Hybrid Quantum-Classical Learning of Nonlinear Entanglement Witnesses via Continuous-Variable Quantum Neural Networks

Abstract

A major challenge in quantum information is characterizing entanglement, for which entanglement witnesses offer effective means of detecting quantum correlations. We introduce a hybrid quantum-classical framework that learns a nonlinear entanglement witness directly from quantum data using continuous-variable quantum neural networks (CV-QNNs). Our architecture combines variational interferometers, squeezers and non-Gaussian Kerr gates with a small classical neural head to output a scalar witness value. Numerical simulations were conducted on two- and three-mode families, including Gaussian and non-Gaussian states in both pure and mixed forms. We observed over 99% classification accuracy and a robust performance gap compared to strong classical baselines, especially when scaling from two to three modes. Robustness to photon loss is further quantified under a finite number of measurement shots. On the theory side, we show that when the quantum measurement stage is informationally complete, the hybrid model can approximate any continuous witness-like functional on compact sets of states.Our findings highlight CV-QNNs as a promising framework for data-driven quantum state characterization and propose specific benchmarks where near-term photonic platforms offer tangible advantages.