Tag
#quantum chemistry
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- QAOA and VQE: The Variational Algorithms That Define the NISQ Era
Before fault-tolerant quantum computers arrive, the algorithms most likely to demonstrate practical quantum advantage are variational: hybrid quantum-classical loops where a shallow quantum circuit estimates an objective function and a classical optimizer tunes the circuit parameters. VQE targets quantum chemistry; QAOA targets combinatorial optimization. Here is how both work, what they have achieved, and where the honest limits of the approach currently lie.
