mlsanityData to 14 Oct 2026

An Introduction to Quantum Reinforcement Learning (QRL)

arXiv 2409.05846 ↗First posted 9 Sep 2024quant-ph cs.AI cs.ETcited by 7

On the map: Deep reinforcement learning methods → Quantum reinforcement learning

Abstract (arXiv)

Recent advancements in quantum computing (QC) and machine learning (ML) have sparked considerable interest in the integration of these two cutting-edge fields. Among the various ML techniques, reinforcement learning (RL) stands out for its ability to address complex sequential decision-making problems. RL has already demonstrated substantial success in the classical ML community. Now, the emerging field of Quantum Reinforcement Learning (QRL) seeks to enhance RL algorithms by incorporating principles from quantum computing. This paper offers an introduction to this exciting area for the broader AI and ML community.

Key facts. Cited by 7 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). Placed in Quantum reinforcement learning, one of 15 directions in Deep reinforcement learning methods. Builds on 27 of its 43 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 9 Sep 2024.

Builds on

27 of 43 references.

Closest ancestors · 3

Same direction, newest first

  1. 2024Differentiable Quantum Architecture Search in Asynchronous Quantum Reinforcement Learning25 Jul
  2. 2024Trainability issues in quantum policy gradients13 Jun
  3. 2024Quantum Advantage Actor-Critic for Reinforcement Learning13 Jan

Other references · 24

  1. 2016Asynchronous Methods for Deep Reinforcement Learningcited by 2,258
  2. 2020The power of quantum neural networkscited by 379
  3. 2021Generalization in quantum machine learning from few training datacited by 216
  4. 2019Variational Quantum Circuits for Deep Reinforcement Learningcited by 167
  5. 2017Deep Neuroevolution: Genetic Algorithms Are a Competitive Alternative for Training Deep Neural Networks for Reinforcement Learningcited by 150
  6. 2020Quantum Long Short-Term Memorycited by 120
  7. 2021Parametrized quantum policies for reinforcement learningcited by 90
  8. 2020Reinforcement Learning with Quantum Variational Circuitscited by 77
  9. 2020Quantum Convolutional Neural Networks for High Energy Physics Data Analysiscited by 64
  10. 2021The Dawn of Quantum Natural Language Processingcited by 61
  11. 2022A Survey on Quantum Reinforcement Learningcited by 53
  12. 2021An end-to-end trainable hybrid classical-quantum classifiercited by 51
12 more
  1. 2021Variational Quantum Reinforcement Learning via Evolutionary Optimizationcited by 50
  2. 2022When BERT Meets Quantum Temporal Convolution Learning for Text Classification in Heterogeneous Computingcited by 40
  3. 2021QTN-VQC: An End-to-End Learning framework for Quantum Neural Networkscited by 27
  4. 2022PQLM -- Multilingual Decentralized Portable Quantum Language Model for Privacy Protectioncited by 26
  5. 2022Quantum deep recurrent reinforcement learningcited by 24
  6. 2024Learning to Program Variational Quantum Circuits with Fast Weightscited by 24
  7. 2023Applying QNLP to sentiment analysis in financecited by 23
  8. 2023Asynchronous training of quantum reinforcement learningcited by 20
  9. 2022Reservoir Computing via Quantum Recurrent Neural Networkscited by 14
  10. 2023Efficient quantum recurrent reinforcement learning via quantum reservoir computingcited by 14
  11. 2023Differentiable Quantum Architecture Search for Quantum Reinforcement Learningcited by 13
  12. 2023Quantum Multi-Agent Actor-Critic Networks for Cooperative Mobile Access in Multi-UAV Systemscited by 5

Built on by

Cited by year (2026 to 14 Oct)

Citing papers per year: 2025: 5; 2026: 2.

7 papers.

  1. 2025PennyCoder: Efficient Domain-Specific LLMs for PennyLane-Based Quantum Code Generationcited by 6
  2. 2025Quantum-Efficient Reinforcement Learning Solutions for Last-Mile On-Demand Deliverycited by 1
  3. 2025Hybrid Quantum-Classical Policy Gradient for Adaptive Control of Cyber-Physical Systems: A Comparative Study of VQC vs. MLPcited by 0
  4. 2025Formal Verification of Noisy Quantum Reinforcement Learning Policiescited by 0
  5. 2025Agent policies from higher-order causal functionscited by 0
  6. 2026Securing SIM-Assisted Wireless Networks via Quantum Reinforcement Learningcited by 0
  7. 2026Enhanced Reinforcement Learning-based Process Synthesis via Quantum Computingcited by 0

Similar, not cited

Close in wording, no citation either way

  1. 2024Quantum framework for Reinforcement Learning: Integrating Markov decision process, quantum arithmetic, and trajectory search
  2. 2026Reinforcement Learning for Quantum Technology
  3. 2026Quantum vs. Classical Machine Learning: A Unified Empirical Comparison
  4. 2026MADQRL: Distributed Quantum Reinforcement Learning Framework for Multi-Agent Environments
  5. 2024Quantum Machine Learning Architecture Search via Deep Reinforcement Learning
  6. 2025From Classical Data to Quantum Advantage -- Quantum Policy Evaluation on Quantum Hardware
  7. 2025Benchmarking Quantum Reinforcement Learning
  8. 2025Dissecting Quantum Reinforcement Learning: A Systematic Evaluation of Key Components