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arXiv:2607.21940

Proposal for Estimating the Energy Gap of the Transverse-Field Ising Hamiltonian Using a D-Wave Quantum Annealer

Kota Yamada, Yuichiro Matsuzaki

quant-phSubmitted Jul 24, 2026• Announced Jul 27, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

The transverse-field Ising model is a fundamental quantum spin system that captures the competition between quantum fluctuations and interactions, playing a central role in studies of quantum phase transitions and non-equilibrium dynamics. However, classical computations of ground and excited states in large-scale or high-dimensional systems are severely limited by the exponential growth of the Hilbert space. Here, we propose a novel approach using a D-Wave quantum annealer, where a triangular-wave oscillating magnetic field is applied to induce Rabi oscillations, allowing the estimation of energy gaps between the ground and excited states. Unlike conventional quantum annealing methods limited to ground-state searches, this approach can directly access excited-state information. It is potentially applicable to larger systems, providing a new avenue for quantum-device-based simulation. The validity of the method is demonstrated through numerical simulations of relatively small systems.

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The transverse-field Ising model is a fundamental quantum spin system that captures the competition between quantum fluctuations and interactions, playing a central role in studies of quantum phase transitions and non-equilibrium dynamics. However, classical computations of ground and excited states in large-scale or high-dimensional systems are severely limited by the exponential growth of the Hilbert space. Here, we propose a novel approach using a D-Wave quantum annealer, where a triangular-wave oscillating magnetic field is applied to induce Rabi oscillations, allowing the estimation of energy gaps between the ground and excited states. Unlike conventional quantum annealing methods limited to ground-state searches, this approach can directly access excited-state information. It is potentially applicable to larger systems, providing a new avenue for quantum-device-based simulation. The validity of the method is demonstrated through numerical simulations of relatively small systems.
Quantum computation is a promising emerging technology, and by utilizing the principles of quantum mechanics, it is expected to achieve faster computations than classical computers for specific problems. There are two distinct architectures for quantum computation: gate-based quantum computers and quantum annealing. In gate-based quantum computation, we implement a sequence of quantum gates that manipulate qubits. This approach allows us to perform universal quantum computation, yet they pose significant experimental challenges for large-scale integration. On the other hand, with quantum annealing, the solution of the optimization problem can be obtained by preparing the ground state. Conventional quantum annealing devices with transverse-field Ising Hamiltonian, such as those manufactured by D-Wave Inc., achieving around 5000 qubits, are relatively more amenable to large-scale integration but are limited to specific computations. In this paper, we present a practical method for implementing universal quantum computation within the conventional quantum annealing architecture using the transverse-field Ising Hamiltonian. Our innovative approach relies on an adiabatic transformation of the Hamiltonian, changing from transverse fields to a ferromagnetic interaction regime, where the ground states become degenerate. Notably, our proposal is compatible with D-Wave devices, opening up possibilities for realizing large-scale gate-based quantum computers. This research bridges the gap between conventional quantum annealing and gate-based quantum computation, offering a promising path toward the development of scalable quantum computing platforms.
We present an extensive numerical study of the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model in a transverse field. Recent numerical studies of quantum spin glasses have focused on exact diagonalization of the full Hamiltonian for small systems ($\ensuremath{\approx}20$ spins). However, such exact numerical treatments are difficult to apply on larger systems. We propose making an approximation by using only a subspace of the full Hilbert space spanned by low-lying excitations consisting of one-spin-flipped and two-spin-flipped states. The approximation procedure is carried out within the theoretical framework of the Hartree-Fock approximation and configuration interaction. Although not exact, our approach allows us to study larger system sizes comparable to that achievable by state-of-the-art quantum Monte Carlo simulations. We calculate two quantities of interest due to recent advances in quantum annealing, the ground-state energy and the energy gap between the ground and first excited states. For the energy gap, we derive a formula that enables it to be calculated using just the ground-state wave function, thereby circumventing the need to diagonalize the Hamiltonian. We calculate the scalings of the energy gap and the leading correction to the extensive part of the ground-state energy with system size, which are difficult to obtain with current methods.
