title: Quantum annealing of a disordered magnet
abstract: Traditional simulated annealing uses thermal fluctuations for convergence in optimization problems. Quantum tunneling provides a different mechanism for moving between states, with the potential for reduced time scales. Thermal and quantum annealing are compared in a model disordered magnet, where the effects of quantum mechanics can be tuned by varying an applied magnetic field. The results indicate that quantum annealing hastens convergence to the optimum state.
authors.affiliation: The James Franck Institute and Department of Physics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. NEC Research Institute, 4 Independence Way, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA.
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brooke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bitko
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Rosenbaum
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aeppli