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Entropy

Using Variational Quantum Algorithm to Solve the LWE Problem

Lihui Lv, Bao Yan, Hong Wang, Zhi Ma, Yangyang Fei, Xiangdong Meng, Qianheng Duan

Published Oct 8, 2022• 9 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The variational quantum algorithm (VQA) is a hybrid classical-quantum algorithm. It can actually run in an intermediate-scale quantum device where the number of available qubits is too limited to perform quantum error correction, so it is one of the most promising quantum algorithms in the noisy intermediate-scale quantum era. In this paper, two ideas for solving the learning with errors problem (LWE) using VQA are proposed. First, after reducing the LWE problem into the bounded distance decoding problem, the quantum approximation optimization algorithm (QAOA) is introduced to improve classical methods. Second, after the LWE problem is reduced into the unique shortest vector problem, the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) is used to solve it, and the number of qubits required is calculated in detail. Small-scale experiments are carried out for the two LWE variational quantum algorithms, and the experiments show that VQA improves the quality of the classical solutions.

DOI
10.3390/e24101428

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The variational quantum algorithm (VQA) is a hybrid classical-quantum algorithm. It can actually run in an intermediate-scale quantum device where the number of available qubits is too limited to perform quantum error correction, so it is one of the most promising quantum algorithms in the noisy intermediate-scale quantum era. In this paper, two ideas for solving the learning with errors problem (LWE) using VQA are proposed. First, after reducing the LWE problem into the bounded distance decoding problem, the quantum approximation optimization algorithm (QAOA) is introduced to improve classical methods. Second, after the LWE problem is reduced into the unique shortest vector problem, the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) is used to solve it, and the number of qubits required is calculated in detail. Small-scale experiments are carried out for the two LWE variational quantum algorithms, and the experiments show that VQA improves the quality of the classical solutions.
Abstract Variational Quantum Algorithms (VQAs) offer a promising approach to solving optimization problems on quantum computers. In this paper, we investigate the use of VQAs to solve the Learning With Errors (LWE) problem, a crucial challenge in post-quantum cryptography. We propose a VQA-based algorithm and a Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) for solving the Learning Parity with Noise (LPN) problem, a special case of LWE. We examine the sample complexity of combinatorial optimization methods for LPN and analyze the performance of these two variational quantum algorithms in terms of quantum resources. For the VQA algorithm, both the number of qubits and the circuit depth scale polynomially with the secret key length n . In the case of QAOA, the number of qubits matches the secret key length n , but the CNOT gate count increases exponentially with n . However, numerical simulations of the VQA-based algorithm show that choosing optimal ansatzes and optimization methods can significantly enhance success rates.
The Learning-With-Errors (LWE) problem is a fundamental computational challenge with implications for post-quantum cryptography and computational learning theory. Here we propose a quantum-classical hybrid algorithm with Ising model to address LWE, transforming it into the Shortest Vector Problem and using variable qubits to encode lattice vectors into an Ising Hamiltonian. By identifying low-energy Hamiltonian levels, the solution is extracted, making the method suitable for noisy intermediate-scale quantum devices. The required number of qubits is less than m(m + 1), where m is the number of samples. Our heuristic algorithm’s time complexity depends on the specific quantum eigensolver used to find low-energy levels, and the performance when using the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm is investigated. We validate the algorithm by solving a 2-dimensional LWE problem on a 5-qubit quantum device, demonstrating its potential for solving meaningful LWE instances on near-term quantum devices. Evaluating the security of post-quantum cryptography is critically important to ensure resilience against quantum attacks. In this paper, the authors study a complex computational task at the heart of post-quantum cryptography with a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm, heuristically finding some advantages.
Variational Quantum Algorithms are a major method of harnessing Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum devices to solve classically intractable problems in physics, chemistry, optimization, and machine learning. The current review offers a critical overview of VQAs, with special emphasis on their theoretical backgrounds, algorithmic structures, and application performance within realistic models of noise. Several key variants, such as the Variational Quantum Eigensolver, Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm, and Quantum Neural Networks, are compared in terms of noise robustness, ansatz archi- tecture, and hybrid quantum-classical methods of optimization. Benchmarks in fields such as quantum chemistry, finance modeling, and particles and nuclei physics reveal the poten- tial of VQAs in achieving practical quantum advantage. Fundamentally limiting factors 1such as barren plateaus, optimization overhead, and hardware constraints are considered in addition to mitigation strategies, including adaptive construction of ansatz, informed training in the presence of noise, and quantum error correction using QVECTOR. The paper is concluded with an overview of the scalability and future of VQAs in the direction of transitioning toward fault-tolerant quantum computing.
Quantum algorithms offer a compelling new avenue for addressing difficult NP-complete optimization problems, such as the Generalized Assignment Problem (GAP). Given the operational constraints of contemporary Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices, hybrid quantum-classical approaches, specifically Variational Quantum Algorithms (VQAs) like the Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE), promises to be effective approaches to solve real-world optimization problems. This paper proposes an approach, named VQGAP, designed to efficiently solve the GAP by optimizing quantum resources and reducing the required parametrized quantum circuit width with respect to standard VQE. The main idea driving our proposal is to decouple the qubits of ansatz circuits from the binary variables of the General Assignment Problem, by providing encoding/decoding functions transforming the solutions generated by ansatze in the limited quantum space in feasible solutions in the problem variables space, by exploiting the constraints of the problem. Preliminary results, obtained through both noiseless and noisy simulations, indicate that VQGAP exhibits performance and behavior very similar to VQE, while effectively reducing the number of qubits and circuit depth.
Variational quantum algorithms (VQAs) are a modern family of quantum algorithms designed to solve optimization problems using a quantum computer. Typically VQAs rely on a feedback loop between the quantum device and a classical optimization algorithm. The appeal of VQAs lies in their versatility, resistance to noise, and ability to demonstrate some results even with circuits of small depth. We primarily focus on the algorithm called variational quantum eigensolver (VQE), which takes a qubit Hamiltonian and returns its approximate ground state. We first present our numerical findings regarding VQE applied to two spin models and a variant of the Hubbard model. Next, we briefly touch the topic of quantum machine learning by developing a quantum classifier to partition quantum data. We further study the phenomenon of vanishing derivatives in VQAs, also known as barren plateaus phenomenon. We derive a new lower bound on variance of the derivatives, which depends on the causal structure of the ansatz circuit and the individual terms entering the Pauli decomposition of the problem Hamiltonian. In the final chapter of the thesis, we present our results on bounding the fidelity of experimentally prepared Clifford states using their parent Hamiltonians.