We introduce quantum fluctuations into the simulated annealing process of optimization problems, aiming at faster convergence to the optimal state. Quantum fluctuations cause transitions between states and thus play the same role as thermal fluctuations in the conventional approach. The idea is tested by the transverse Ising model, in which the transverse field is a function of time similar to the temperature in the conventional method. The goal is to find the ground state of the diagonal part of the Hamiltonian with high accuracy as quickly as possible. We have solved the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation numerically for small size systems with various exchange interactions. Comparison with the results of the corresponding classical (thermal) method reveals that the quantum annealing leads to the ground state with much larger probability in almost all cases if we use the same annealing schedule.
We study the energy gap between the ground state and the first excited state of a mean-field-type non-stoquastic Hamiltonian by a semi-classical analysis. The fully connected mean-field model with ppp-body ferromagnetic interactions under a transverse field has a first-order quantum phase transition for p≥3p\ge 3p≥3. This first-order transition is known to be reduced to second order for p≥5p\ge 5p≥5 by an introduction of antiferromagnetic transverse interactions, which makes the Hamiltonian non-stoquastic. This reduction of the order of transition means an exponential speedup of quantum annealing by adiabatic processes because the first-order transition is shown to have an exponentially small energy gap whereas the second order case does not. We apply a semi-classical method to analytically derive the explicit expression of the rate of the exponential decay of the energy gap at first-order transitions. The result reveals how the property of first-order transition changes as a function of the system parameters. We also derive the exact closed-form expression for the critical point where the first-order transition line disappears within the ferromagnetic phase. These results help us understand how the antiferromagnetic transverse interactions affect the performance of quantum annealing by controlling the effects of non-stoquasticity in the Hamiltonian.
The presence of competing interactions arising from geometry leads to frustration in quantum spin models. As a consequence, the ground state of such systems often displays a large degeneracy that can be lifted by thermal or quantum effects. One such example is the antiferromagnetic Ising model on the kagome lattice. It was shown that while the same model on the triangular lattice is ordered at zero temperature for small transverse field as a result of an order by disorder mechanism, the kagome lattice resists any such effects and exhibits only short range spin correlations and a trivial paramagnetic phase. We embed this model on the latest architecture of D-Wave's quantum annealer, the Advantage2 prototype, which uses the highly connected Zephyr graph. Using advanced embedding and calibration techniques, we are able to embed a kagome lattice with mixed open and periodic boundary conditions of 231 sites on the full graph of the currently available prototype. Through forward annealing experiments, we show that under a finite longitudinal field the system exhibits a one-third magnetization plateau, consistent with a classical spin liquid state of reduced entropy. An anneal-pause-quench protocol is then used to extract an experimental ensemble of states resulting from the equilibration of the model at finite transverse and longitudinal field. This allows us to construct a partial phase diagram and confirm that the system exits the constrained Hilbert space of the classical spin liquid when subjected to a transverse field. We connect our results to previous theoretical results and quantum Monte Carlo simulation, which helps us confirm the validity of the quantum simulation realized here. With these results, we are able to provide an understanding into the nature of the phase diagram of this model while extracting insight into the performance of the D-Wave quantum annealer to simulate nontrivial quantum systems in equilibrium.
In current studies of mean-field quantum spin systems, much attention is placed on the calculation of the ground-state energy and the excitation gap, especially the latter, which plays an important role in quantum annealing. In pure systems, the finite gap can be obtained by various existing methods such as the Holstein-Primakoff transform, while the tunneling splitting at first-order phase transitions has also been studied in detail using instantons in many previous works. In disordered systems, however, it remains challenging to compute the gap of large-size systems with specific realization of disorder. Hitherto, only quantum Monte Carlo techniques are practical for such studies. Recently, Knysh [Nature Comm. 7, 12370 (2016)] proposed a method where the exponentially large dimensionality of such systems is condensed onto a random potential of much lower dimension, enabling efficient study of such systems. Here we propose a slightly different approach, building upon the method of static approximation of the partition function widely used for analyzing mean-field models. Quantum effects giving rise to the excitation gap and nonextensive corrections to the free energy are accounted for by incorporating dynamical paths into the path integral. The time-dependence of the trace of the time-ordered exponential of the effective Hamiltonian is calculated by solving a differential equation perturbatively, yielding a finite-size series expansion of the path integral. Formulae for the first excited-state energy are proposed to aid in computing the gap. We illustrate our approach using the infinite-range ferromagnetic Ising model and the Hopfield model, both in the presence of a transverse field.