Analog Counterdiabatic Quantum Computing

TL;DR

This paper introduces analog counterdiabatic quantum computing (ACQC), a method designed to improve quantum optimization on neutral-atom processors by reducing non-adiabatic errors, demonstrated on the maximum independent set problem with up to 100 qubits.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel ACQC protocol tailored for analog quantum devices, enhancing performance in combinatorial optimization tasks beyond existing adiabatic methods.

Findings

Successful experimental application to the maximum independent set problem with 100 qubits.

Demonstrated enhancement in approximation ratio with shorter evolution times.

ACQC shows potential for achieving quantum advantage in industry-relevant problems.

Abstract

We propose analog counterdiabatic quantum computing (ACQC) to tackle combinatorial optimization problems on neutral-atom quantum processors. While these devices allow for the use of hundreds of qubits, adiabatic quantum computing struggles with non-adiabatic errors, which are inevitable due to the hardware's restricted coherence time. We design counterdiabatic protocols to circumvent those limitations via ACQC on analog quantum devices with ground-Rydberg qubits. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our paradigm, we experimentally apply it to the maximum independent set (MIS) problem with up to 100 qubits and show an enhancement in the approximation ratio with a short evolution time. We believe ACQC establishes a path toward quantum advantage for a variety of industry use cases.