Quantum approximate optimization algorithm with fixed number of parameters

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Authors: Sebastian Saavedra-Pino, R. Bellido Quispe, G. Alvarado Barrios, E. Solano, J. C. Retamal, F. Albarrán-Arriagada
Cited by: 1

Abstract

We introduce a novel quantum optimization paradigm: the Fixed-Parameter-Count Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (FPC-QAOA). It is a scalable variational framework that maintains a constant number of trainable parameters regardless of the number of qubits, Hamiltonian complexity, or circuit depth. By separating schedule function optimization from circuit digitization, FPC-QAOA enables accurate schedule approximations with minimal parameters while supporting arbitrarily deep digitized adiabatic evolutions, constrained only by NISQ hardware capabilities. This separation allows depth to scale without expanding the classical search space, mitigating overparameterization and optimization challenges typical of deep QAOA circuits, such as barren plateaus-like behauvious. We benchmark FPC-QAOA on random MaxCut instances and the Tail Assignment Problem, achieving performance comparable to or better than standard QAOA with nearly constant classical effort and significantly fewer quantum circuit evaluations. Experiments on the IBM Kingston superconducting processor with up to 50 qubits confirm robustness and hardware efficiency under realistic noise. These results position FPC-QAOA as a practical and scalable paradigm for variational quantum optimization on near-term quantum devices.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture Quantum Information and Cryptography Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata

Publication details

Journal / source
EPJ Quantum Technology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication date
13 August 2026
Language
EN