Quantum Speedup for Index Modulation

This paper presents a quantum-assisted index modulation for next-generation IoT wireless networks. The NP-hard index selection problem is first formulated by a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) problem consisting of constraints of feasible solutions. To minimize the number of qubits required for a quantum circuit, this formulation is then simplified by a dictionary-based approach that partially exploits a classical computer. For both formulations, the numbers of required qubits and non-zero elements in QUBO matrices are analyzed algebraically, and found to be in close agreement with the actual measurement. It is observed that the Grover adaptive search can provide the quantum speedup for the index selection problem. This promising result implies that the on-off structure of index modulation is suitable for quantum computation, and future fault-tolerant quantum computers may be useful for obtaining high-performance index activation patterns.