Reliability of digitized quantum annealing and the decay of entanglement

We performed a banged-digital-analog simulation of a quantum annealing protocol in a two-qubit Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) quantum computer. Our experimental simulation employed up to 235 Trotter steps, with more than 2000 gates (pulses), and we obtained a protocol success above 80%. Given the exquisite control of the NMR quantum computer, we performed the simulation with different noise levels. We thus analyzed the reliability of the quantum annealing process, and related it to the level of entanglement produced during the protocol. Although the presence of entanglement is not a sufficient signature for a better-than-classical simulation, the level of entanglement achieved relates to the fidelity of the protocol.