dense
matter using quantum computers is developed. As a demonstration, we perform
classical simulations of heavy-hadrons propagating through a dense medium in
the Schwinger model. Measurements of the time-dependent energy and charge
density are used to identify mechanisms responsible for energy loss and hadron
production (hadronization). A study of entanglement dynamics highlights the
importance of quantum coherence between the particles that make up the dense
medium. Throughout this work, care is taken to isolate, and remove, phenomena
that arise solely from a finite lattice spacing. It is found that signatures of
entanglement are more sensitive to lattice artifacts than other observables.
Toward quantum simulations, we present an efficient method and the
corresponding quantum circuits for preparing ground states in the presence of
heavy mesons. These circuits are used to estimate the resources required to
simulate in-medium energy loss and hadronization in the Schwinger model using
quantum computers.
