Quantum simulated annealing
Abstract
The question of whether or not quantum computers can efficiently solve NP-complete problems is open, although indications are that BQP does not contain NP. Still, many of these problems are natural candidates for solution on quantum computers. We outline a thermodynamical formalism for the traveling salesman problem which allows for its expected polytime solution on a quantum computer with probability arbitrarily close to unity, given sufficient energy resources and subject to a weak nondegeneracy constraint on the distances. Applications to other problems are also discussed.
Cite
@article{arxiv.quant-ph/0012112,
title = {Quantum simulated annealing},
author = {Steve Huntsman},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:quant-ph/0012112},
year = {2007}
}
Comments
5 pages, pdf only [Finally deleted a blooper paragraph about expected runtimes that is only true for Euclidean TSP and has a bum eqn anyway. Does not affect anything that matters (temperature v precision etc)]