aiqbench analysis
This research demonstrates a hybrid classical-quantum framework using neutral-atom processors to solve fidelity-constrained entanglement routing in quantum networks. By formulating the pricing problem as a QUBO, the study achieves an optimality gap below 1% on emulators, outperforming simulated-annealing baselines that show gaps up to 6%. While this proof of concept does not yet prove scalability or utility on large-scale hardware, it establishes neutral-atom systems as viable candidates for generating high-quality routing solutions within column-generation architectures.
A Neutral Atom-Based Hybrid Classical-Quantum Approach for the Entanglement Routing Problem
arXiv:2609.37900v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Efficient end-to-end entanglement distribution in quantum information networks requires routing under limited resources and fidelity constraints. We study entanglement routing as a fidelity-constrained unsplittable multicommodity flow problem that maximizes the number of admitted requests. As a proof of concept, we integrate neutral-atom quantum optimization into a hybrid classical--quantum column-generation framework. A classical restricted master problem selects routes, while a pricing problem generates fidelity-feasible paths. We formulate this NP-hard constrained shortest-path pricing problem as a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) problem and address it with hardware-aware register embedding and instance-driven pulse shaping. To our knowledge, this is the first study of neutral-atom quantum optimization as a pricing oracle for fidelity-constrained entanglement routing. On small benchmark instances evaluated with neutral-atom processor emulators, the method, combined with warm-start and post-processing, achieves an optimality gap below 1% across all tested sizes; the selected simulated-annealing route-generation baseline exhibits gaps of up to 6%. These results indicate that the generated bitstrings can provide useful candidate routes for classical refinement within column generation. This proof of concept does not establish quantum utility or scalability; further evaluation on larger instances, against stronger classical baselines, and on quantum hardware is needed.
Abstract:Efficient end-to-end entanglement distribution in quantum information networks requires routing under limited resources and fidelity constraints. We study entanglement routing as a fidelity-constrained unsplittable multicommodity flow problem that maximizes the number of admitted requests. As a proof of concept, we integrate neutral-atom quantum optimization into a hybrid classical--quantum column-generation framework. A classical restricted master problem selects routes, while a pricing problem generates fidelity-feasible paths. We formulate this NP-hard constrained shortest-path pricing problem as a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) problem and address it with hardware-aware register embedding and instance-driven pulse shaping. To our knowledge, this is the first study of neutral-atom quantum optimization as a pricing oracle for fidelity-constrained entanglement routing. On small benchmark instances evaluated with neutral-atom processor emulators, the method, combined with warm-start and post-processing, achieves an optimality gap below 1% across all tested sizes; the selected simulated-annealing route-generation baseline exhibits gaps of up to 6%. These results indicate that the generated bitstrings can provide useful candidate routes for classical refinement within column generation. This proof of concept does not establish quantum utility or scalability; further evaluation on larger instances, against stronger classical baselines, and on quantum hardware is needed.
arXiv:2609.37900 [quant-ph]
(or arXiv:2609.37900v1 [quant-ph] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2609.37900 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)
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