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IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering (QCE)

Distributed Quantum Neural Networks on Distributed Photonic Quantum Computing

Kuan‐Cheng Chen, Chen-Yu Liu, Yu Shang, Felix Burt, Kin Kwong Leung

Published Aug 30, 2025• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We introduce a distributed quantum-classical framework that synergizes photonic quantum neural networks (QNNs) with matrix product state (MPS) mapping to achieve parameter-efficient training of classical neural networks. By leveraging universal linear-optical decompositions of$M$-mode interferometers and photon-counting measurement statistics, our architecture generates neural parameters through a hybrid quantum-classical workflow: photonic QNNs with$M(M+1) / 2$trainable parameters produce high-dimensional probability distributions that are mapped to classical network weights via an MPS model with bond dimension$\chi$. Empirical validation on MNIST classification demonstrates that photonic QT achieves an accuracy of$95.50 \% \pm 0.84 \%$using 3,292 parameters ($\chi=10$), compared to$96.89 \% \pm 0.31 \%$for classical baselines with$\mathbf{6, 6 9 0}$parameters. Moreover, a ten-fold compression ratio is achieved at$\chi=4$, with a relative accuracy loss of less than 3 %. The framework outperforms classical compression techniques (weight sharing/pruning) by$6-12 \%$absolute accuracy while eliminating quantum hardware requirements during inference through classical deployment of compressed parameters. Simulations incorporating realistic photonic noise demonstrate the framework's robustness to near-term hardware imperfections. Ablation studies confirm quantum necessity - replacing photonic QNNs with random inputs collapses accuracy to chance level$(10.0 \% \pm 0.5 \%)$. Photonic quantum computing room-temperature operation, inherent scalability through spatial mode multiplexing, and HPC-integrated architecture establish a practical pathway for distributed quantum machine learning, combining the expressivity of photonic Hilbert spaces with the deployability of classical neural networks.

DOI
10.1109/qce65121.2025.00165

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We report on a gate-based variational quantum classifier implemented with single photons and probabilistic gates, to emulate the standard quantum circuit model framework. We evaluate the expressive power of two deployable quantum neural networks (QNNs) by computing their effective dimension, a capacity measure grounded in a proven generalization-error bound, and compare them with classical artificial neural networks (ANNs) of equivalent trainable-parameter count. Supervised binary classification tasks are used to benchmark performance across photonic and superconducting QNNs, both of which exhibit superior converged (lower) cross-entropy loss and (higher) prediction accuracy relative to matched-parameter ANNs. For a nonlinearly separable task, our photonic QNN with a single pair of trainable parameters successfully converged (loss 0.04 and accuracy 100%), whereas the equivalent ANN failed to learn the decision boundary, saturating at random-guessing performance. We simulate photonic quantum circuits, training them on the XOR problem and a two-class Iris subset using gradient-free optimization, and assess their robustness to sampling errors under realistic noise processes including photon loss and phase-shifter imperfections. Circuits with comparatively high effective dimension were deployed remotely on a six-qubit photonic quantum processor, achieving classification accuracies of up to 100% in both online and offline learning settings. Notably, even the simplest QNN deployed, with just two trainable parameters, successfully solved tasks that classically require ANNs with at least quadruple the number of parameters, suggesting an emergent algorithmic advantage. Overall, these results demonstrate a clear proof-of-principle that gate-based QNNs can be realized and trained effectively on current photonic hardware, providing proof of algorithmic advantage on a gate-based photonic QNN.
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In this work, we introduce the Federated Quantum-Train (QT) framework, which integrates the QT model into federated learning to leverage quantum computing for distributed learning systems. Quantum client nodes employ Quantum Neural Networks (QNNs) and a mapping model to generate local target model parameters, which are updated and aggregated at a central node. Testing with a VGG-like convolutional neural network on the CIFAR-10 dataset, our approach significantly reduces qubit usage from 19 to as low as 8 qubits while reducing generalization error. The QT method mitigates overfitting observed in classical models, aligning training and testing accuracy and improving performance in highly compressed models. Notably, the Federated QT framework does not require a quantum computer during inference, enhancing practicality given current quantum hardware limitations. This work highlights the potential of integrating quantum techniques into federated learning, paving the way for advancements in quantum machine learning and distributed learning systems.
Quantum Neural Networks (QNNs) represent a compelling convergence of quantum mechanics and machine learning, yet their practical deployment remains constrained by noise, limited qubit counts, and the cost of full quantum execution. Hybrid quantum-classical (HQC) training offers a pragmatic path forward: parameterized quantum circuits (PQCs) process information in exponentially large Hilbert spaces while classical optimizers update parameters via gradient methods accessible on today's hardware. We present a modular HQC training framework, formalising the parameter-shift rule for hardware-compatible gradient estimation, characterising the barren-plateau phenomenon through a variance-decay analysis, and introducing noise-aware training strategies for NISQ devices. Empirical results from state-vector and shot-based simulation confirm measurable quantum advantage on quantum-structured tasks, with the phase classification benchmark improving +12.1% over a classical MLP baseline. The accompanying open-source library provides a clean abstraction between quantum simulation and classical optimisation, serving as a foundation for near-term quantum machine learning research.
Photonic quantum computing is a promising platform for scalable quantum machine learning, but designing effective hybrid architectures remains challenging under hardware and optimization constraints. Existing approaches rely on manually tuned architectures that fail to account for the collaboration between classical preprocessing, phase encoding, and photonic circuit structure, limiting both accuracy and hardware compatibility. In this paper, we propose a neural architecture search framework for hybrid photonic quantum-classical models that combines genetic algorithm-based search with learnable quantum phase encoding to systematically explore the joint design space of classical and quantum components. Our framework encodes 19 hyperparameters across six gene groups and evolves a population of hybrid architectures using group-based crossover, per-gene mutation, and elitism, evaluating each candidate on a short training budget before full retraining of the best found design. We evaluate our framework on two image classification benchmarks, Digits and MNIST, achieving final validation accuracies of 99.44% and 98.78%, respectively, with first-principles execution time estimates on the Quandela Ascella photonic QPU projecting single-image inference at ~67 ms (Digits) and ~149 ms (MNIST). Our quantum contribution analysis further shows that the photonic layer extracts non-redundant features orthogonal to the classical pathway, providing a measurable accuracy advantage over classical-only baselines. Our results demonstrate that automated architecture search is both practical and impactful for hybrid photonic systems, opening the way for systematic design space exploration of quantum AI on photonic devices.
As the boundaries of quantum computing continue to expand, its intersection with artificial intelligence (AI) is opening new avenues for computational efficiency, model expressiveness, and problem-solving. One such intersection is the emergence of quantum neural networks (QNNs), which synergize the principles of quantum mechanics with classical machine learning frameworks. The practical realization of QNNs, however, is constrained by today’s noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices, characterized by limited qubit counts, decoherence, and noise. This chapter explores how QNNs can be implemented and trained effectively on near-term hardware. We review current quantum computing technologies, examine the architecture of QNNs, discuss hybrid quantum-classical training strategies, and present a practical case study on digit classification. We also review implementation tools such as Qiskit, PennyLane, and TensorFlow Quantum. The chapter concludes with an outlook on future directions and ongoing challenges in realizing scalable, reliable QNNs.