# Gaussian Optical Ising Machines

## TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that simplified Gaussian optical Ising machines can effectively find low-energy states with success probabilities comparable to more complex systems, enabling larger and more practical implementations.

## Contribution

It introduces simplified Gaussian dynamics for optical Ising machines and proposes designs without parametric gain that maintain high performance.

## Key findings

- Gaussian dynamics suffice for high success probabilities
- Simplified designs remove the need for parametric gain
- Potential for larger, scalable optical Ising machines

## Abstract

It has recently been shown that optical parametric oscillator (OPO) Ising machines, consisting of coupled optical pulses circulating in a cavity with parametric gain, can be used to probabilistically find low-energy states of Ising spin systems. In this work, we study optical Ising machines that operate under simplified Gaussian dynamics. We show that these dynamics are sufficient for reaching probabilities of success comparable to previous work. Based on this result, we propose modified optical Ising machines with simpler designs that do not use parametric gain yet achieve similar performance, thus suggesting a route to building much larger systems.