Effects of Quantum Noise on Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm

Abstract: The quantum-classical hybrid algorithm is an algorithm that holds promise in demonstrating the quantum advantage in NISQ devices. When running such algorithms, effects from quantum noise are inevitable. In our work, we consider a well-known hybrid algorithm, the quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA). We study the effects on QAOA from typical quantum noise channels and produce several numerical results. Our research indicates that the output state fidelity, the cost function, and its gradient obtained from QAOA decrease exponentially with respect to the number of gates and noise strength. Moreover, we find that noise merely flattens the parameter space without changing its structure, so optimized parameters will not deviate from their ideal values. Our result provides evidence for the effectiveness of hybrid algorithms running on NISQ devices.