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Main Authors: Mozakka, Masih, Heidari, Mohsen
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.12387
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author Mozakka, Masih
Heidari, Mohsen
author_facet Mozakka, Masih
Heidari, Mohsen
contents Feedback-based methods have gained significant attention as an alternative training paradigm for the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) in solving combinatorial optimization problems such as MAX-CUT. In particular, Quantum Lyapunov Control (QLC) employs feedback-driven control laws that guarantee monotonic non-decreasing objective values, can substantially reduce the training overhead of QAOA, and mitigate barren plateaus. However, these methods might require long control sequences, leading to sub-optimal convergence rates. In this work, we propose a hybrid method that incorporates per-layer gradient estimation to accelerate the convergence of QLC while preserving its low training overhead and stability guarantees. By leveraging layer-wise gradient information, the proposed approach selects near-optimal control parameters, resulting in significantly faster convergence and improved robustness. We validate the effectiveness of the method through extensive numerical experiments across a range of problem instances and optimization settings.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_12387
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Accelerating Feedback-based Algorithms for Quantum Optimization Using Gradient Descent
Mozakka, Masih
Heidari, Mohsen
Quantum Physics
Machine Learning
Feedback-based methods have gained significant attention as an alternative training paradigm for the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) in solving combinatorial optimization problems such as MAX-CUT. In particular, Quantum Lyapunov Control (QLC) employs feedback-driven control laws that guarantee monotonic non-decreasing objective values, can substantially reduce the training overhead of QAOA, and mitigate barren plateaus. However, these methods might require long control sequences, leading to sub-optimal convergence rates. In this work, we propose a hybrid method that incorporates per-layer gradient estimation to accelerate the convergence of QLC while preserving its low training overhead and stability guarantees. By leveraging layer-wise gradient information, the proposed approach selects near-optimal control parameters, resulting in significantly faster convergence and improved robustness. We validate the effectiveness of the method through extensive numerical experiments across a range of problem instances and optimization settings.
title Accelerating Feedback-based Algorithms for Quantum Optimization Using Gradient Descent
topic Quantum Physics
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.12387