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International Conference on Information and Communication Technology Convergence (ICTC)

Design of quantum approximate optimization algorithm for graph multi coloring problem

Gunsik Min, Jun Heo

Published Oct 11, 2023• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We propose a technique to solve the problem of graph multi coloring, which is a problem corresponding to channel allocation problem, with the quantum approximate optimization algorithm(QAOA). QAOA is an algorithm that solve an optimization problem. Among the optimization problems, this algorithm is specialized as solving the quadratic unconstrained binary optimization(QUBO) problems. It is designed to find approximate solutions to combinatorial optimization problems by leveraging quantum resources. In general, it is evaluated to have strengths in optimizing the base of optimal path exploration, small factor resolution, and mass data exploration. The study on coloring problem using digital algorithm has solved the problem of coloring by replacing the graph with simple graph or applying algorithm or reducing the number of nodes. Despite these efforts, however, the digital algorithm that solves the coloring problem studied so far has not achieved satisfactory performance by some limitations. Therefore, in order to overcome these limitations, this paper will show the result of solving multi coloring problem by reducing initial state dimension of the QAOA

DOI
10.1109/ictc58733.2023.10393331

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We propose a technique to solve the problem of graph multi coloring, which is a problem corresponding to channel allocation problem, with the quantum approximate optimization algorithm(QAOA). QAOA is an algorithm that solve an optimization problem. Among the optimization problems, this algorithm is specialized as solving the quadratic unconstrained binary optimization(QUBO) problems. It is designed to find approximate solutions to combinatorial optimization problems by leveraging quantum resources. In general, it is evaluated to have strengths in optimizing the base of optimal path exploration, small factor resolution, and mass data exploration. The study on coloring problem using digital algorithm has solved the problem of coloring by replacing the graph with simple graph or applying algorithm or reducing the number of nodes. Despite these efforts, however, the digital algorithm that solves the coloring problem studied so far has not achieved satisfactory performance by some limitations. Therefore, in order to overcome these limitations, this paper will show the result of solving multi coloring problem by reducing initial state dimension of the QAOA
The design of a good algorithm to solve NP-hard combinatorial approximation problems requires specific domain knowledge about the problems and often needs a trial-and-error problem solving approach. Graph coloring is one of the essential fields to provide an efficient solution for combinatorial applications such as flight scheduling, frequency allocation in networking, and register allocation. In particular, some optimization algorithms have been proposed to solve the multi-coloring graph problems but most of the cases a simple searching method would be the best approach to find an optimal solution for graph coloring problems. However, this naive approach can increase the computation cost exponentially as the graph size and the number of colors increase. To mitigate such intolerable overhead, we investigate the methods to take the advantages of quantum computing properties to find a solution for multi-coloring graph problems in polynomial time. We utilize the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) technique and quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA) to find solutions for three combinatorial applications by both transferring each problem model to the corresponding Ising model and by using the calculated Hamiltonian matrices. Our results demonstrate that VQE and QAOA algorithms can find one of the best solutions for each application. Therefore, our modeling approach with hybrid quantum algorithms can be applicable for combinatorial problems in various fields to find an optimal solution in polynomial time.
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The Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) is a promising variational quantum algorithm introduced to tackle classically intractable combinatorial optimization problems. This tutorial offers a comprehensive, first-principles introduction to QAOA and its properties, focusing on its application to Quadratic and Polynomial Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO and PUBO) problems. The tutorial begins by outlining variational quantum circuits and QUBO problems, focusing on their key properties and the encoding of problem constraints through quadratic penalty terms. Next, it explores the QAOA in detail, covering its Hamiltonian formulation, gate decomposition, and example applications, along with their implementation and performance results. This is followed by an analysis of the algorithm's energy landscape, where proofs are provided for its symmetry and periodicity, and where a resulting parameter space reduction is proposed. Finally, the tutorial extends these concepts to PUBO problems by generalizing the results to higher-order Hamiltonians and discussing the associated symmetries and circuit construction.