Udaya Parampalli

Pei-Yong Wang, Muhammad Usman, Udaya Parampalli et al.

Quantum algorithms based on variational approaches are one of the most promising methods to construct quantum solutions and have found a myriad of applications in the last few years. Despite the adaptability and simplicity, their scalability and the selection of suitable ansätzs remain key challenges. In this work, we report an algorithmic framework based on nested Monte-Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) coupled with the combinatorial multi-armed bandit (CMAB) model for the automated design of quantum circuits. Through numerical experiments, we demonstrated our algorithm applied to various kinds of problems, including the ground energy problem in quantum chemistry, quantum optimisation on a graph, solving systems of linear equations, and finding encoding circuit for quantum error detection codes. Compared to the existing approaches, the results indicate that our circuit design algorithm can explore larger search spaces and optimise quantum circuits for larger systems, showing both versatility and scalability.

Abhishek Sawaika, Durga Pritam Suggisetti, Udaya Parampalli et al.

Learning with large-scale datasets and information-critical applications, such as in High Energy Physics (HEP), demands highly complex, large-scale models that are both robust and accurate. To tackle this issue and cater to the learning requirements, we envision using a federated learning framework with a quantum-enhanced model. Specifically, we design a hybrid quantum-classical long-shot-term-memory model (QLSTM) for local training at distributed nodes. It combines the representative power of quantum models in understanding complex relationships within the feature space, and an LSTM-based model to learn necessary correlations across data points. Given the computing limitations and unprecedented cost of current stand-alone noisy-intermediate quantum (NISQ) devices, we propose to use a federated learning setup, where the learning load can be distributed to local servers as per design and data availability. We demonstrate the benefits of such a design on a classification task for the Supersymmetry(SUSY) dataset, having 5M rows. Our experiments indicate that the performance of this design is not only better that some of the existing work using variational quantum circuit (VQC) based quantum machine learning (QML) techniques, but is also comparable ($Δ\sim \pm 1\%$) to that of classical deep-learning benchmarks. An important observation from this study is that the designed framework has $<$300 parameters and only needs 20K data points to give a comparable performance. Which also turns out to be a 100$\times$ improvement than the compared baseline models. This shows an improved learning capability of the proposed framework with minimal data and resource requirements, due to the joint model with an LSTM based architecture and a quantum enhanced VQC.

Abhishek Sawaika, Samuel Yen-Chi Chen, Udaya Parampalli et al.

Reinforcement learning (RL) is one of the most practical ways to learn from real-life use-cases. Motivated from the cognitive methods used by humans makes it a widely acceptable strategy in the field of artificial intelligence. Most of the environments used for RL are often high-dimensional, and traditional RL algorithms becomes computationally expensive and challenging to effectively learn from such systems. Recent advancements in practical demonstration of quantum computing (QC) theories, such as compact encoding, enhanced representation and learning algorithms, random sampling, or the inherent stochastic nature of quantum systems, have opened up new directions to tackle these challenges. Quantum reinforcement learning (QRL) is seeking significant traction over the past few years. However, the current state of quantum hardware is not enough to cater for such high-dimensional environments with complex multi-agent setup. To tackle this issue, we propose a distributed framework for QRL where multiple agents learn independently, distributing the load of joint training from individual machines. Our method works well for environments with disjoint sets of action and observation spaces, but can also be extended to other systems with reasonable approximations. We analyze the proposed method on cooperative-pong environment and our results indicate ~10% improvement from other distribution strategies, and ~5% improvement from classical models of policy representation.

Peiyong Wang, Casey R. Myers, Lloyd C. L. Hollenberg et al.

When applying quantum computing to machine learning tasks, one of the first considerations is the design of the quantum machine learning model itself. Conventionally, the design of quantum machine learning algorithms relies on the ``quantisation" of classical learning algorithms, such as using quantum linear algebra to implement important subroutines of classical algorithms, if not the entire algorithm, seeking to achieve quantum advantage through possible run-time accelerations brought by quantum computing. However, recent research has started questioning whether quantum advantage via speedup is the right goal for quantum machine learning [1]. Research also has been undertaken to exploit properties that are unique to quantum systems, such as quantum contextuality, to better design quantum machine learning models [2]. In this paper, we take an alternative approach by incorporating the heuristics and empirical evidences from the design of classical deep learning algorithms to the design of quantum neural networks. We first construct a model based on the data reuploading circuit [3] with the quantum Hamiltonian data embedding unitary [4]. Through numerical experiments on images datasets, including the famous MNIST and FashionMNIST datasets, we demonstrate that our model outperforms the quantum convolutional neural network (QCNN)[5] by a large margin (up to over 40% on MNIST test set). Based on the model design process and numerical results, we then laid out six principles for designing quantum machine learning models, especially quantum neural networks.

Peiyong Wang, Casey. R. Myers, Lloyd C. L. Hollenberg et al.

Artificial Intelligence (AI), with its multiplier effect and wide applications in multiple areas, could potentially be an important application of quantum computing. Since modern AI systems are often built on neural networks, the design of quantum neural networks becomes a key challenge in integrating quantum computing into AI. To provide a more fine-grained characterisation of the impact of quantum components on the performance of neural networks, we propose a framework where classical neural network layers are gradually replaced by quantum layers that have the same type of input and output while keeping the flow of information between layers unchanged, different from most current research in quantum neural network, which favours an end-to-end quantum model. We start with a simple three-layer classical neural network without any normalisation layers or activation functions, and gradually change the classical layers to the corresponding quantum versions. We conduct numerical experiments on image classification datasets such as the MNIST, FashionMNIST and CIFAR-10 datasets to demonstrate the change of performance brought by the systematic introduction of quantum components. Through this framework, our research sheds new light on the design of future quantum neural network models where it could be more favourable to search for methods and frameworks that harness the advantages from both the classical and quantum worlds.

