Tensor networks have demonstrated significant value for machine learning in a myriad of different applications. However, optimizing tensor networks using standard gradient descent has proven to be difficult in practice. Tensor networks suffer from initialization problems resulting in exploding or vanishing gradients and require extensive hyperparameter tuning. Efforts to overcome these problems usually depend on specific network architectures, or ad hoc prescriptions. In this paper we address the problems of initialization and hyperparameter tuning, making it possible to train tensor networks using established machine learning techniques. We introduce a `copy node' method that successfully initializes arbitrary tensor networks, in addition to a gradient based regularization technique for bond dimensions. We present numerical results that show that the combination of techniques presented here produces quantum inspired tensor network models with far fewer parameters, while improving generalization performance.
Tensor networks have demonstrated significant value for machine learning in a myriad of different applications. However, optimizing tensor networks using standard gradient descent has proven to be difficult in practice. Tensor networks suffer from initialization problems resulting in exploding or vanishing gradients and require extensive hyperparameter tuning. Efforts to overcome these problems usually depend on specific network architectures, or ad hoc prescriptions. In this paper we address the problems of initialization and hyperparameter tuning, making it possible to train tensor networks using established machine learning techniques. We introduce a `copy node' method that successfully initializes arbitrary tensor networks, in addition to a gradient based regularization technique for bond dimensions. We present numerical results that show that the combination of techniques presented here produces quantum inspired tensor network models with far fewer parameters, while improving generalization performance.
Tensor Networks are a relatively new machine learning approach. The architectures proposed initially are inspired by approaches from quantum many-body physics simulations. One common layout is the matrix product state (MPS) also known as a tensor train optimized with gradient descent techniques. We introduce a global normalization condition, so that the MPS represents a quantum state. We investigate two optimization methods that find the locally optimal tensors and compare them regarding their effectiveness. One is based on gradient descent and the other on an adaptation of DMRG.
The increasing capabilities of Machine Learning (ML) models go hand in hand with an immense amount of data and computational power required for training. Therefore, training is usually outsourced into HPC facilities, where we have started to experience limits in scaling conventional hardware, as theorized by Moore's law. Despite heavy parallelization and optimization efforts, current state-of-the-art ML models require weeks for training, which is associated with an enormousCO2footprint. Quantum Computing, and specifically Quantum Machine Learning (QML), can offer significant theoretical speed-ups and enhanced expressive power. However, training QML models requires tuning various hyperparameters, which is a nontrivial task, and suboptimal choices can highly affect the trainability and performance of the models. In this study, we identify main hyperparameters and collect data about the performance of QML models on real-world data. Notably, we build on existing work by also benchmarking different proposed parameter initialization strategies, which should help avoid trainability issues, such as Barren Plateaus. We compare different configurations and provide researchers with performance data and concrete suggestions for hyperparameter selection.
Optimizing hyperparameters in deep learning models remains a significant bottleneck in the development and deployment of effective neural networks. Traditional methods, such as grid search and random search, often struggle with the exponentially growing search space, leading to substantial computational costs and limited exploration of potentially optimal configurations. This paper proposes a novel approach to deep learning hyperparameter optimization that leverages the principles of quantum-inspired optimization, specifically employing tensor network methods, notably Matrix Product States (MPS), to efficiently approximate the complex optimization landscape. Our method utilizes quantum-inspired sampling techniques to guide the exploration, effectively mimicking the probabilistic nature of quantum measurements. We demonstrate the feasibility and potential advantages of this approach through theoretical analysis and a conceptual framework. The core of our method lies in representing the hyperparameter space as a tensor network, allowing for efficient calculations of the objective function (e.g., validation loss) without exhaustively evaluating every possible combination. This significantly reduces the computational burden compared to conventional methods. The paper outlines a detailed algorithm and discusses key considerations for implementation, including tensor network construction, sampling strategies, and convergence criteria. We propose a framework for iteratively refining the tensor network representation based on observed validation performance, ultimately converging towards a high-performing hyperparameter configuration. The theoretical underpinning draws upon concepts from quantum mechanics, particularly the idea of measurement and probability distribution, to drive the optimization process. We believe this quantum-inspired approach offers a promising avenue for accelerating deep learning hyperparameter tuning and achieving state-of-the-art performance.
Tensor networks are a very powerful data structure tool originating from simulations of quantum systems. In recent years, they have seen increased use in machine learning, mostly in trainings with gradient-based techniques, due to their flexibility and performance achieved by exploiting hardware acceleration. As ansatzes, tensor networks can be used with flexible geometries, and it is known that for highly regular ones, their dimensionality has a large impact on performance and representation power. For heterogeneous structures, however, these effects are not completely characterized. In this article, we train tensor networks with different geometries to encode a random quantum state, and see that densely connected structures achieve better infidelities than more sparse structures, with higher success rates and less time. Additionally, we give some general insight on how to improve the memory requirements of these sparse structures and the impact of such improvement on the trainings. Finally, as we use HPC resources for the calculations, we discuss the requirements for this approach and showcase performance improvements with GPU acceleration on a last-generation supercomputer.
Tensor networks (TN) have found a wide use in machine learning, and in particular, TN and deep learning bear striking similarities. In this work, we propose the quantum-classical hybrid tensor networks (HTN) which combine tensor networks with classical neural networks in a uniform deep learning framework to overcome the limitations of regular tensor networks in machine learning. We first analyze the limitations of regular tensor networks in the applications of machine learning involving the representation power and architecture scalability. We conclude that in fact the regular tensor networks are not competent to be the basic building blocks of deep learning. Then, we discuss the performance of HTN which overcome all the deficiency of regular tensor networks for machine learning. In this sense, we are able to train HTN in the deep learning way which is the standard combination of algorithms such as Back Propagation and Stochastic Gradient Descent. We finally provide two applicable cases to show the potential applications of HTN, including quantum states classification and quantum-classical autoencoder. These cases also demonstrate the great potentiality to design various HTN in deep learning way.
Tensor networks have found a wide use in a variety of applications in physics and computer science, recently leading to both theoretical insights as well as practical algorithms in machine learning. In this work we explore the connection between tensor networks and probabilistic graphical models, and show that it motivates the definition of generalized tensor networks where information from a tensor can be copied and reused in other parts of the network. We discuss the relationship between generalized tensor network architectures used in quantum physics, such as String-Bond States and Entangled Plaquette States, and architectures commonly used in machine learning. We provide an algorithm to train these networks in a supervised learning context and show that they overcome the limitations of regular tensor networks in higher dimensions, while keeping the computation efficient. A method to combine neural networks and tensor networks as part of a common deep learning architecture is also introduced. We benchmark our algorithm for several generalized tensor network architectures on the task of classifying images and sounds, and show that they outperform previously introduced tensor network algorithms. Some of the models we consider can be realized on a quantum computer and may guide the development of near-term quantum machine learning architectures.