Optimality and annealing path planning of dynamical analog solvers

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Zhou, Shu, Wong, K. Y. Michael, Wang, Juntao, Hui, David Shui Wing, Ebler, Daniel, Sun, Jie
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Zhou, Shu
Wong, K. Y. Michael
Wang, Juntao
Hui, David Shui Wing
Ebler, Daniel
Sun, Jie
author_facet Zhou, Shu
Wong, K. Y. Michael
Wang, Juntao
Hui, David Shui Wing
Ebler, Daniel
Sun, Jie
contents Recently proposed analog solvers based on dynamical systems, such as Ising machines, are promising platforms for large-scale combinatorial optimization. Yet, given the heuristic nature of the field, there is very limited insight on optimality guarantees of the solvers, as well as how parameter schedules shape dynamics and outcomes. Here, we develop a dynamical mean-field framework to analyze Ising-machine dynamics for finding the ground state energy of the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick(SK) model of spin glasses and identify mechanisms that enable rapid convergence to provenly near-optimal energies. For a fixed target energy density Ec, we show that solutions are typically reached within O(1) matrix vector multiplications, indicating constant time complexity. We further delineate theoretical limitations arising from different parameter-scheduling trajectories and demonstrate a pronounced benefit of temperature-only annealing for the Coherent Ising Machine. Building on these insights, we propose a general framework for designing optimized parameter schedules, thereby improving the practical effectiveness of Ising machines for complex optimization tasks. The superior performance of the dynamical solvers is illustrated by the attainment of the ground state energy of the SK model.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_13778
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Optimality and annealing path planning of dynamical analog solvers
Zhou, Shu
Wong, K. Y. Michael
Wang, Juntao
Hui, David Shui Wing
Ebler, Daniel
Sun, Jie
Disordered Systems and Neural Networks
Statistical Mechanics
Emerging Technologies
Dynamical Systems
Data Analysis, Statistics and Probability
Recently proposed analog solvers based on dynamical systems, such as Ising machines, are promising platforms for large-scale combinatorial optimization. Yet, given the heuristic nature of the field, there is very limited insight on optimality guarantees of the solvers, as well as how parameter schedules shape dynamics and outcomes. Here, we develop a dynamical mean-field framework to analyze Ising-machine dynamics for finding the ground state energy of the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick(SK) model of spin glasses and identify mechanisms that enable rapid convergence to provenly near-optimal energies. For a fixed target energy density Ec, we show that solutions are typically reached within O(1) matrix vector multiplications, indicating constant time complexity. We further delineate theoretical limitations arising from different parameter-scheduling trajectories and demonstrate a pronounced benefit of temperature-only annealing for the Coherent Ising Machine. Building on these insights, we propose a general framework for designing optimized parameter schedules, thereby improving the practical effectiveness of Ising machines for complex optimization tasks. The superior performance of the dynamical solvers is illustrated by the attainment of the ground state energy of the SK model.
title Optimality and annealing path planning of dynamical analog solvers
topic Disordered Systems and Neural Networks
Statistical Mechanics
Emerging Technologies
Dynamical Systems
Data Analysis, Statistics and Probability
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.13778