The Average Relative Entropy and Transpilation Depth determines the noise robustness in Variational Quantum Classifiers

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Main Authors: Shinde, Aakash Ravindra, van de Griend, Arianne Meijer -, Nurminen, Jukka K.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Shinde, Aakash Ravindra
van de Griend, Arianne Meijer -
Nurminen, Jukka K.
author_facet Shinde, Aakash Ravindra
van de Griend, Arianne Meijer -
Nurminen, Jukka K.
contents Variational Quantum Algorithms (VQAs) have been extensively researched for applications in Quantum Machine Learning (QML), Optimization, and Molecular simulations. Although designed for Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices, VQAs are predominantly evaluated classically due to uncertain results on noisy devices and limited resource availability. Raising concern over the reproducibility of simulated VQAs on noisy hardware. While prior studies indicate that VQAs may exhibit noise resilience in specific parameterized shallow quantum circuits, there are no definitive measures to establish what defines a shallow circuit or the optimal circuit depth for VQAs on a noisy platform. These challenges extend naturally to Variational Quantum Classification (VQC) algorithms, a subclass of VQAs for supervised learning. In this article, we propose a relative entropy-based metric to verify whether a VQC model would perform similarly on a noisy device as it does on simulations. We establish a strong correlation between the average relative entropy difference in classes, transpilation circuit depth, and their performance difference on a noisy quantum device. Our results further indicate that circuit depth alone is insufficient to characterize shallow circuits. We present empirical evidence to support these assertions across a diverse array of techniques for implementing VQC, datasets, and multiple noisy quantum devices.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_21300
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Average Relative Entropy and Transpilation Depth determines the noise robustness in Variational Quantum Classifiers
Shinde, Aakash Ravindra
van de Griend, Arianne Meijer -
Nurminen, Jukka K.
Quantum Physics
Machine Learning
Variational Quantum Algorithms (VQAs) have been extensively researched for applications in Quantum Machine Learning (QML), Optimization, and Molecular simulations. Although designed for Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices, VQAs are predominantly evaluated classically due to uncertain results on noisy devices and limited resource availability. Raising concern over the reproducibility of simulated VQAs on noisy hardware. While prior studies indicate that VQAs may exhibit noise resilience in specific parameterized shallow quantum circuits, there are no definitive measures to establish what defines a shallow circuit or the optimal circuit depth for VQAs on a noisy platform. These challenges extend naturally to Variational Quantum Classification (VQC) algorithms, a subclass of VQAs for supervised learning. In this article, we propose a relative entropy-based metric to verify whether a VQC model would perform similarly on a noisy device as it does on simulations. We establish a strong correlation between the average relative entropy difference in classes, transpilation circuit depth, and their performance difference on a noisy quantum device. Our results further indicate that circuit depth alone is insufficient to characterize shallow circuits. We present empirical evidence to support these assertions across a diverse array of techniques for implementing VQC, datasets, and multiple noisy quantum devices.
title The Average Relative Entropy and Transpilation Depth determines the noise robustness in Variational Quantum Classifiers
topic Quantum Physics
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.21300