We introduce a novel approach to solving dynamic programming problems, such as those in many economic models, on a quantum annealer, a specialized device that performs combinatorial optimization. Quantum annealers attempt to solve an NP-hard problem by starting in a quantum superposition of all states and generating candidate global solutions in milliseconds, irrespective of problem size. Using existing quantum hardware, we achieve an order-of-magnitude speed-up in solving the real business cycle model over benchmarks in the literature. We also provide a detailed introduction to quantum annealing and discuss its potential use for more challenging economic problems.
We introduce a novel approach to solving dynamic programming problems, such as those in many economic models, on a quantum annealer, a specialized device that performs combinatorial optimization. Quantum annealers attempt to solve an NP-hard problem by starting in a quantum superposition of all states and generating candidate global solutions in milliseconds, irrespective of problem size. Using existing quantum hardware, we achieve an order-of-magnitude speed-up in solving the real business cycle model over benchmarks in the literature. We also provide a detailed introduction to quantum annealing and discuss its potential use for more challenging economic problems.
We introduce novel algorithms for solving dynamic programming problems in economics on a quantum annealer, a specialized quantum computer used for combinatorial optimization. Quantum annealers begin in a superposition of all states and generate candidate global solutions in milliseconds, regardless of problem size. In contrast to existing methods, those developed in this paper (1) recover value and policy functions, (2) avoid fundamental scaling bottlenecks, and (3) are already implementable for small (but non‐trivial) problems on current hardware. We demonstrate the method by solving the real business cycle model on a quantum annealer.
Critical decision-making issues in science, engineering, and industry are based on combinatorial optimization; however, its application is inherently limited by the NP-hard nature of the problem. A specialized paradigm of analogue quantum computing, quantum annealing (QA), has been proposed to solve these problems by encoding optimization problems into physical energy landscapes and solving them by quantum tunnelling systematically through exploration of solution space. This is a critical review that summarizes the current applications of quantum annealing to combinatorial optimization and includes a theoretical background, hardware designs, algorithm implementation strategies, encoding and embedding schemes, protocols to benchmark quantum annealing, areas of implementation, and links with the quantum algorithms implementation with gate-based hardware and classical solvers. We develop a unified framework, relating adiabatic quantum dynamics, Ising and QUBO models, stoquastic and non-stoquastic Hamiltonians, and diabatic transitions to modern flux-qubit annealers (Chimera, Pegasus, Zephyr topologies), and emergent architectures (Lechner-Hauke-Zoller systems, Rydberg atom platforms), and hybrids of quantum and classical computation. Through our analysis, we find that overhead in embedding and encoding is the largest determinant of the scalability and performance (this is not just the number of qubits). Minor embeddings also usually have a physical qubit count per logical variable of between 5 and 12 qubits, which limits effective problem capacity by 80-92% and, due to chain-breaking errors, compromises the quality of solutions.
Quantum annealing is a form of quantum computing that exploits quantum effects to probabilistically solve a specific, NP-hard problem: finding the ground state of a classical, Ising-model Hamiltonian. Because physical quantum annealers are already available, there exists the pressing question of how to program such systems. That is, how can one map a computational problem into the coefficients of an Ising-model Hamiltonian for solution by quantum-annealing hardware? In this article, we address that question primarily from a practical standpoint. We survey extant software tools intended for programming D-wave annealing-based quantum processors and examine the programming model and solution technique promoted by each tool in an attempt to showcase the variety of contemporary approaches to solving computationally challenging problems on an existing annealing-based quantum computer.
Quantum annealing (QA) has the potential to significantly improve solution quality and reduce time complexity in solving combinatorial optimization problems compared to classical optimization methods. However, due to the limited number of qubits and their connectivity, the QA hardware did not show such an advantage over classical methods in past benchmarking studies. Recent advancements in QA with more than 5000 qubits, enhanced qubit connectivity, and the hybrid architecture promise to realize the quantum advantage. Here, we use a quantum annealer with state-of-the-art techniques and benchmark its performance against classical solvers. To compare their performance, we solve over 50 optimization problem instances represented by large and dense Hamiltonian matrices using quantum and classical solvers. The results demonstrate that a state-of-the-art quantum solver has higher accuracy (~0.013%) and a significantly faster problem-solving time (~6561×) than the best classical solver. Our results highlight the advantages of leveraging QA over classical counterparts, particularly in hybrid configurations, for achieving high accuracy and substantially reduced problem solving time in large-scale real-world optimization problems.
A combinatorial optimization problem (COP) is the problem of finding the optimal solution in a finite set. When the size of the feasible solution set is large, the complexity of the problem increases, and it is not easy to solve in a reasonable time with the current classical computer technology. Quantum annealing (QA) is a method that replaces classical simulated annealing (SA) methods that do not solve these cases. Therefore, several attempts have been made to solve this problem using a special-purpose quantum annealer to which the QA method is applied. In this survey, we analyze recent studies that solve real-scale COPs using quantum annealers. Through this, we discuss how to reduce the size of the COP to be input to overcome the hardware limitations of the existing quantum annealer. Additionally, we demonstrated the applicability of quantum annealer to COP on a practical scale by comparing and analyzing the results of the classical simulated annealing (SA) and QA method from each study.
This paper investigates the application of scalable quantum annealing to solve computationally challenging combinatorial optimization problems. The core idea is to map these problems into a quantum annealing framework, leveraging quantum tunneling to efficiently explore the solution space and ultimately converge to the global optimum. The research addresses the existing limitations in the scalability of quantum annealing, proposing a novel approach to tackle NP-hard problems effectively. We will demonstrate the potential of this methodology through a theoretical analysis and formulation of the quantum annealing algorithm, focusing on key parameters and their impact on solution quality and runtime. The ultimate goal is to provide a foundational understanding of applying quantum annealing to combinatorial optimization, paving the way for future developments and practical implementations. This work introduces a new framework for approaching complex optimization problems by harnessing the unique properties of quantum mechanics.