Continuous variable quantum key distribution (CVQKD) with discrete modulation combines advantages of CVQKD, such as the implementability using readily available technologies, with advantages of discrete variable quantum key distribution, such as easier error correction procedures. We consider a prepare-and-measure CVQKD protocol, where Alice chooses from a set of four coherent states and Bob performs a heterodyne measurement, the result of which is discretised in both key and test rounds. We provide a security proof against coherent attacks in the finite-size regime, and compute the achievable key rate. To this end, we employ the generalised entropy accumulation theorem, as well as recent advances in conic optimisation, yielding improved key rates compared to previous works. At metropolitan distances, our method can provide positive key rates for the order of $10^8$ rounds.
We give an achievable secret key rate of a binary modulated continuous variable quantum key distribution schemes in the collective attack scenario considering quantum channels that impose arbitrary noise on the exchanged signals. Bob performs homodyne measurements on the received states and the two honest parties employ a reverse reconciliation procedure in the classical post-processing step of the protocol.
We study the quantum dynamics of a material wavepacket bouncing off a modulated atomic mirror in the presence of a gravitational field. We find the occurrence of coherent accelerated dynamics for atoms beyond the familiar regime of dynamical localization. The acceleration takes place for certain initial phase space data and within specific windows of modulation strengths. The realization of the proposed acceleration scheme is within the range of present day experimental possibilities.
We construct photon modulated coherent states of a generalized isotonic oscillator by expanding the newly introduced superposed operator through Weyl ordering method. We evaluate the parameter $A_3$ and the $s$-parameterized quasi probability distribution function to confirm the non - classical nature of the states. We also calculate the identities related with the quadrature squeezing to explore the squeezing property of the states. Finally, we investigate the fidelity between the photon modulated coherent states and coherent states to quantify the non-Gaussianity of the states. The construct…
We report on the realization of dynamical control of transport for ultra-cold Sr88 atoms loaded in an accelerated and amplitude-modulated 1D optical lattice. We tailor the energy dispersion of traveling wave packets and reversibly switch between Wannier-Stark localization and driven transport based on coherent tunneling. Within a Loschmidt-echo scheme where the atomic group velocities are reversed at once, we demonstrate a novel mirror for matter waves working independently of the momentum state and discuss possible applications to force measurements at micrometric scales.
We investigate the routing of a single-photon in a modulated cavity optomechanical system, in which the cavity is driven by a strong coupling field, and the mechanical resonator (MR) is modulated with a weak coherent field. We show that, when there is no a weak coherent field modulating the MR, the system cannot act as a single-photon router, since the signal will be completely covered by the quantum and thermal noises. By introducing the weak coherent field, we can achieve the routing of the single-photon by adjusting the frequency of the weak coherent field, and the system can be immune to t…
Quantum hacking against discrete-modulated continuous-variable quantum key distribution using modified local oscillator intensity attack with random fluctuations
Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD), leaving the detection procedure to the third partner and thus being immune to all detector side-channel attacks, is very promising for the construction of high-security quantum information networks. We propose a scheme to implement MDI-QKD, but with continuous variables instead of discrete ones, i.e., with the source of Gaussian-modulated coherent states, based on the principle of continuous-variable entanglement swapping. This protocol not only can be implemented with current telecom components but also has high key rates comp…
In the Gaussian-modulated coherent states (GMCS) quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol, Alice prepares quantum states \emph{actively}: for each transmission, Alice generates a pair of Gaussian-distributed random numbers, encodes them on a weak coherent pulse using optical amplitude and phase modulators, and then transmits the Gaussian-modulated weak coherent pulse to Bob. Here we propose a \emph{passive} state preparation scheme using a thermal source. In our scheme, Alice splits the output of a thermal source into two spatial modes using a beam splitter. She measures one mode locally using …
Effective discrete-modulated continuous variable QKD under general attacks using dimension reduction
Luxquanta Technologies S.L.（Luxquanta科技有限公司）；ICFO - Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology（ICFO-光子科学研究所，巴塞罗那科学技术研究院）；Universidad de Valladolid（巴利亚多利德大学）；ICREA – Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats（加泰罗尼亚高级研究学院）
We realize an end-to-end no-switching quantum key distribution protocol using continuous-wave coherent light. We encode weak broadband Gaussian modulations onto the amplitude and phase quadratures of light beams at the Shannon's information limit. Our no-switching protocol achieves high secret key rate via a post-selection protocol that utilizes both quadrature information simultaneously. We establish a secret key rate of 25 Mbits/s for a lossless channel and 1 kbit/s, per 17 MHz of detected bandwidth, for 90% channel loss. Since our scheme is truly broadband, it can potentially deliver orders…
