Quantum Annealing: A New Method for Minimizing Multidimensional Functions

Quantum annealing is a new method for finding extrema of multidimensional functions. Based on an extension of classical, simulated annealing, this approach appears robust with respect to avoiding local minima. Further, unlike some of its predecessors, it does not require an approximation to a wavefunction. In this paper, we apply the technique to the problem of finding the lowest energy configurations of Lennard-Jones clusters of up to 19 particles (roughly 10${}^5$ local minima). This early success suggests that this method may complement the widely implemented technique of simulated annealing.