Quantum Annealing Algorithms for Estimating Ising Partition Functions

Abstract

Estimating partition functions of Ising spin glasses is a cornerstone of statistical physics and computational science, yet it remains classically challenging due to its $\#$P-hard complexity. While Jarzynski's equality offers a theoretical pathway, its practical application is crippled at low temperatures by rare, divergent statistical fluctuations. Here, we introduce a quantum protocol that overcomes this fundamental limitation by synergizing reverse quantum annealing with optimized nonequilibrium initial distributions. Our method dramatically suppresses the estimator variance, achieving saturation in the low-temperature regime where existing methods fail. Numerical benchmarks on the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick spin glass and the 3-SAT problem demonstrate that our protocol reduces computational scaling exponents by over an order of magnitude (e.g., from $\sim 8.5$ to $\sim 0.5$), despite retaining exponential system-size dependence. Crucially, our protocol circumvents stringent adiabatic constraints, making it feasible for near-term quantum devices like superconducting qubits, trapped ions, and Rydberg atom arrays. This work provides a methodological framework for quantum-enhanced estimation in spin glass thermodynamics and beyond by harnessing non-adiabatic quantum dynamics to address a classically difficult problem.