Variational quantum algorithms for combinatorial optimization problems

Variational quantum algorithms (VQAs) have the potential to revolutionize how difficult optimization problems are solved, however current quantum devices are limited by the number of quantum bits and architecture. In the near-term it is critical to determine how to integrate classical techniques into quantum algorithms in order to solve relevant, currently intractable problems. This talk will discuss recent results in the intersection of classical optimization techniques, graph theory, and the quantum approximate optimization algorithm. In particular, we will examine new problem encoding methods that can be used in the quantum approximate optimization algorithm.