{"id":399,"date":"2022-10-13T19:54:14","date_gmt":"2022-10-13T19:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/ise\/?p=399"},"modified":"2024-12-10T17:06:46","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T17:06:46","slug":"ut-quantum-computing-gets-a-400k-boost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/ise\/ut-quantum-computing-gets-a-400k-boost\/","title":{"rendered":"UT Quantum Computing Gets a $400k Boost"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Suppose you want to divide an established railway system into two train lines. How can you assign train stops to each line in a way that maximizes the number of stations which allow transfers?<\/p>\n<p>This dilemma is a version of the \u201cmax cut\u201d problem, an issue of <a href=\"https:\/\/annealing-cloud.com\/en\/knowledge\/1.html\">combinatorial optimization<\/a> (CO)\u2014that is, finding the combination of points and connections that optimizes certain qualities of a network.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"267\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-full wp-image-607 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/ise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/10\/RebekahHerrman-e1614096790726-267x300-1.png\" alt=\"\" \/>\u201cMax cut is only the most basic example,\u201d said Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) Assistant Professor <a href=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/ise\/faculty\/rebekah-herrman\/\">Rebekah Herrman<\/a>, whose quantum computing research is focused on solving CO problems.<\/p>\n<p>In a CO problem, testing every possible combination to find the best option is so time intensive as to be almost impossible. Even quantum computers can spend a long time on CO problems and only find approximate solutions.<\/p>\n<p>Until recently, the best way to approximate solutions to CO problems was by using the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA), which debuted in 2014. QAOA is a program run on a quantum circuit made up of \u201cgates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA quantum gate has to follow certain properties,\u201d said Herrman, \u201cbut it\u2019s similar to classical logic gates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>An \u201cAND\u201d gate would send a \u201cyes\u201d signal only if all of its inputs say \u201cyes,\u201d for example.<\/p>\n<p>More complicated problems require more gates. Unfortunately, as the number of gates in a circuit increases, errors can sneak through, creating a noisy signal rather than a clear answer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCurrent quantum computing devices are filled with noise,\u201d Herrman said. \u201cA lot of research right now is determining how many times you have to repeat QAOA to get within 10% of the optimum solution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-72 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/ise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/03\/James_Ostrowski.jpg\" alt=\"James Ostrowski\" width=\"265\" height=\"398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/ise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/03\/James_Ostrowski.jpg 400w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/ise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/03\/James_Ostrowski-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 265px) 100vw, 265px\" \/>Herrman and her co-investigator, ISE Dan Doulet Faculty Fellow <a href=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/ise\/faculty\/james-ostrowski\/\">James Ostrowski<\/a>, are determined to improve both the time scale and the quality of CO solutions\u2014and they recently received a $400,000 National Science Foundation grant to do just that.<\/p>\n<p>Their new algorithm, multi-angle QAOA (ma-QAOA), is a game-changer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn average, our modification gives the same result after one iteration that the original gives after three,\u201d said Herrman.<\/p>\n<p>Every CO problem has a unique value called the \u201coperator.\u201d In QAOA, each operator is given an \u201cangle\u201d, or length of time for which to operate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn ma-QAOA, we\u2019re breaking the operator into smaller operators and allowing each smaller operator to be performed for different amounts of time,\u201d said Herrman. \u201cThis makes the algorithm more flexible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For example, ma-QAOA has revealed that some of the gates used by QAOA aren\u2019t necessary.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re noticing that some gates have an angle of zero, so they do nothing,\u201d Herrman said. \u201cWe can remove those gates from the circuit, making the next iteration go faster.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The new funding will allow Herrman and Ostrowski to study ma-QAOA\u2019s calculations in detail and find out how consistently it outperforms QAOA.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe goal of this grant is to understand better why ma-QAOA performs better than the original, then design circuits based on this understanding,\u201d said Herrman. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting because it opens up a whole new area of questions related to quantum algorithms research.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading h4 orange-mark\"><strong>Contact<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Izzie Gall (865-974-7203,\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:egall4@utk.edu\">egall4@utk.edu<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ISE professors Herrman and Ostrowski have received an NSF grant for a modified quantum computing algorithm that solves combinatorial optimization problems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[160,13,16,17],"class_list":["post-399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-full-time-adjunct-faculty","category-research","tag-combinatorial-optimization","tag-james-ostrowski","tag-quantum-computing","tag-rebekah-herrman"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - 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