Quantum-Inspired Algorithm for Classical Spin Hamiltonians Based on Matrix Product Operators

TL;DR

This paper introduces a tensor-network based quantum-inspired algorithm for classical spin Hamiltonian optimization, leveraging matrix product operators and spectral filtering to improve solution quality and avoid local minima.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel tensor-network approach using MPOs and power iteration for classical optimization, offering systematic improvement and better minima avoidance compared to existing methods.

Findings

Effective in amplifying ground states via spectral filtering

Outperforms simulated annealing on higher-order Ising models

Provides a scalable, systematic improvement pathway

Abstract

We propose a tensor-network (TN) approach for solving classical optimization problems that is inspired by spectral filtering and sampling on quantum states. We first shift and scale an Ising Hamiltonian of the cost function so that all eigenvalues become non-negative and the ground states correspond to the the largest eigenvalues, which are then amplified by power iteration. We represent the transformed Hamiltonian as a matrix product operator (MPO) and form an immense power of this object via truncated MPO-MPO contractions, embedding the resulting operator into a matrix product state for sampling in the computational basis. In contrast to the density-matrix renormalization group, our approach provides a straightforward route to systematic improvement by increasing the bond dimension and is better at avoiding local minima. We also study the performance of this power method in the context of a higher-order Ising Hamiltonian on a heavy-hexagonal lattice, making a comparison with simulated annealing. These results highlight the potential of quantum-inspired algorithms for solving optimization problems and provide a baseline for assessing and developing quantum algorithms.