We determine the classical and quantum complexities of a specific ensemble of three-satisfiability problems with a unique satisfying assignment for up to $N=100$ and $80$ variables, respectively. In the classical limit, we employ generalized ensemble techniques and measure the time that a Markovian Monte Carlo process spends in searching classical ground states. In the quantum limit, we determine the maximum finite correlation length along a quantum adiabatic trajectory determined by the linear sweep of the adiabatic control parameter in the Hamiltonian composed of the problem Hamiltonian and the constant transverse field Hamiltonian. In the median of our ensemble, both complexities diverge exponentially with the number of variables. Hence, standard, conventional adiabatic quantum computation fails to reduce the computational complexity to polynomial. Moreover, the growth-rate constant in the quantum limit is 3.8 times as large as the one in the classical limit, making classical fluctuations more beneficial than quantum fluctuations in ground-state searches.

• Received 20 July 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.83.012309