Exponential Spin Embedding for Quantum Computers

The disclosure is in the technical field of circuit-model quantum computation. Generally, it concerns methods to use quantum computers to perform computations on classical spin models, where the classical spin models involve a number of spins that is exponential in the number of qubits that comprise the quantum computer. Examples of such computations include optimization and calculation of thermal properties, but extend to a wide variety of calculations that can be performed using the configuration of a spin model with an exponential number of spins. Spin models encompass optimization problems, physics simulations, and neural networks (there is a correspondence between a single spin and a single neuron). This disclosure has applications in these three areas as well as any other area in which a spin model can be used.