Robust operation of a universal set of logic gates for quantum computation using adiabatic population transfer between molecular levels

We present a robust construction of a set of logic gates operating on a system of qubits encoded in the rovibrational eigenstates of an Na{sub 2} molecule using the optical adiabatic population transfer (APT) phenomenon. We demonstrate the operation of a complete universal gate set for quantum computation on a two-qubit system with gate fidelities approaching 99.99%. Like other APT-based processes, the method is robust against substantial fluctuations in the intensity of the laser pulse. Our construction is easily scalable to deal with a larger number of qubits. With the aid of the set of gates thus shown we may construct pulse sequences for a wide class of quantum logic operations. We also show how to produce a representation of Bell states from a representation of product states with essentially perfect fidelity. Our scheme can be realized in all diatomic and polyatomic molecules that possess easily accessible and well characterized excited electronic states.