A continuous variable ping-pong scheme, which is utilized to generate deterministically private key, is proposed. The proposed scheme is implemented physically by using Gaussian-modulated squeezed states. The deterministic way, i.e., no basis reconciliation between two parties, leads a two-times efficiency comparing to the standard quantum key distribution schemes. Especially, the separate control mode does not need in the proposed scheme so that it is simpler and more available than previous ping-pong schemes. The attacker may be detected easily through the fidelity of the transmitted signal,…
We discuss excess noise contributions of a practical balanced homodyne detector in Gaussian-modulated coherent-state (GMCS) quantum key distribution (QKD). We point out the key generated from the original realistic model of GMCS QKD may not be secure. In our refined realistic model, we take into account excess noise due to the finite bandwidth of the homodyne detector and the fluctuation of the local oscillator. A high speed balanced homodyne detector suitable for GMCS QKD in the telecommunication wavelength region is built and experimentally tested. The 3dB bandwidth of the balanced homodyne …
We report a study on the ultrafast coherent population oscillations (UCPO) in two level atoms induced by the frequency modulated few-cycle optical pulse train. The phenomenon of UCPO is investigated by numerically solving the optical Bloch equations beyond the rotating wave approximation. We demonstrate that the quantum state of the atoms and the frequency of UCPO may be controlled by controlling the number of pulses in the pulse trains and the pulse repetition time respectively. Moreover, the robustness of the population inversion against the variation of the laser pulse parameters is also in…
Entangling Atomic Quantum Memories Using High-Order Modulated Coherent States
University of Maryland, College Park（马里兰大学帕克分校）；RTX BBN Technologies（RTX BBN科技公司）；Wyant College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona（亚利桑那大学怀安特光学科学学院）
The wave function of a moderately cold atom in a stationary near-resonant standing light wave delocalizes very fast due to wave packet splitting. However, we show that frequency modulation of the field may suppress packet splitting for some atoms having specific velocities in a narrow range. These atoms remain localized in a small space for a long time. We demonstrate and explain this effect numerically and analytically. Also we demonstrate that modulated field can not only trap, but also cool the atoms. We perform a numerical experiment with a large atomic ensebmble having wide initial veloci…
Quantum continuous variables are being explored as an alternative means to implement quantum key distribution, which is usually based on single photon counting. The former approach is potentially advantageous because it should enable higher key distribution rates. Here we propose and experimentally demonstrate a quantum key distribution protocol based on the transmission of gaussian-modulated coherent states (consisting of laser pulses containing a few hundred photons) and shot-noise-limited homodyne detection; squeezed or entangled beams are not required. Complete secret key extraction is ach…
Security of Binary-Modulated Optical Key Distribution Against Quantum-Enhanced Coherent Eavesdropping
Centre for Quantum Optical Technologies, Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw（华沙大学新技术中心量子光学技术研究中心）；Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw（华沙大学物理学院）；Dipartimento di Fisica “Aldo Pontremoli”, Università degli Studi di Milano（米兰大学阿尔多·庞特罗莫利物理系）；Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Milano（意大利国家核物理研究所米兰分部）
We develop a new method to quantify the secret key rate for permutation-invariant protocols for coherent attacks and finite resources. The method reduces the calculation of secret key rates for coherent attacks to the calculation for collective attacks by bounding the smooth min-entropy of permutation-invariant states via the smooth min-entropy of corresponding tensor-product states. The comparison of the results to the well-known post-selection technique for the BB84 and six-state protocol shows the high relevance of this method. Since our calculation of secret key rates for coherent attacks …
We propose a way to retrieve the secure key generated by the coherent one way protocol without reading the information transmitted on the quantum channel.
We investigate the security of continuous-variable (CV) quantum key distribution (QKD) using coherent states and reverse reconciliation against Gaussian individual attacks based on an optimal Gaussian $1 \to 2$ cloning machine. We provide an implementation of the optimal Gaussian individual attack. we also find a Bell-measurement attack which works without delayed choice of measurements and has better performance than the cloning attack.
We investigate limitations imposed by sequential attacks on the performance of differential-phase-shift quantum key distribution protocols that use pulsed coherent light. In particular, we analyze two sequential attacks based on unambiguous state discrimination and minimum error discrimination, respectively, of the signal states emitted by the source. Sequential attacks represent a special type of intercept-resend attacks and, therefore, they do not allow the distribution of a secret key.
