{
  "abstract": "We demonstrate a hybrid quantum-classical approach for exploring ground-state manifolds of maximum independent set problems, in which quantum hardware supplies the initial solutions and an entirely classical post-processing algorithm expands them, increasing the solution diversity of quantum hardware measurements by up to several orders of magnitude. Quantum optimization devices, while capable of generating high-quality solutions, can suffer from fundamental sampling limitations. This is particularly problematic for applications that strongly depend on a large variety of uncorrelated optimal solutions. We apply the Houdayer cluster update algorithm to systematically expand quantum-generated solution sets through classical post-processing. We validate our approach on a test bed of 43 problem instances from QuEra's Aquila analog annealing device, achieving diversity amplification factors, defined as the increase in the number of distinct solutions at a given set size, of up to 11923x with a median of 24.3x across different problem scales and hardness parameters. Because exact ground-state degeneracies are known for these instances, the recovered fraction of the manifold can be measured rather than bounded: post-processing recovers a median of 21% of the ground-state manifold, and provably all of it for six instances. We also demonstrate that, in some cases, the classical post-processing can discover independent sets larger than those found by the quantum hardware, thus improving on solution quality and not just diversity. While the method is non-ergodic and cannot guarantee complete manifold coverage, it consistently discovers a larger number of high-quality, and in some cases strictly better, configurations than quantum sampling alone. This work demonstrates how simple classical post-processing can enhance the utility of quantum optimization results.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.28528",
  "author_total": 3,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Andrew J. Ochoa"
    },
    {
      "name": "Martin J. A. Schuetz"
    },
    {
      "name": "Helmut G. Katzgraber"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/brypqpaqer9bh.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.28528",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "brypqpaqer9bh",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.28528",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.dis-nn"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.quant-gas"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "math.OC"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "quant-ph"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1702|Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223138109",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.28528",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-23",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/brypqpaqer9bh.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:35:15Z",
      "native_id": "2610.28528",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.28528"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "mathematics",
      "origin": "arxiv:math.OC",
      "subfield": "optimisation-control"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.quant-gas",
      "subfield": "amo"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.dis-nn",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:quant-ph",
      "subfield": "quantum"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Efficient Ground-State Manifold Amplification for Rydberg Atom Arrays via Houdayer Cluster Updates",
  "title_text": "Efficient Ground-State Manifold Amplification for Rydberg Atom Arrays via Houdayer Cluster Updates",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:35:19Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/brypqpaqer9bh",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}