Quantum Annealing of a Disordered Magnet
Justin Brooke, D. Bitko, T. F., T. F. Rosenbaum, G. Aeppli · Science · 1999
Traditional simulated annealing uses thermal fluctuations for convergence in optimization problems. Quantum tunneling provides a different mechanism for moving between states, with the potential for reduced time scales. Thermal and quantum annealing are compared in a model disordered magnet, where the effects of quantum mechanics can be tuned by varying an applied magnetic field. The results indicate that quantum annealing hastens convergence to the optimum state.