Markovian regime decoherence effects in quantum computers are studied in
terms of the fidelity for the situation where the number of qubits N becomes
large. A general expression giving the decoherence time scale in terms of
Markovian relaxation elements and expectation values of products of system
fluctuation operators is obtained, which could also be applied to study
decoherence in other macroscopic systems such as Bose condensates and
superconductors. A standard circuit model quantum computer involving
three-state lambda system ionic qubits is considered, with qubits localised
around well-separated positions via trapping potentials. The centre of mass
vibrations of the qubits act as a reservoir. Coherent one and two qubit gating
processes are controlled by time dependent localised classical electromagnetic
fields that address specific qubits, the two qubit gating processes being
facilitated by a cavity mode ancilla, which permits state interchange between
qubits. With a suitable choice of parameters, it is found that the decoherence
time can be made essentially independent of N.Comment: Minor revisions. To be published in J Mod Opt. One figur
