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Chinese Physics B

Progressive quantum algorithm for maximum independent set with quantum alternating operator ansatz

Xiao‐Hui Ni, Ling-Xiao 凌霄 Li 李, Yanqi Song, Zheng-Ping 正平 Jin 金, Sujuan Qin, Fei Gao

Published May 28, 2025• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract The quantum alternating operator ansatz algorithm (QAOA+) is widely used for constrained combinatorial optimization problems (CCOPs) due to its ability to construct feasible solution spaces. In this paper, we propose a progressive quantum algorithm (PQA) to reduce qubit requirements for QAOA+ in solving the maximum independent set (MIS) problem. PQA iteratively constructs a subgraph likely to include the MIS solution of the original graph and solves the problem on it to approximate the global solution. Specifically, PQA starts with a small-scale subgraph and progressively expands its graph size utilizing heuristic expansion strategies. After each expansion, PQA solves the MIS problem on the newly generated subgraph using QAOA+. In each run, PQA repeats the expansion and solving process until a predefined stopping condition is reached. Simulation results show that PQA achieves an approximation ratio of 0.95 using only 5.57% (2.17%) of the qubits and 17.59% (6.43%) of the runtime compared with directly solving the original problem with QAOA+ on Erdös–Rényi (3-regular) graphs, highlighting the efficiency and scalability of PQA.

