Stability of quantum computing in the presence of imperfections

We model an isolated quantum computer as a two-dimensional lattice of qubits (spin halves) with fluctuations in individual qubit energies and residual short-range interqubit couplings. We show that above a critical inter-qubit coupling strength, quantum chaos sets in and this results in the interaction induced dynamical thermalization and occupation numbers well described by the Fermi-Dirac distribution. This thermalization destroys the noninteracting qubit structure and sets serious requirements for the quantum computer operability. We then construct a quantum algorithm which uses qubits in an optimal way and efficiently simulates a physical model with rich and complex dynamics. The numerical study of the effect of static imperfections in the quantum computer hardware shows that the main elements of the phase space structures are accurately reproduced up to a time scale which is polynomial in the number of qubits. The errors generated by these imperfections are more significant than t...