Proof of Avoidability of the Quantum First-Order Transition in Transverse Magnetization in Quantum Annealing of Finite-Dimensional Spin Glasses.

It is rigorously shown that an appropriate quantum annealing for any finite-dimensional spin system has no quantum first-order transition in transverse magnetization. This result can be applied to finite-dimensional spin-glass systems, where the ground state search problem is known to be hard to solve. Consequently, it is strongly suggested that the quantum first-order transition in transverse magnetization is not fatal to the difficulty of combinatorial optimization problems in quantum annealing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]