Lecture (Other)

FZJ-2026-05696

http://join2-wiki.gsi.de/foswiki/pub/Main/Artwork/join2_logo100x88.png Introduction to Quantum Annealing

Willsch, M. (Corresponding author)FZJ*

2026

Abstract: This talk is a general introduction to quantum annealing. It covers:<ul> <li>how does a quantum annealer work in theory and what can it be used for;</li> <li>what are the theoretical and practical limitations;</li> <li>how to solve problems on quantum annealers, in particular D-Wave quantum annealers as the one hosted by JSC;</li> <li>the basic information about the architecture of D-Wave quantum annealers;</li> <li>how to formulate an optimization problem as a QUBO or Ising problem;</li> <li>different encoding strategies;</li> <li>how to incorporate constraints;</li> <li>how to embed a (logical) problem onto the given hardware graph (considering physical connectivity);</li> <li>how to send a problem to the quantum annealer using D-Wave's Ocean SDK and how to interpret the response;</li></ul>Finally, some small examples are presented and the talk ends with a short hands-on exercise.

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Contributing Institute(s):

1. Jülich Supercomputing Center (JSC)

Research Program(s):

1. 5111 - Domain-Specific Simulation & Data Life Cycle Labs (SDLs) and Research Groups (POF4-511) (POF4-511)
2. AIDAS - Joint Virtual Laboratory for AI, Data Analytics and Scalable Simulation (aidas_20200731) (aidas_20200731)
3. EPIQ - Entwicklungspartnerschaft Ionenfallen-Quantencomputer in NRW (76.06.04.-000157) (76.06.04.-000157)

Appears in the scientific report 2026

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