Of late, we are witnessing spectacular developments in Quantum Information Processing with the availability of Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum devices of different architectures and various software development kits to work on quantum algorithms. Different problems, which are hard to solve by classical computation, but can be sped up (significantly in some cases) are also being populated. Leveraging these aspects, this paper examines unsupervised graph clustering by quantum algorithms or, more precisely, quantum-assisted algorithms. By carefully examining the two cluster Max-Cut problem within the framework of quantum Ising model, an extension has been worked out for max 3-cut with the identification of an appropriate Hamiltonian. Representative results, after carrying out extensive numerical evaluations, have been provided including a suggestion for possible futuristic implementation with qutrit devices. Further, extrapolation to more than 3 classes, which can be handled by qudits, of both annealer and gate-circuit varieties, has also been touched upon with some preliminary observations; quantum-assisted solving of Quadratic Unconstrained D-ary Optimisation is arrived at within this context. As an additional novelty, a qudit circuit to solve max-d cut through Quantum Approximate Optimization algorithm is systematically constructed.
Of late, we are witnessing spectacular developments in Quantum Information Processing with the availability of Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum devices of different architectures and various software development kits to work on quantum algorithms. Different problems, which are hard to solve by classical computation, but can be sped up (significantly in some cases) are also being populated. Leveraging these aspects, this paper examines unsupervised graph clustering by quantum algorithms or, more precisely, quantum-assisted algorithms. By carefully examining the two cluster Max-Cut problem within the framework of quantum Ising model, an extension has been worked out for max 3-cut with the identification of an appropriate Hamiltonian. Representative results, after carrying out extensive numerical evaluations, have been provided including a suggestion for possible futuristic implementation with qutrit devices. Further, extrapolation to more than 3 classes, which can be handled by qudits, of both annealer and gate-circuit varieties, has also been touched upon with some preliminary observations; quantum-assisted solving of Quadratic Unconstrained D-ary Optimisation is arrived at within this context. As an additional novelty, a qudit circuit to solve max-d cut through Quantum Approximate Optimization algorithm is systematically constructed.
Quantum computing has emerged as a promising paradigm to tackle computationally intensive problems that classical computers struggle with. In this study, we explore the application of the Edge-based quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA) to the MAX-CUT problem, a well-known combinatorial optimization challenge. MAX-CUT aims to partition the vertices of a graph into two subsets such that the number of edges between the subsets is maximized. We define the edge-based MAX-CUT problem and propose a method for applying QAOA specifically tailored to this formulation. We conduct simulations using IBM’s Qiskit framework, examining both vertex-based and edge-based QAOA implementations across various graph structures. Our results highlight the comparative performance of these approaches in terms of solution quality and computational efficiency. Specifically, we analyze the impact of different graph sizes and edge densities on the complexity and CNOT gate counts of the proposed algorithms. This analysis provides insights into leveraging quantum computing for combinatorial optimization tasks, particularly focusing on the implications for practical applications and future research directions.
The quantum approximation optimisation algorithm (QAOA) is one of the leading
candidates for testing the applicability of gate-model quantum resources at solving
optimisation problems on small-sized quantum hardware. A combinatorial problem that
has been understudied with QAOA is correlation clustering: given a weighted (+1,-1)
graph, where the edge weights indicate whether two nodes are similar (positive edge
weight) or different (negative edge weight), the task in correlation clustering is to find a
clustering that either maximises agreements, minimises disagreements or a combination
of both. In this thesis, we design Hamiltonian formulations that encode correlation
clustering problems such that they can be solved with QAOA. For all Hamiltonian
formulations we propose circuit implementations and study their complexities. To
benchmark the performances of a basic QAOA algorithm using these formulations, we
use numerical simulations on complete graph data sets. For one of the formulations,
which uses a multi-level approach naturally suitable to qudit systems, we investigate
the performances of several optimisers and introduce heuristic strategies to further
improve its performance. On all instances in our data-sets, which include complete as
well as Erdős–Renyi graphs, the improved algorithm shows competitive performances
for QAOA depth p ≥ 2. We also show that for this algorithm at p = 1 parameters exists
such that it has a performance guarantee of 0.670 on 3-regular graphs.
