title: Characterization of decoherence processes in quantum computation.
abstract: We show how the dynamics of open quantum systems can be fully characterized by using quantum tomography methods. We apply these methods to the case of an ion trap quantum computer, which does not operate under ideal conditions due to coupling to several environments. We study the performance of a fundamental two--bit quantum gate as a function of various parameters related to the interaction of the ions with external laser fields.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Poyatos
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cirac
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zoller