Benchmarking quantum computing for combinatorial optimization

Nathan Kittichaikoonkij, Nutthapat Pongtanyavichai, Poopha Suwananek, Kamonluk Suksen, Prabhas Chongstitvatana

Abstract

Quantum computers can be much faster than any classical computers in solving a certain class of problems.  One of an interesting problem is the combinatorial optimisation problem, which is a challenge for classical computer systems.  We encode these problems into the Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO) format and then solve it with quantum solvers.  In this study, we compare the performance of D-Wave's quantum annealing system with classical solvers, namely, Gurobi and Fixstars.  We demonstrate the current capabilities of D-Wave system.