This paper proposes and proves security of a QKD protocol which uses two-universal hashing instead of random sampling to estimate the number of bit flip and phase flip errors. This protocol dramatically outperforms previous QKD protocols for small block sizes. More generally, for the two-universal hashing QKD protocol, the difference between asymptotic and finite key rate decreases with the number $n$ of qubits as $cn^{-1}$, where $c$ depends on the security parameter. For comparison, the same difference decreases no faster than $c'n^{-1/3}$ for an optimized protocol that uses random sampling and has the same asymptotic rate, where $c'$ depends on the security parameter and the error rate.
We show that the Mayers-Shor-Preskill approach and Renner's approach to proving the security of quantum key distribution (QKD) are essentially the same. We begin our analysis by considering a special case of QKD called privacy amplification (PA). PA itself is an important building block of cryptography, both classical and quantum. The standard theoretical tool used for its security proof is called the leftover hashing lemma (LHL). We present a direct connection between the LHL and the coding theorem of a certain quantum error correction code. Then we apply this result to proving the equivalenc…
Send the Key in Cleartext: Halving Key Consumption while Preserving Unconditional Security in QKD Authentication
QTI S.r.l.（QTI有限公司）；Telsy S.p.A.（Telsy公司）；Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen（哥本哈根大学计算机科学系）；National Institute of Optics National Research Council (INO–CNR)（国家光学研究所（意大利国家研究委员会））；Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Florence（佛罗伦萨大学物理与天文学系）
Quantum key distribution (QKD) provides a physical-based way to conciliate keys between remote users securely. Simulation is an essential method for designing and optimizing QKD systems. We develop a universal simulation framework based on quantum operator descriptions of photon signals and optical devices. The optical devices can be freely combined and driven by the photon excitation events, which make it appropriate for arbitrary QKD systems in principle. Our framework focuses on realistic characters of optical devices and system structures. The imperfections of the devices and the non-local…
Quantum key distribution (QKD) is an ingenious technology utilizing quantum information science for provable secure communication. However, owing to the technological limitations and device non-idealities it is important to analyze the system performance critically and carefully define the implementation security. With an acceleration in the commercial adoption of QKD, a simulation toolkit is requisite to evaluate the functional architecture of QKD protocols. We present a simulation framework to model optical and electrical components for implementing a QKD protocol. The present toolkit aims t…
Quantum key distribution (QKD) gradually has become a crucial element of practical secure communication. In different scenarios, the security analysis of genuine QKD systems is complicated. A universal secret key rate calculation method, used for realistic factors such as multiple degrees of freedom encoding, asymmetric protocol structures, equipment flaws, environmental noise, and so on, is still lacking. Based on the correlations of statistical data, we propose a security analysis method without restriction on encoding schemes. This method makes a trade-off between applicability and accuracy…
We consider the distribution of secret keys, both in a bipartite and a multipartite (conference) setting, via a quantum network and establish a framework to obtain bounds on the achievable rates. We show that any multipartite private state--the output of a protocol distilling secret key among the trusted parties--has to be genuinely multipartite entangled. In order to describe general network settings, we introduce a multiplex quantum channel, which links an arbitrary number of parties, where each party can take the role of sender only, receiver only, or both sender and receiver. We define asy…
Quantum key distribution (QKD) allows two remote parties to share information-theoretically secure keys. In recent years, a revolutionary breakthrough called twin-field (TF) QKD has been developed to overcome the linear key-rate constraint and greatly increases the achievable distance. Phase-randomization and subsequent postselection play important roles in its security proof. Later, no-phase-postselection TF-QKD was proposed and became a popular variant, since the removal of phase postselection leads to a higher key rate. However, the achievable distance is decreased compared to the original …
Quantum key distribution (QKD) promises provably secure cryptography, even to attacks from an all-powerful adversary. However, with quantum computing development lagging behind QKD, the assumption that there exists an adversary equipped with a universal fault-tolerant quantum computer is unrealistic for at least the near future. Here, we explore the effect of restricting the eavesdropper's computational capabilities on the security of QKD, and find that improved secret key rates are possible. Specifically, we show that for a large class of discrete variable protocols higher key rates are possi…
A quantum key distribution (QKD) system must fulfill the requirement of universal composability to ensure that any cryptographic application (using the QKD system) is also secure. Furthermore, the theoretical proof responsible for security analysis and key generation should cater to the number $N$ of the distributed quantum states being finite in practice. Continuous-variable (CV) QKD based on coherent states, despite being a suitable candidate for integration in the telecom infrastructure, has so far been unable to demonstrate composability as existing proofs require a rather large $N$ for su…
In this paper, we have investigated a self-developed sine wave gated (SWG) single-photon detector (SPD) for 1550 nm wavelength primary for quantum key distribution (QKD) usage. We have investigated different gate parameters` influence on the SPD`s noise characteristics. We have admitted that with an increase of gating voltage and constant value of quantum efficiency (QE), the dark count rate (DCR) decreases. There have been made some recommendations to improve SPD`s and whole QKD device's characteristics based on these observations. There have been discovered the quick rise of the DCR value wi…
Quantum key distribution (QKD) promises provably secure communications. In order to improve the secret key rate, combining a biased basis choice with the decoy-state method is proposed. Concomitantly, there is a basis-independent detection efficiency condition, which usually cannot be satisfied in a practical system, such as the time-phase encoding. Fortunately, this flaw has been recently removed theoretically and experimentally using the fact that the expected yields of single-photon states prepared in two bases stay the same for a given measurement basis. However, the security proofs do not…
Boson sampling is a sub-universal model used to show quantum speed-up. However, the methods of validation to prove quantum speedup are not robust and accurate. All verification methods involve additional or little studied assumptions. Here, we use the protocols given in the paper [arXiv:2006.03520] to construct a boson sampling experiment using discrete quantum states on IBM quantum computer and verify the fidelity of the output states using heterodyne detection. We demonstrate the protocols for single mode fidelity estimation, multi mode fidelity estimation and a verification protocol using I…
Computing key rates for one-sided device-independent quantum key distribution
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble INP, LIG（格勒诺布尔阿尔卑斯大学）；Institute for Quantum Information, RWTH Aachen（亚琛工业大学）；Institute for Theoretical Physics, ETH Zürich（苏黎世联邦理工学院）；Institute for Theoretical Physics, Leibniz Universität Hannover（汉诺威莱布尼茨大学）；Naturwissenschaftliche-Technische Fakultät, Universität Siegen（锡根大学）；Institute for Theoretical Physics, Universität Innsbruck（因斯布鲁克大学）
