Hybrid divide-and-conquer approach for tree search algorithms

Mathys Rennela1, Sebastiaan Brand2, Alfons Laarman2, and Vedran Dunjko2

1Laboratoire de Physique de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure, Inria, CNRS, ENS-PSL, Mines-Paristech, Sorbonne Université, PSL Research University, Paris, France
2LIACS, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

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Abstract

One of the challenges of quantum computers in the near- and mid- term is the limited number of qubits we can use for computations. Finding methods that achieve useful quantum improvements under size limitations is thus a key question in the field. In this vein, it was recently shown that a hybrid classical-quantum method can help provide polynomial speed-ups to classical divide-and-conquer algorithms, even when only given access to a quantum computer much smaller than the problem itself. In this work, we study the hybrid divide-and-conquer method in the context of tree search algorithms, and extend it by including quantum backtracking, which allows better results than previous Grover-based methods. Further, we provide general criteria for polynomial speed-ups in the tree search context, and provide a number of examples where polynomial speed ups, using arbitrarily smaller quantum computers, can be obtained. We provide conditions for speedups for the well known algorithm of DPLL, and we prove threshold-free speed-ups for the PPSZ algorithm (the core of the fastest exact Boolean satisfiability solver) for well-behaved classes of formulas. We also provide a simple example where speed-ups can be obtained in an algorithm-independent fashion, under certain well-studied complexity-theoretical assumptions. Finally, we briefly discuss the fundamental limitations of hybrid methods in providing speed-ups for larger problems.

In the near- and mid-term, with quantum computers having a limited number of qubits, certain problem instances can be too big to be solved on a quantum computer. In this setting it is natural to look at divide-and-conquer strategies: classically split the problem up into parts which are small enough to be solved on the quantum computer and combine the results afterwards. This is called a quantum-classical hybrid algorithm.

Tree search algorithms are particularly suited for this hybrid approach. When the search space is a complete binary tree it is straightforward to split the problem up into parts small enough for a given quantum computer and still be left with a (smaller) quantum speedup on the initial problem. However, in most classical tree search algorithms branches are pruned during the search and a sparser tree remains. In this setting, it becomes less obvious if a small polynomial speedup can still be obtained by a hybrid algorithm.

In this paper, we study this hybrid divide-and-conquer method in the context of tree search algorithms, such as the algorithms developed for Boolean satisfiability. Our main contribution is that we provide sufficient conditions for quantum speedups and apply them to two well-known Boolean satisfiability algorithms.

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Cited by

[1] Casper Gyurik, Chris Cade, and Vedran Dunjko, "Towards quantum advantage via topological data analysis", arXiv:2005.02607, (2020).

[2] Kyle E. C. Booth, Bryan O'Gorman, Jeffrey Marshall, Stuart Hadfield, and Eleanor Rieffel, "Quantum-accelerated constraint programming", Quantum 5, 550 (2021).

[3] Casper Gyurik, Chris Cade, and Vedran Dunjko, "Towards quantum advantage via topological data analysis", Quantum 6, 855 (2022).

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