We consider the two-way quantum cryptographic protocol with coherent states assuming direct reconciliation. A detailed security analysis is performed considering a two-mode coherent attack, that represents the residual eavesdropping once the parties have reduced the general attack by applying symmetric random permutations. In this context we provide a general analytical expression for the keyrate, discussing the impact of the residual two-mode correlations on the security of the scheme. In particular we identify the optimal eavesdropping against two-way quantum communication, which is given by…
Coherent control of quantum transitions -- indispensable in quantum technology -- generally relies on the interaction of quantum systems with electromagnetic radiation. Here, we theoretically demonstrate that the non-radiative electromagnetic near-field of a temporally modulated free-space electron beam can be utilized for coherent control of quantum systems. We show that such manipulation can be performed with only classical control over the electron beam itself, and is readily realizable with current technology. This approach may provide a pathway towards spectrally selective quantum control…
We study the coherent dynamics of a qubit excited by an amplitude-modulated electromagnetic field under the Rabi resonance when the frequency of the low-frequency modulation field matches the Rabi frequency in the high-frequency field. Due to destructive interference of multiple photon processes at the ultrastrong coupling between the qubit and the low-frequency driving field, Rabi oscillations result exclusively from the Bloch-Siegert effect. It is directly observed in the time-resolved coherent dynamics as the Bloch-Siegert oscillation. In this case, triplets in Fourier spectra of the cohere…
Discretely-modulated continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CVQKD) is more suitable for long-distance transmission compared with its Gaussian-modulated CVQKD counterpart. However, its security can only be guaranteed when modulation variance is very small, which limits its further development. To solve this problem, in this work, we propose a novel scheme for discretely-modulated CVQKD using multi-label learning technology, called multi-label learning-based CVQKD (ML-CVQKD). In particular, the proposed scheme divides the whole quantum system into state learning and state prediction. The …
We investigate the security of continuous-variable (CV) quantum key distribution (QKD) using coherent states in the presence of quadrature excess noise. We consider an eavesdropping attack which uses a linear amplifier and beam splitter. This attack makes a link between beam-splitting attack and intercept-resend attack (classical teleportation attack). We also show how postselection loses its efficiency in a realistic channel.
We calculate eavesdropper's optimal information on raw bits in Bennett-Brassard 1984 quantum key distribution (BB84 QKD) and six-state scheme in coherent attacks, using a formula by Lo and Chau [Science 283 (1999) 2050] with single photon assumption. We find that eavesdropper's optimal information in QKD without public announcement of bases [Phys. Lett. A 244 (1998) 489] is the same as that of a corresponding QKD WITH it in the coherent attack. We observe a sum-rule concerning each party's information.
A continuous variable measurement device independent multi-party quantum communication protocol is investigated in this paper. Utilizing distributed continuous variable Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state, this protocol can implement both quantum cryptographic conference and quantum secret sharing. We analyze the security of the protocol against both entangling cloner attack and coherent attack. Entangling cloner attack is a practical individual attack, and coherent attack is the optimal attack Eve can implement. Simulation results show that coherent attack can greatly reduce the secret key rate…
We suggest an improved plug-and-play measurement-device-independent (MDI) continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CVQKD) via the dual-phase modulation (DPM), aiming to solve an implementation problem with no extra performance penalty. The synchronous loophole of different lasers from Alice and Bob can be elegantly eliminated in the plug-and-play configuration, which gives birth to the convenient implementation when comparing to the Gaussian-modulated coherent-state protocol. While the local oscillator (LO) can be locally generated by the trusted part Charlie, the LO-aimed attacks can be …
We consider a new type of attack on a coherent quantum key distribution protocol [coherent one-way (COW) protocol]. The main idea of the attack consists in measuring individually the intercepted states and sending the rest of them unchanged. We have calculated the optimum values of the attack parameters for an arbitrary length of a channel length and compared this novel attack with a standard beam-splitting attack.
We provide a simple description of the most general collective Gaussian attack in continuous-variable quantum cryptography. In the scenario of such general attacks, we analyze the asymptotic secret-key rates which are achievable with coherent states, joint measurements of the quadratures and one-way classical communication.
This is a study of the security of the Coherent One-Way (COW) protocol for quantum cryptography, proposed recently as a simple and fast experimental scheme. In the zero-error regime, the eavesdropper Eve can only take advantage of the losses in the transmission. We consider new attacks, based on unambiguous state discrimination, which perform better than the basic beam-splitting attack, but which can be detected by a careful analysis of the detection statistics. These results stress the importance of testing several statistical parameters in order to achieve higher rates of secret bits.
