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THU: Thursday Contributed Sessions

THU 6: Quantum Computing and Communication: Contributed Session II (Concepts)

THU 6.1: Talk

Thursday, September 11, 2025, 14:15–14:30, ZHG007

Quantum resource in quantum optimization — •Gopal Chandra Santra^1,2,3, Daniel J. Egger⁴, and Philipp Hauke^1,2 — ¹Pitaevskii BEC Center, INO-CNR and Department of Physics, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 14, I-38123 Trento, Italy — ²INFN-TIFPA, Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics and Applications, Via Sommarive 14, I-38123 Trento, Italy — ³Kirchhoff- Institut fur Physik, Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 227, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany — ⁴IBM Quantum, IBM Research Europe - Zurich, Säumerstrasse 4, CH-8803 Rüschlikon, Switzerland

Variational quantum algorithms are promising for solving combinatorial optimization problems on near-term, pre-fault-tolerant quantum hardware. However, to what extent these algorithms harness quantum correlations and whether current quantum devices can provide them remains unclear. This work investigates this open question by examining the roles of entanglement and nonstabilizerness within the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA). To begin, we leverage a strong connection between QAOA and quantum metrology, using quantum squeezing to analyze entanglement through numerical simulations and experiments on IBM quantum hardware. While increasing bipartite entanglement with system size is known to be insufficient for fully unlocking quantum computational advantages, we address this limitation by focusing on genuine multipartite entanglement. Finally, we examine the role of nonstabilizerness in QAOA and investigate how it relates to output fidelity. Our results provide deeper insights into how quantum resources influence quantum optimization.

Keywords: Quantum optimization; Quantum resources; Entanglement; Nonstabilizerness