Enhancing variational quantum algorithms by balancing training on classical and quantum hardware

Abstract: Quantum computers offer a promising route to tackling problems that are classically intractable such as in prime-factorization, solving large-scale linear algebra and simulating complex quantum systems, but require fault-tolerant quantum hardware. On the other hand, variational quantum algorithms (VQAs) have the potential to provide a near-term route to quantum utility or advantage, and is usually constructed by using parametrized quantum circuits (PQCs) in combination with a classical optimizer for training. Although VQAs have been proposed for a multitude of tasks such as ground-state estimation, combinatorial optimization and unitary compilation, there remain major challenges in its trainability and resource costs on quantum hardware. Here we address these challenges by adopting Hardware Efficient and dynamical LIe algebra Supported Ansatz (HELIA), and propose two training schemes that combine an existing g-sim method (that uses the underlying group structure of the operators) and the Parameter-Shift Rule (PSR). Our improvement comes from distributing the resources required for gradient estimation and training to both classical and quantum hardware. We numerically test our proposal for ground-state estimation using Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE) and classification of quantum phases using quantum neural networks. Our methods show better accuracy and success of trials, and also need fewer calls to the quantum hardware on an average than using only PSR (upto 60% reduction), that runs exclusively on quantum hardware. We also numerically demonstrate the capability of HELIA in mitigating barren plateaus, paving the way for training large-scale quantum models.