Identifying phases of quantum many-body systems that are universal for quantum computation

Abstract

Quantum computation can proceed solely through single-qubit measurements on an appropriate quantum state, such as the ground state of an interacting many-body system. We investigate a simple spin-lattice system based on the cluster-state model, and by using nonlocal correlation functions that quantify the fidelity of quantum gates performed between distant qubits, we demonstrate that it possesses a quantum (zero-temperature) phase transition between a disordered phase and an ordered "cluster phase" in which it is possible to perform a universal set of quantum gates.