We consider a strategic problem of the Evesdropping to quantum key distribution. Evesdropper hopes to obtain the maxium information given the disturbance to the qubits is often For this strategy, the optimized individual attack have been extensively constructed under various conditions. However, it seems a difficult task in the case of coherent attack, i.e., Eve may treat a number of intercepted qubits collectively, including the collective unitary transformations and the measurements. It was conjectured by Cirac and Gisin that no coherent attack can be more powerful for this strategy for BB84…
We propose a new scheme for quantum secret sharing (QSS) that uses a modulated high-dimensional time-bin entanglement. By modulating the relative phase randomly by {0,pi}, a sender with the entanglement source can randomly change the sign of the correlation of the measurement outcomes obtained by two distant recipients. The two recipients must cooperate if they are to obtain the sign of the correlation, which is used as a secret key. We show that our scheme is secure against intercept-and-resend (I-R) and beam splitting attacks by an outside eavesdropper thanks to the non-orthogonality of high…
Generation of Aharonov-Bohm (AB) phase has achieved a state-of-the-art in mesoscopic systems with manipulation and control of the AB effect. The possibility of transfer information enconded in such systems to non-classical states of light increases the possible scenarios where the information can be manipulated and transfered. In this paper we propose a quantum transfer of the AB phase generated in a spintronic device, a topological spin transistor (TST), to an quantum optical device, a coherent state superposition in high-Q cavity and discuss optical and spin-optical superpositions in the pre…
Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution protocol, whose security analysis does not rely on any assumption on the detection system, can immune the attacking against detectors. We give a first composable security analysis for continuous-variable measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution using squeezed states against general coherent attacks. The security analysis is derived based on the entanglement-based scheme considering finite size effect. A version of entropic uncertainty relation is exploited to give a lower bound on the conditional smooth min-entropy by trust…
Unconditional Security of Discrete-Modulated CV-QKD from Infinite-Dimensional MEAT
University of Waterloo（滑铁卢大学）；National University of Singapore（新加坡国立大学）；Technische Universität Wien（维也纳工业大学）；AIT Austrian Institute of Technology（奥地利技术研究院）
We analyze the asymptotic security of the family of Gaussian modulated Quantum Key Distribution protocols for Continuous Variables systems. We prove that the Gaussian unitary attack is optimal for all the considered bounds on the key rate when the first and second momenta of the canonical variables involved are known by the honest parties.
In this paper, we present a fully fiber-based one-way Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) system implementing the Gaussian-Modulated Coherent States (GMCS) protocol. The system employs a double Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) configuration in which the weak quantum signal and the strong Local Oscillator (LO) go through the same fiber between Alice and Bob, and are separated into two paths inside Bob's terminal. To suppress the LO leakage into the signal path, which is an important contribution to the excess noise, we implemented a novel scheme combining polarization and frequency multiplexing, ac…
A general study of arbitrary finite-size coherent attacks against continuous-variable quantum cryptographic schemes is presented. It is shown that, if the size of the blocks that can be coherently attacked by an eavesdropper is fixed and much smaller than the key size, then the optimal attack for a given signal-to-noise ratio in the transmission line is an individual gaussian attack. Consequently, non-gaussian coherent attacks do not need to be considered in the security analysis of such quantum cryptosystems.
We present a rigorous security analysis of Continuous-Variable Measurement-Device Independent Quantum Key Distribution (CV MDI QKD) in a finite size scenario. The security proof is obtained in two steps: by first assessing the security against collective Gaussian attacks, and then extending to the most general class of coherent attacks via the Gaussian de Finetti reduction. Our result combines recent state-of-the-art security proofs for CV QKD with new findings about min-entropy calculus and parameter estimation. In doing so, we improve the finite-size estimate of the secret key rate. Our conc…
We study the coherent dynamics of an excited two-level atom in a vacuum optomechanical cavity and find that the original atom-cavity Rabi oscillation is sinusoidally modulated by the light-mechanics coupling as the Rabi splitting is on resonance with the mechanical mode. We develop an analytic model in a three-dimensional Hilbert subspace to explain this phenomenon and employ numerical simulations of the density-matrix master equation to confirm our analysis. We also show that the modulated Rabi oscillation survives in presence of dissipations and other non-ideal factors.
