Time dynamics in chaotic many-body systems: can chaos destroy a quantum computer?

Abstract

Highly excited many-particle states in quantum systems (nuclei, atoms, quantum dots, spin systems, quantum computers) can be ``chaotic'' superpositions of mean-field basis states (Slater determinants, products of spin or qubit states). This is a result of the very high energy level density of many-body states which can be easily mixed by a residual interaction between particles. We consider the time dynamics of wave functions and increase of entropy in such chaotic systems. As an example we present the time evolution in a closed quantum computer. A time scale for the entropy S(t) increase is t_c =t_0/(n log_2{n}), where t_0 is the qubit ``lifetime'', n is the number of qubits, S(0)=0 and S(t_c)=1. At t << t_c the entropy is small: S= n t^2 J^2 log_2(1/t^2 J^2), where J is the inter-qubit interaction strength. At t > t_c the number of ``wrong'' states increases exponentially as 2^{S(t)} . Therefore, t_c may be interpreted as a maximal time for operation of a quantum computer, since at t > t_c one has to struggle against the second law of thermodynamics. At t >>t_c the system entropy approaches that for chaotic eigenstates.