Quantum fluctuation theorem to benchmark quantum annealers

TL;DR

This paper introduces a quantum fluctuation theorem-based method to evaluate and benchmark the performance of quantum annealers, assessing their fidelity and noise characteristics in practical settings.

Contribution

It proposes a novel benchmarking approach using the quantum fluctuation theorem, capable of detecting deviations from ideal quantum annealing in hardware.

Findings

Successfully tested on D-Wave machines

Sensitive to small deviations from ideal annealing

Can distinguish between unital, unitary, and adiabatic dynamics

Abstract

Near term quantum hardware promises unprecedented computational advantage. Crucial in its development is the characterization and minimization of computational errors. We propose the use of the quantum fluctuation theorem to benchmark the performance of quantum annealers. This versatile tool provides simple means to determine whether the quantum dynamics are unital, unitary, and adiabatic, or whether the system is prone to thermal noise. Our proposal is experimentally tested on two generations of the D-Wave machine, which illustrates the sensitivity of the fluctuation theorem to the smallest aberrations from ideal annealing.