Molecular dipolar crystals as high-fidelity quantum memory for hybrid quantum computing

We study collective excitations of rotational and spin states of an ensemble of polar molecules, which are prepared in a dipolar crystalline phase, as a candidate for a high-fidelity quantum memory. While dipolar crystals are formed in the high-density limit of cold clouds of polar molecules under one- and two-dimensional trapping conditions, the crystalline structure protects the molecular qubits from detrimental effects of short-range collisions. We calculate the lifetime of the quantum memory by identifying the dominant decoherence mechanisms, and estimate their effects on gate operations, when a molecular ensemble qubit is transferred to a superconducting strip line cavity (circuit QED). In the case of rotational excitations coupled by dipole-dipole interactions we identify phonons as the main limitation of the lifetime of qubits. We study specific setups and conditions, where the coupling to the phonon modes is minimized. Detailed results are presented for a one-dimensional dipolar chain.