Abstract
We propose a quantum-inspired classical algorithm for combinatorial optimization problems, named the counterdiabaticity-assisted classical algorithm for optimization (CACAO). In this algorithm, a solution of a given combinatorial optimization problem is heuristically searched with classical spin dynamics based on quantum Lyapunov control of local counterdiabatic driving. We compare the performance of CACAO with that of quantum time-evolution algorithms, i.e., quantum annealing, the feedback-based algorithm for quantum optimization (known as FALQON), and the counterdiabatic feedback-based quantum algorithm (known as CD-FQA). We also study the performance of CACAO applied to large systems up to spins.