Noise-assisted quantum transport and computation

The transmission of an excitation along a spin chain can be hindered by the presence of small fixed imperfections that create trapping regions where the excitation may get caught (Anderson localization). A certain degree of noise, ensuing from the interaction with a thermal bath, allows us to overcome localization (noise-assisted transport). In this paper, we investigate the relation between the noise-assisted transport and (quantum) computation. In particular, we prove that noise does assist classical computation on a quantum computing device, but hinders the possibility of creating entanglement.