Classical Simulated Annealing Using Quantum Analogues

TL;DR

This paper explores classical analogues to quantum tunneling, such as multiple spin flips and modified acceptance probabilities, to enhance simulated annealing performance on Ising models, especially for long anneals.

Contribution

It introduces classical methods mimicking quantum effects to improve simulated annealing, highlighting their benefits under specific conditions.

Findings

Multiple spin flips can improve annealing performance.

Modified acceptance probabilities mimic quantum tunneling.

Advantages are observed mainly for long annealing times.

Abstract

In this paper we consider the use of certain classical analogues to quantum tunneling behavior to improve the performance of simulated annealing on a discrete spin system of the general Ising form. Specifically, we consider the use of multiple simultaneous spin flips at each annealing step as an analogue to quantum spin coherence as well as modifications of the Boltzmann acceptance probability to mimic quantum tunneling. We find that the use of multiple spin flips can indeed be advantageous under certain annealing schedules, but only for long anneal times.