Efficient quantum computing of complex dynamics

We propose a quantum algorithm which uses the number of qubits in an optimal way and efficiently simulates a physical model with rich and complex dynamics described by the quantum sawtooth map. 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 the errors of random noise in gate operations.