  We have developed a general technique to study the dynamics of the quantum
adiabatic evolution algorithm applied to random combinatorial optimization
problems in the asymptotic limit of large problem size $n$. We use as an
example the NP-complete Number Partitioning problem and map the algorithm
dynamics to that of an auxilary quantum spin glass system with the slowly
varying Hamiltonian. We use a Green function method to obtain the adiabatic
eigenstates and the minimum excitation gap, $g_{\rm min}={\cal O}(n 2^{-n/2})$,
corresponding to the exponential complexity of the algorithm for Number
Partitioning. The key element of the analysis is the conditional energy
distribution computed for the set of all spin configurations generated from a
given (ancestor) configuration by simulteneous fipping of a fixed number of
spins. For the problem in question this distribution is shown to depend on the
ancestor spin configuration only via a certain parameter related to the energy
of the configuration. As the result, the algorithm dynamics can be described in
terms of one-dimenssional quantum diffusion in the energy space. This effect
provides a general limitation on the power of a quantum adiabatic computation
in random optimization problems. Analytical results are in agreement with the
numerical simulation of the algorithm.
