  The numerical simulation of various field theories at non-zero chemical
potential suffers from severe complex action problems. In particular, QCD at
non-zero quark density can presently not be simulated for that reason. A
similar complex action problem arises in the 2-d O(3) model -- a toy model for
QCD. Here we construct the 2-d O(3) model at non-zero density via dimensional
reduction of an antiferromagnetic quantum spin ladder in a magnetic field. The
complex action problem of the 2-d O(3) model manifests itself as a sign problem
of the ladder system. This sign problem is solved completely with a
meron-cluster algorithm.
