Benchmark: Q-score
Benchmarks / Application level (algorithms and use cases)
The largest MaxCut problem a quantum processor solves effectively with QAOA, as a hardware-agnostic and scalable score.
- Level
- Application level (algorithms and use cases)
- Maintained by
- Proposed by Martiel, Ayral and Allouche (2021) as the Atos Q-score.
- European
- Yes: Named the Atos Q-score by its authors; EVIDEN, an Atos business, is a BACQ partner (BACQ paper).
- Reference
- https://arxiv.org/abs/2102.12973
How it is measured
MaxCut instances of growing size are solved with QAOA and compared with random and optimal solutions; the score is the largest size that passes.
Limitations and criticisms
- A single application (MaxCut with QAOA).
Used in European procurements
- Used in: EuroHPC procurement EuroQCS-France (now Lucy) (Required in the benchmark suite (scored under the award criteria))
- Used in: EuroHPC procurement EuroSSQ-HPC (Required in the benchmark suite (scored under the award criteria))
As the tender documents state; how a benchmark is weighted against others is described in each procurement.
Sources
- S. Martiel, T. Ayral, C. Allouche (2021). Benchmarking quantum co-processors in an application-centric, hardware-agnostic and scalable way. IEEE Transactions on Quantum Engineering, DOI 10.1109/TQE.2021.3090207; arXiv:2102.12973. Read: abstract page, retrieved 2026-10-23.