The max-cut problem (MCP) is a classic problem in the field of combinatorial optimization and has important applications in various fields, including statistical physics and image processing. However, except for some special cases, the MCP still encounters a non-deterministic polynomial complete problem (an NP-complete problem), and there is currently no known efficient classical algorithm that can solve it in polynomial time. The quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA), as a pivotal algorithm in the noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) computing era, has shown significant potential for solving the MCP. However, due to the lack of quantum error correction, the reliability of computations in NISQ systems sharply declines as the circuit depth of the algorithm increases. Therefore, designing an efficient, shallow-depth, and low-complexity QAOA for the MCP is a critical challenge in demonstrating the advantages of quantum computing in the NISQ era.In this paper, according to the standard QAOA algorithm, we introduce Pauli Y rotation gates into the target Hamiltonian circuit for the MCP. By enhancing the flexibility of quantum trial functions and improving the efficiency of Hilbert space exploration within a single iteration, we significantly improve the performance of QAOA on the MCP.We conduct extensive numerical simulations using the MindSpore quantum platform, and compare the proposed RY-layer-assisted QAOA with standard QAOA and its existing variants, including MA-QAOA and QAOA+. The experiments are performed on various graph types, including complete graphs, 3-regular graphs, 4-regular graphs, and random graphs with edge probabilities between 0.3 and 0.5. Our results show that the RY-layer-assisted QAOA achieves higher approximation ratios in all graph types, particularly in regular and random graphs, where traditional QAOA variants are difficult to implement. Moreover, the proposed method exhibits strong robustness as the graph size increases, and can maintain high performance even for larger graphs. Importantly, the RY-layer-assisted QAOA requires fewer CNOT gates and has a lower circuit depth than the standard QAOA and its variants, making it more suitable for NISQ devices with limited coherence times and high error rates.In conclusion, the RY-layer-assisted QAOA provides a promising approach for solving MCP in the NISQ era. By improving the approximation ratio while reducing circuit complexity, this method demonstrates significant potential for practical quantum computing applications, thus paving the way for developing more efficient and reliable quantum optimization algorithms.
Abstract In the noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) era, quantum approximate optimisation algorithms are important tools for solving NP-hard problems such as combinatorial optimisation. However, most QAOA implementations ignore the inherent noise in quantum circuit environments. This study proposes a noisy quantum approximate optimisation algorithm (NQAOA) and analyses its performance under noisy conditions through numerical simulations. We compare the approximate ratios (AR) of various graphs under different optimisation strategies and noise conditions, and assess the impact of circuit depth, node count, edge count, and noise coefficient on the maximum cut (MaxCut). Experimental results show that noise leads to overfitting, and the approximate ratio ( AR ) exhibits fluctuating changes as the edge count e increases. The AR values under ideal conditions and the expected results are both superior to those under noisy conditions. This study is the first to systematically integrate multiple types of quantum noise into the QAOA framework, quantitatively analysing the synergistic effects of noise type, optimiser performance, and graph structure. Through theoretical derivations and numerical simulations, we established linear/exponential theoretical boundaries for AR decay related to noise coefficients, providing a critical reference for designing noise-resistant quantum optimisation algorithms on NISQ devices.
This work introduces a hybrid quantum-classical method to correlation clustering, a graph-based unsupervised learning task that seeks to partition the nodes in a graph based on pairwise agreement and disagreement. In particular, we adapt GCS-Q [1], a quantum-assisted solver originally designed for coalition structure generation, to maximize intra-cluster agreement in signed graphs through recursive divisive partitioning. The proposed method encodes each bipartitioning step as a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization problem, solved via quantum annealing. This integration of quantum optimization within a hierarchical clustering framework enables handling of graphs with arbitrary correlation structures, including negative edges, without relying on metric assumptions or a predefined number of clusters. Empirical evaluations on synthetic signed graphs and real-world hyperspectral imaging data demonstrate that, when adapted for correlation clustering, GCS-Q outperforms classical algorithms in robustness and clustering quality on real-world data and in scenarios with cluster size imbalance. Our results highlight the promise of hybrid quantum-classical optimization for advancing scalable and structurally-aware clustering techniques in graph-based unsupervised learning.
The integration of quantum algorithms into machine learning pipelines offers a promising direction for addressing complex combinatorial optimization problems inherent in graph-structured data. This study investigates the use of the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) as a quantum subroutine within a hybrid quantum–classical framework to enhance machine learning solutions for graph-based tasks. QAOA is employed to solve NP-hard graph optimization problems such as Max-Cut, graph coloring, and community detection, which are reformulated as Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO) problems. The solutions provided by QAOA are then incorporated into machine learning models, such as Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) or clustering algorithms, as enriched features or optimized graph partitions. The hybrid approach is evaluated on benchmark datasets, demonstrating competitive accuracy and improved scalability in certain problem instances compared to purely classical methods. The findings highlight the potential of leveraging near-term quantum hardware for augmenting classical learning systems in domains such as logistics, social network analysis, and computational biology.