Nonequilibrium work performed in quantum annealing

TL;DR

This paper investigates the work statistics in quantum annealing processes, revealing symmetries and relationships that enhance understanding of nonequilibrium quantum systems and could improve quantum computation methods.

Contribution

It introduces an analysis of work distribution in quantum annealing using the Jarzynski equality, highlighting gauge symmetry effects and their implications for quantum optimization.

Findings

Work distribution analyzed via Jarzynski equality.

Gauge symmetry relates different quantum annealing targets.

Results contribute to understanding nonequilibrium quantum behavior.

Abstract

Quantum annealing is a generic solver of classical optimization problems that makes full use of quantum fluctuations. We consider work statistics given by a repetition of quantum annealing processes by employing the Jarzynski equality proposed in nonequilibrium statistical physics. In particular, we analyze the distribution of the work performed by a transverse field. A special symmetry, gauge symmetry, leads to a non-trivial relationship between quantum annealing toward different targets in the theory of spin glasses. We believe that our results will be a step toward an alternative realization of efficient quantum computation as well as our better understanding of nonequilibrium behavior of systems under quantum control.