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Generalized Quantum Reinforcement Learning with Quantum Technologies.

F. A. Cárdenas-López, Lucas Lamata, J. C. Retamal, E. Solano

Published Sep 22, 2017• 2 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We propose a protocol to perform generalized quantum reinforcement learning with quantum technologies. At variance with recent results on quantum reinforcement learning with superconducting circuits [L. Lamata, Sci. Rep. 7, 1609 (2017)], in our current protocol coherent feedback during the learning process is not required, enabling its implementation in a wide variety of quantum systems. We consider diverse possible scenarios for an agent, an environment, and a register that connects them, involving multiqubit and multilevel systems, as well as open-system dynamics. We finally propose possible implementations of this protocol in trapped ions and superconducting circuits. The field of quantum reinforcement learning with quantum technologies will enable enhanced quantum control, as well as more efficient machine learning calculations.

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We propose a protocol to perform generalized quantum reinforcement learning with quantum technologies. At variance with recent results on quantum reinforcement learning with superconducting circuits [L. Lamata, Sci. Rep. 7, 1609 (2017)], in our current protocol coherent feedback during the learning process is not required, enabling its implementation in a wide variety of quantum systems. We consider diverse possible scenarios for an agent, an environment, and a register that connects them, involving multiqubit and multilevel systems, as well as open-system dynamics. We finally propose possible implementations of this protocol in trapped ions and superconducting circuits. The field of quantum reinforcement learning with quantum technologies will enable enhanced quantum control, as well as more efficient machine learning calculations.
We propose a protocol to perform quantum reinforcement learning with quantum technologies. At variance with recent results on quantum reinforcement learning with superconducting circuits, in our current protocol coherent feedback during the learning process is not required, enabling its implementation in a wide variety of quantum systems. We consider diverse possible scenarios for an agent, an environment, and a register that connects them, involving multiqubit and multilevel systems, as well as open-system dynamics. We finally propose possible implementations of this protocol in trapped ions and superconducting circuits. The field of quantum reinforcement learning with quantum technologies will enable enhanced quantum control, as well as more efficient machine learning calculations.
Superconducting circuit technologies have recently achieved quantum protocols involving closed feedback loops. Quantum artificial intelligence and quantum machine learning are emerging fields inside quantum technologies which may enable quantum devices to acquire information from the outer world and improve themselves via a learning process. Here we propose the implementation of basic protocols in quantum reinforcement learning, with superconducting circuits employing feedback- loop control. We introduce diverse scenarios for proof-of-principle experiments with state-of-the-art superconducting circuit technologies and analyze their feasibility in presence of imperfections. The field of quantum artificial intelligence implemented with superconducting circuits paves the way for enhanced quantum control and quantum computation protocols.
Many challenges arising in Quantum Technology can be successfully addressed using a set of machine learning algorithms collectively known as reinforcement learning (RL), based on adaptive decision-making through interaction with the quantum device. After a concise and intuitive introduction to RL aimed at a broad physics readership, we discuss the key ideas and core concepts in reinforcement learning with a particular focus on quantum systems. We then survey recent progress in RL in all relevant areas. We discuss state preparation in few- and many-body quantum systems, the design and optimization of high-fidelity quantum gates, and the automated construction of quantum circuits, including applications to variational quantum eigensolvers and architecture search. We further highlight the interactive capabilities of RL agents, emphasizing recent progress in quantum feedback control and quantum error correction, and briefly discuss quantum reinforcement learning as well as applications to quantum metrology. The review concludes with a discussion of open challenges -- such as scalability, interpretability, and integration with experimental platforms -- and outlines promising directions for future research. Throughout, we highlight experimental implementations that exemplify the increasing role of reinforcement learning in shaping the development of quantum technologies.
Quantum machine learning has emerged as a promising paradigm that could accelerate machine learning calculations. Inside this field, quantum reinforcement learning aims at designing and building quantum agents that may exchange information with their environment and adapt to it, with the aim of achieving some goal. Different quantum platforms have been considered for quantum machine learning and specifically for quantum reinforcement learning. Here, we review the field of quantum reinforcement learning and its implementation with quantum photonics. This quantum technology may enhance quantum computation and communication, as well as machine learning, via the fruitful marriage between these previously unrelated fields.
As the field of artificial intelligence is pushed forward, the question arises of how fast autonomous machines can learn. Within artificial intelligence, an important paradigm is reinforcement learning, where agents - learning entities capable of decision making - interact with the world they are placed in, called an environment. Thanks to these interactions, agents receive feedback from the environment and thus progressively adjust their behaviour to accomplish a given goal. An important question in reinforcement learning is how fast agents can learn to fulfill their tasks. To answer this question we consider a novel reinforcement learning framework where quantum mechanics is used. In particular, we quantize the agent and the environment and grant them the possibility to also interact quantum-mechanically, that is, by using a quantum channel for their communication. We demonstrate that this feature enables a speed-up in the agent's learning process, and we further show that combining this scenario with classical communication enables the evaluation of such an improvement. This learning protocol is implemented on an integrated re-programmable photonic platform interfaced with photons at telecommunication wavelengths. Thanks to the full tunability of the device, this platform proves the best candidate for the implementation of learning protocols, where a continuous update of the learning process is required.
Realizing the full potential of quantum technologies requires precise real-time control on time scales much shorter than the coherence time. Model-free reinforcement learning promises to discover efficient feedback strategies from scratch without relying on a description of the quantum system. However, developing and training a reinforcement learning agent able to operate in real-time using feedback has been an open challenge. Here, we have implemented such an agent for a single qubit as a sub-microsecond-latency neural network on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). We demonstrate its use to efficiently initialize a superconducting qubit and train the agent based solely on measurements. Our work is a first step towards adoption of reinforcement learning for the control of quantum devices and more generally any physical device requiring low-latency feedback.