AutoQResearch: LLM-Guided Closed-Loop Policy Search for Adaptive Variational Quantum Optimization

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Sharma, Monit, Lau, Hoong Chuin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Sharma, Monit
Lau, Hoong Chuin
author_facet Sharma, Monit
Lau, Hoong Chuin
contents Configuring variational quantum algorithms for combinatorial optimization remains a difficult, expert-driven process requiring coordinated choices over solver family, ansatz, objective, and optimizer. We present AutoQResearch, an LLM-guided closed-loop experimentation framework that casts this task as sequential policy search over a curated design space. Instead of a single static configuration, the framework searches for adaptive solver-control policies that condition future decisions on diagnostics such as feasibility, optimality gap, and convergence stagnation. The system operates through a structured workflow: an LLM agent edits a small policy surface under a fixed evaluation harness, candidate policies are screened using cheap scout evaluations, and only the strongest candidates are promoted to full confirmation. This enables controlled autonomous exploration while guarding against proxy overfitting and unstable selection. We evaluate the framework on Maximum Independent Set (MIS) and the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP). On MIS instances (16--64 vertices), discovered policies substantially outperform static baselines and reveal scale-dependent behavior: CVaR objectives are effective at small scale, while QRAO-based qubit compression provides the most effective explored scaling path. On CVRP curricula (8--12 customers) and a held-out E-n13-k4 benchmark, the framework discovers adaptations involving sampling budget, penalty design, and hybrid repair protocols, yielding high-quality solutions. Methodologically, we find that staged confirmation is essential: cheap proxy evaluations can materially misestimate policy quality and even invert candidate rankings. Overall, the paper positions AutoQResearch as a benchmarked quantum--GenAI co-design workflow for autonomous solver discovery in variational quantum optimization.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_24283
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle AutoQResearch: LLM-Guided Closed-Loop Policy Search for Adaptive Variational Quantum Optimization
Sharma, Monit
Lau, Hoong Chuin
Quantum Physics
Configuring variational quantum algorithms for combinatorial optimization remains a difficult, expert-driven process requiring coordinated choices over solver family, ansatz, objective, and optimizer. We present AutoQResearch, an LLM-guided closed-loop experimentation framework that casts this task as sequential policy search over a curated design space. Instead of a single static configuration, the framework searches for adaptive solver-control policies that condition future decisions on diagnostics such as feasibility, optimality gap, and convergence stagnation. The system operates through a structured workflow: an LLM agent edits a small policy surface under a fixed evaluation harness, candidate policies are screened using cheap scout evaluations, and only the strongest candidates are promoted to full confirmation. This enables controlled autonomous exploration while guarding against proxy overfitting and unstable selection. We evaluate the framework on Maximum Independent Set (MIS) and the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP). On MIS instances (16--64 vertices), discovered policies substantially outperform static baselines and reveal scale-dependent behavior: CVaR objectives are effective at small scale, while QRAO-based qubit compression provides the most effective explored scaling path. On CVRP curricula (8--12 customers) and a held-out E-n13-k4 benchmark, the framework discovers adaptations involving sampling budget, penalty design, and hybrid repair protocols, yielding high-quality solutions. Methodologically, we find that staged confirmation is essential: cheap proxy evaluations can materially misestimate policy quality and even invert candidate rankings. Overall, the paper positions AutoQResearch as a benchmarked quantum--GenAI co-design workflow for autonomous solver discovery in variational quantum optimization.
title AutoQResearch: LLM-Guided Closed-Loop Policy Search for Adaptive Variational Quantum Optimization
topic Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.24283