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arXiv:1711.02687

Measurement-driven quantum computing: Performance of a 3-SAT solver

Simon C. Benjamin, Liming Zhao, Joseph F. Fitzsimons

Published Nov 7, 2017• 2 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We investigate the performance of a quantum algorithm for solving classical 3-SAT problems. A cycle of post-selected measurements drives the computer's register monotonically toward a steady state which is correlated to the classical solution(s). An internal parameter $θ$ determines both the degree of correlation and the success probability, thus controlling the algorithm's runtime. Optionally this parameter can be gradually evolved during the algorithm's execution to create a Zeno-like effect; this can be viewed as an adiabatic evolution of a Hamiltonian which remains frustration-free at all points, and we lower-bound the corresponding gap. In exact numerical simulations of small systems up to 34 qubits our approach competes favourably with a high-performing classical 3-SAT solver, which itself outperforms a brute-force application of Grover's search.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1711.02687

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We investigate the performance of a quantum algorithm for solving classical 3-SAT problems. A cycle of post-selected measurements drives the computer's register monotonically toward a steady state which is correlated to the classical solution(s). An internal parameter θθθ determines both the degree of correlation and the success probability, thus controlling the algorithm's runtime. Optionally this parameter can be gradually evolved during the algorithm's execution to create a Zeno-like effect; this can be viewed as an adiabatic evolution of a Hamiltonian which remains frustration-free at all points, and we lower-bound the corresponding gap. In exact numerical simulations of small systems up to 34 qubits our approach competes favourably with a high-performing classical 3-SAT solver, which itself outperforms a brute-force application of Grover's search.
I describe one quantum approach to solving 3-satisfiability (3-SAT), the well known problem in computer science. The approach is based on repeatedly measuring the truth value of the clauses forming the 3-SAT proposition using a non-orthogonal basis. If the basis slowly evolves then there is a strong analogy to adiabatic quantum computing, although the approach is entirely circuit-based. To solve a 3-SAT problem of n variables requires a quantum register of nnn qubits, or more precisely rebits i.e. qubits whose phase need only be real. For cases of up to n=26 qubits numerical simulations indicate that the algorithm runs fast, outperforming Grover's algorithm and having a scaling with n that is superior to the best reported classical algorithms. There are indications that the approach has an inherent robustness versus imperfections in the elementary operations.
The Boolean satisfiability problem (SAT) is of central importance in both theory and practice. Yet, most provable guarantees for quantum algorithms rely exclusively on Grover-type methods that cap the possible advantage at only quadratic speed-ups, making the search for approaches that surpass this quadratic barrier a key challenge. In this light, this work presents a rigorous worst-case runtime analysis of a recently introduced measurement-driven quantum SAT solver. Importantly, this quantum algorithm does not exclusively rely on Grover-type methods and shows promising numerical performance. Our analysis establishes that the algorithm's runtime depends on an exponential trade-off between two key properties: the spectral gap of the associated Hamiltonian and the success probability of the driving measurements. We show that this trade-off can be systematically controlled by a tunable rotation angle. Beyond establishing a worst-case runtime expression, this work contributes significant algorithmic improvements. First, we develop a new readout routine that efficiently finds a solution even for instances with multiple satisfying assignments. Second, a measurement parallelization scheme, based on perfect hash families, is introduced. Third, we establish an amplitude-amplified version of the measurement-driven algorithm. Finally, we demonstrate the practical utility of our framework: By suitably scheduling the algorithm's parameters, we show that its runtime collapses from exponential to polynomial on a special class of SAT instances, consistent with their known classical tractability. A problem we leave open is to establish a non-trivial lower bound on the spectral gap as a function of the rotation angle. Resolving this directly translates into an improved worst-case runtime, potentially realizing a super-quadratic quantum advantage.
Satisfiability (SAT) is a central problem in computer science, and advances in SAT-solving algorithms have a far-reaching impact across many fields. Recent works have proposed quantum SAT solvers based on Grover's algorithm, a quantum search technique. However, Grover-based approaches face a key limitation: they typically require prior knowledge of the number of satisfying assignments of the target Boolean formula. This information is unavailable in most practical settings. Quantum counting can be used to estimate this quantity, but it incurs a computational overhead that is several orders of magnitude higher than Grover search. In this paper, we propose a novel quantum SAT solver based on entanglement and equivalence checking. Our method does not assume prior knowledge of the number of solutions and is computationally more efficient than quantum counting. Although the worst case time complexity is inevitably exponential, we prove that the expected time complexity of our approach is only constant time O(1) over random Boolean functions. Experimental results also support our theoretical claim.
One of the most prominent application areas for quantum computers is solving hard constraint satisfaction and optimization problems. However, detailed analyses of the complexity of standard quantum algorithms have suggested that outperforming classical methods for these problems would require extremely large and powerful quantum computers. The quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA) is designed for near-term quantum computers, yet previous work has shown strong limitations on the ability of QAOA to outperform classical algorithms for optimization problems. Here we instead apply QAOA to hard constraint satisfaction problems, where both classical and quantum algorithms are expected to require exponential time. We analytically characterize the average success probability of QAOA on a constraint satisfaction problem commonly studied using statistical physics methods: random k -SAT at the threshold for satisfiability, as the number of variables n goes to infinity. We complement these theoretical results with numerical experiments on the performance of QAOA for small n , which match the limiting theoretical bounds closely. We then compare QAOA with leading classical solvers. For random 8-SAT, we find that for more than 14 quantum circuit layers, QAOA achieves more efficient scaling than the highest-performance classical solver we tested, WalkSATlm. Our results suggest that near-term quantum algorithms for solving constraint satisfaction problems may outperform their classical counterparts. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
This study explores how well Grover's Algorithm performs in solving the Boolean Satisfiability Problem (SAT) using quantum circuits. The algorithm is implemented with IBM's Qiskit framework and compared to classical brute-force methods. Experiments focus on 3-SAT, 4-SAT, and 5-SAT problems, using quantum simulators and IBM quantum hardware. The results show that Grover's Algorithm is more efficient, offering a theoretical quadratic speedup over classical methods. However, practical issues like limited qubit availability, hardware noise, and optimization challenges impact its current performance. The data highlights the potential for quantum computing to scale and solve NP-complete problems. This research shows how quantum computing can improve problem-solving and lays the groundwork for future studies on more complex SAT problems and advanced quantum hardware.
This study explores how well Grover's Algorithm performs in solving the Boolean Satisfiability Problem (SAT) using quantum circuits. The algorithm is implemented with IBM's Qiskit framework and compared to classical brute-force methods. Experiments focus on 3-SAT, 4-SAT, and 5-SAT problems, using quantum simulators and IBM quantum hardware. The results show that Grover's Algorithm is more efficient, offering a theoretical quadratic speedup over classical methods. However, practical issues like limited qubit availability, hardware noise, and optimization challenges impact its current performance. The data highlights the potential for quantum computing to scale and solve NP-complete problems. This research shows how quantum computing can improve problem-solving and lays the groundwork for future studies on more complex SAT problems and advanced quantum hardware.