DOI
10.1088/1674-1056/addd83

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Abstract The quantum alternating operator ansatz algorithm (QAOA+) is widely used for constrained combinatorial optimization problems (CCOPs) due to its ability to construct feasible solution spaces. In this paper, we propose a progressive quantum algorithm (PQA) to reduce qubit requirements for QAOA+ in solving the maximum independent set (MIS) problem. PQA iteratively constructs a subgraph likely to include the MIS solution of the original graph and solves the problem on it to approximate the global solution. Specifically, PQA starts with a small-scale subgraph and progressively expands its graph size utilizing heuristic expansion strategies. After each expansion, PQA solves the MIS problem on the newly generated subgraph using QAOA+. In each run, PQA repeats the expansion and solving process until a predefined stopping condition is reached. Simulation results show that PQA achieves an approximation ratio of 0.95 using only 5.57% (2.17%) of the qubits and 17.59% (6.43%) of the runtime compared with directly solving the original problem with QAOA+ on Erdös–Rényi (3-regular) graphs, highlighting the efficiency and scalability of PQA.
Hadfield et al. proposed a novel Quantum Alternating Operator Ansatz algorithm (QAOA+), and this algorithm has wide applications in solving constrained combinatorial optimization problems (CCOPs) because of the advantages of QAOA+ ansatz in constructing a feasible solution space. In this paper, we propose a Progressive Quantum Algorithm (PQA) with QAOA+ ansatz to solve the Maximum Independent Set (MIS) problem using fewer qubits. The core idea of PQA is to construct a subgraph that is likely to contain the MIS solution of the target graph and then solve the MIS problem on this subgraph to obtain an approximate solution. To construct such a subgraph, PQA starts with a small-scale initial subgraph and progressively expands its graph size utilizing heuristic expansion strategies. After each expansion, PQA solves the MIS problem on the newly generated subgraph. In each run, PQA repeats the expansion and solving process until a predefined stopping condition is reached. Simulation results demonstrate that to achieve an approximation ratio of 0.95, PQA requires only 5.565%5.565\%5.565% (2.170%2.170\%2.170%) of the qubits and 17.59%17.59\%17.59% (6.430%6.430\%6.430%) of the runtime compared with directly solving the original problem using QAOA+ on Erdős-Rényi (3-regular) graphs, highlighting the efficiency of PQA.
Recently, Hadfield et al. proposed the quantum alternating operator ansatz algorithm (QAOA+), an extension of the quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA), to solve constrained combinatorial optimization problems (CCOPs). Compared with QAOA, QAOA+ enables the search for optimal solutions within a feasible solution space by encoding problem constraints into the mixer Hamiltonian, thereby reducing the search space and eliminating the possibility of yielding infeasible solutions. However, QAOA+ may incur high overall gate costs when the mixer is applied to all qubits in each layer, and each mixer is costly to implement. To address this challenge, an adaptive mixer allocation strategy is tailored for QAOA+. The resulting algorithm, which integrates this strategy into the original QAOA+ framework, is referred to as AMA-QAOA+. Unlike QAOA+, AMA-QAOA+ adaptively applies the mixer to a subset of qubits in each layer of the mixer unitary operator based on an evaluation function. The performance of AMA-QAOA+ is evaluated on the maximum independent set problem. Numerical simulation results show that, under the same number of optimization runs, AMA-QAOA+ achieves better solution quality than QAOA+, with the optimal approximation ratio improved by 5.30%5.30\%5.30% on ER random graphs and 5.41%5.41\%5.41% on 3-regular graphs. Moreover, AMA-QAOA+ significantly reduces the CNOT gate consumption, requiring only 15.30%15.30\%15.30% and 25.18%25.18\%25.18% of the CNOT gates used by QAOA+ on ER and 3-regular random graphs, respectively. These results demonstrate that AMA-QAOA+ enhances solution quality and computational efficiency, enabling the design of more compact and resource-efficient quantum circuits.
ABSTRACT Recently, Hadfield et al. proposed the quantum alternating operator ansatz algorithm (QAOA+), an extension of the quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA), to solve constrained combinatorial optimization problems (CCOPs). Compared with QAOA, QAOA+ enables the search for optimal solutions within a feasible solution space by encoding problem constraints into the mixer Hamiltonian, thereby reducing the search space and eliminating the possibility of yielding infeasible solutions. However, QAOA+ may incur high overall gate costs when the mixer is applied to all qubits in each layer, and each mixer is costly to implement. To address this challenge, an adaptive mixer allocation strategy is tailored for QAOA+. The resulting algorithm, which integrates this strategy into the original QAOA+ framework, is referred to as AMA‐QAOA+. Unlike QAOA+, AMA‐QAOA+ adaptively applies the mixer to a subset of qubits in each layer of the mixer unitary operator based on an evaluation function. The performance of AMA‐QAOA+ is evaluated on the maximum independent set problem. Numerical simulation results show that, under the same number of optimization runs, AMA‐QAOA+ achieves better solution quality than QAOA+, with the optimal approximation ratio improved by on Erdős–Rényi random graphs and on 3‐regular graphs. Moreover, AMA‐QAOA+ significantly reduces the CNOT gate consumption, requiring only and of the CNOT gates used by QAOA+ on Erdős–Rényi and 3‐regular random graphs, respectively. These results demonstrate that AMA‐QAOA+ enhances solution quality and computational efficiency, enabling the design of more compact and resource‐efficient quantum circuits.
We investigate a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm for solving the Maximum Independent Set (MIS) problem on regular graphs, combining the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) with a minimal degree classical greedy algorithm. The method leverages pre-computed QAOA angles, derived from depth-ppp QAOA circuits on regular trees, to compute local expectation values and inform sequential greedy decisions that progressively build an independent set. This hybrid approach maintains shallow quantum circuit and avoids instance-specific parameter training, making it well-suited for implementation on current quantum hardware: we have implemented the algorithm on a 20 qubit IQM superconducting device to find independent sets in graphs with thousands of nodes. We perform tensor network simulations to evaluate the performance of the algorithm beyond the reach of current quantum hardware and compare to established classical heuristics. Our results show that even at low depth (p=4p=4p=4), the quantum-enhanced greedy method significantly outperforms purely classical greedy baselines as well as more sophisticated approximation algorithms. The modular structure of the algorithm and relatively low quantum resource requirements make it a compelling candidate for scalable, hybrid optimization in the NISQ era and beyond.
We present a new hybrid, local search algorithm for quantum approximate optimization of constrained combinatorial optimization problems. We focus on the Maximum Independent Set problem and demonstrate the ability of quantum local search to solve large problem instances on quantum devices with few qubits. This hybrid algorithm iteratively finds independent sets over carefully constructed neighborhoods and combines these solutions to obtain a global solution. We study the performance of this algorithm on 3-regular, Community, and Erdős-Rényi graphs with up to 100 nodes.
The maximum-independent set (MIS) problem of graph theory using the quantum alternating operator ansatz is studied. We perform simulations on the Rigetti Forest simulator for the square ring, [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] graphs and analyze the dependence of the algorithm on the depth of the circuit and initial states. The probability distribution of observation of the feasible states representing maximum-independent sets is observed to be asymmetric for the MIS problem, which is unlike the Max-Cut problem where the probability distribution of feasible states is symmetric. For asymmetric graphs, it is shown that the algorithm clearly favors the independent set with the larger number of elements even for finite circuit depth. We also compare the approximation ratios for the algorithm when we choose different initial states for the square ring graph and show that it is dependent on the choice of the initial state.