Shashank Sanjay Bhat, Peiyong Wang, Udaya Parampalli

The Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) is a prominent variational algorithm for solving combinatorial optimization problems such as the Max Cut problem. A key challenge in QAOA is the efficient identification of variational parameters (γ, \{beta}) that yield high-quality solutions. In this work, we investigate swarm optimization methods as robust strategies for exploring the QAOA parameter space. We evaluate Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Fully Informed Particle Swarm Optimization (FIPSO), Quantum Particle Swarm Optimization (QPSO), and an Adam-assisted FIPSO variant on weighted MaxCut instances across multiple system sizes, circuit depths, and noise regimes, including shot noise. Our results show that these methods achieve lower approximation gaps and more stable convergence compared to standard optimizers such as Adam, COBYLA, and SPSA. In particular, we observe that swarm methods maintain superior performance under noisy and shot limited conditions. These findings suggest that population based search is effective for navigating the complex QAOA landscape and is a promising approach for parameter optimization in near-term quantum algorithms.

Abhishek Sawaika, Udaya Parampalli, Rajkumar Buyya

Rapid advancements in cloud based platforms providing access to quantum computing capabilities have opened up several challenges for efficient usage of these highly delicate and costly devices. Although most of the current systems use a priority based access protocol, they are unable to fully support reliable, efficient, and scalable execution of larger-scale applications. To overcome this limitation, we propose a comprehensive solution for efficient allocation of quantum programs to appropriate quantum devices, considering all the relevant cost metrics into account including, fidelity, execution time and communication overhead. We also formulate use-cases for distributed quantum workflow and propose modified graph based algorithms to solve for allocation of such use-cases, assuming a hybrid classical-quantum network. Since hardware advancements in large standalone devices is an ongoing process, it is critical to investigate such distributed workflows to maximize the best utilization of current NISQ devices. Our empirical study shows that the proposed techniques perform better than state-of-the-art methods for almost all evaluation parameters, with average improvements of approximately $5\%$ in execution time, $30\%$ in communication overhead, $40\%$ in wait time and $2\%$ in fidelity, providing better solutions to efficient allocation strategies.

Bacui Li, Tansu Alpcan, Chandra Thapa et al.

By leveraging the principles of quantum mechanics, QML opens doors to novel approaches in machine learning and offers potential speedup. However, machine learning models are well-documented to be vulnerable to malicious manipulations, and this susceptibility extends to the models of QML. This situation necessitates a thorough understanding of QML's resilience against adversarial attacks, particularly in an era where quantum computing capabilities are expanding. In this regard, this paper examines model-independent bounds on adversarial performance for QML. To the best of our knowledge, we introduce the first computation of an approximate lower bound for adversarial error when evaluating model resilience against sophisticated quantum-based adversarial attacks. Experimental results are compared to the computed bound, demonstrating the potential of QML models to achieve high robustness. In the best case, the experimental error is only 10% above the estimated bound, offering evidence of the inherent robustness of quantum models. This work not only advances our theoretical understanding of quantum model resilience but also provides a precise reference bound for the future development of robust QML algorithms.

Ge Yao, Udaya Parampalli

Lightweight stream ciphers are highly demanded in IoT applications. In order to optimize the hardware performance, a new class of stream cipher has been proposed. The basic idea is to employ a single Galois NLFSR with maximum period to construct the cipher. As a representative design of this kind of stream ciphers, Espresso is based on a 256-bit Galois NLFSR initialized by a 128-bit key. The $2^{256}-1$ maximum period is assured because the Galois NLFSR is transformed from a maximum length LFSR. However, we propose a Galois-to-Fibonacci transformation algorithm and successfully transform the Galois NLFSR into a Fibonacci LFSR with a nonlinear output function. The transformed cipher is broken by the standard algebraic attack and the Rønjom-Helleseth attack with complexity $\mathcal{O}(2^{68.44})$ and $\mathcal{O}(2^{66.86})$ respectively. The transformation algorithm is derived from a new Fibonacci-to-Galois transformation algorithm we propose in this paper. Compare to existing algorithms, proposed algorithms are more efficient and cover more general use cases. Moreover, the transformation result shows that the Galois NLFSR used in any Espresso-like stream ciphers can be easily transformed back into the original Fibonacci LFSR. Therefore, this kind of design should be avoided in the future.

Renlord Yang, Toby Murray, Paul Rimba et al.

Ethereum's Gas mechanism attempts to set transaction fees in accordance with the computational cost of transaction execution: a cost borne by default by every node on the network to ensure correct smart contract execution. Gas encourages users to author transactions that are efficient to execute and in so doing encourages node diversity, allowing modestly resourced nodes to join and contribute to the security of the network. However, the effectiveness of this scheme relies on Gas costs being correctly aligned with observed computational costs in reality. In this work, we performed the first large scale empirical study to understand to what degree this alignment exists in practice, by collecting and analyzing Tera-bytes worth of nanosecond-precision transaction execution traces. Besides confirming potential denial-of-service vectors, our results also shed light on the role of I/O in transaction costs which remains poorly captured by the current Gas cost model. Finally, our results suggest that under the current Gas cost model, nodes with modest computational resources are disadvantaged compared to their better resourced peers, which we identify as an ongoing threat to node diversity and network decentralization.