The security of a cryptographic key that is generated by communication through a noisy quantum channel relies on the ability to distill a shorter secure key sequence from a longer insecure one. We show that -- for protocols that use quantum channels of any dimension and completely characterize them by state tomography -- the noise threshold for classical advantage distillation is substantially lower than the threshold for quantum entanglement distillation because the eavesdropper can perform powerful coherent attacks. The earlier claims that the two noise thresholds are identical, which were b…
Optical layer attacks on communication networks are one of the weakest reinforced areas of the network, allowing attackers to overcome security when proper safeguards are not put into place. Here, we present our solution or Quantum Encryption in Phase Space (QEPS), a physical layer encryption method to secure data over the optical fiber, based on our novel round-trip Coherent-based Two-Field Quantum Key Distribution (CTF-QKD) scheme. We perform a theoretical study through simulation and provide an experimental demonstration. The same encryption is used for QEPS as CTF-QKD but achieved through …
Unconditional security proofs of the Bennett-Brassard protocol of quantum key distribution have been obtained recently. These proofs cover also practical implementations that utilize weak coherent pulses in the four signal polarizations. Proven secure rates leave open the possibility that new proofs or new public discussion protocols obtain larger rates over increased distance. In this paper we investigate limits to error rate and signal losses that can be tolerated by future protocols and proofs.
Decoy-state quantum key distribution (QKD) has convincingly been shown the core solution to secure key exchange. While standard BB84 protocol needs to prepare and measure all states of two complementary bases, which seriously restricts its real life applications in photonic integration and high speed system. Fortunately, a simplified BB84, only sending and receiving three states, achieves the same asymptotic secret key rate compared with standard BB84 under coherent attacks. In this work, by skillfully exploiting uncertainty relation for smooth entropies, we provide the finite-key security bou…
To protect practical quantum key distribution (QKD) against photon-number-splitting attacks, one could measure the coherence of the received signals. One prominent example that follows this approach is coherent-one-way (COW) QKD, which is commercially available. Surprisingly, however, it has been shown very recently that its secret key rate scales quadratically with the channel transmittance, and, thus, this scheme is unsuitable for long-distance transmission. This result was derived by using a zero-error attack, which prevents the distribution of a secure key without introducing any error. He…
Coherent-one-way (COW) quantum key distribution (QKD) held the promise of distributing secret keys over long distances with a simple experimental setup. Indeed, this scheme is currently used in commercial applications. Surprisingly, however, it has been recently shown that its secret key rate scales at most quadratically with the system's transmittance and, thus, it is not appropriate for long distance QKD transmission. Such pessimistic result was derived by employing a so-called zero-error attack, in which the eavesdropper does not introduce any error, but still the legitimate users of the sy…
A new class of quantum cryptography (QC) protocols that are robust against the most general photon number splitting attacks in a weak coherent pulse implementation has been recently proposed. In this article we give a quite exhaustive analysis of several eavesdropping attacks on these schemes. The eavesdropper (Eve) is supposed to have unlimited technological power while the honest parties (Alice and Bob) use present day technology, in particular an attenuated laser as an approximation of a single-photon source. They exploit the nonorthogonality of quantum states for decreasing the information…
We consider multiple-period states in systems of periodically modulated qubits. In such states the discrete time-translation symmetry imposed by the modulation is broken. We explicitly show how multiple-period states emerge in the simplest quantum system, a single qubit subjected to a pulsed resonant modulation and/or a pulsed modulation of the transition frequency. We also show that a qubit chain with the qubit coupling modulated at twice the qubit frequency has symmetry that allows mapping it on the Kitaev chain and thus provides an example of a topologically nontrivial Floquet system. An ex…
Quantum key distribution (QKD) permits information-theoretically secure transmission of digital encryption keys, assuming that the behaviour of the devices employed for the key exchange can be reliably modelled and predicted. Remarkably, no assumptions have to be made on the capabilities of an eavesdropper other than that she is bounded by the laws of Nature, thus making the security of QKD "unconditional". However, unconditional security is hard to achieve in practice. For example, any experimental realisation can only collect finite data samples, leading to vulnerabilities against coherent a…
We provide a security analysis for continuous variable quantum key distribution protocols based on the transmission of squeezed vacuum states measured via homodyne detection. We employ a version of the entropic uncertainty relation for smooth entropies to give a lower bound on the number of secret bits which can be extracted from a finite number of runs of the protocol. This bound is valid under general coherent attacks, and gives rise to keys which are composably secure. For comparison, we also give a lower bound valid under the assumption of collective attacks. For both scenarios, we find po…
