Expressivity limits in quantum walk-based optimization

Quantum algorithms have emerged as a promising tool to solve combinatorial optimization problems. The quantum walk optimization algorithm (QWOA) is one such variational approach that has recently gained attention. In the broader context of variational quantum algorithms (VQAs), understanding the expressivity of the ansatz has proven critical for evaluating their performance. A key method to study this aspect involves analyzing the dimension of the dynamic Lie algebra (DLA). In this work, we derive novel upper bounds on the DLA dimension for QWOA applied to arbitrary optimization problems. Specifically, we show that the DLA dimension scales at most quadratically with the number of distinct eigenvalues of the problem Hamiltonian. As a consequence, our bound guarantees a polynomial DLA dimension with respect to the input size for optimization problems in the class $\mathsf{NPO}\text{-}\mathsf{PB}$. This result, coupled with recently established performance bounds for QWOA, allows us to identify complexity-theoretic conditions under which QWOA must be overparameterized to obtain optimal or approximate solutions for $\mathsf{NPO}\text{-}\mathsf{PB}$ problems.