Quantum Annealing and Many-Body Localization

The quantum phase transition separating the Ising spin glass from the quantum paramagnet phase in one-dimension is many-body localized. We study quantum annealing across this transition using the recently developed, dynamical strong-disorder renormalization group approach. The probability of successful adiabatic quantum computation of the spin glass ground-state obeys a universal scaling function of system size, anneal rate, and strength of disorder, which we obtain. Measurement of this universal scaling behavior in a quantum annealing device, for example, would be the first direct test of the activated dynamics of a many-body localized quantum phase transition.