We consider a generalisation of Ekert's entanglement-based quantum cryptographic protocol where qubits are replaced by qu$N$its (i.e., N-dimensional systems). In order to study its robustness against optimal incoherent attacks, we derive the information gained by a potential eavesdropper during a cloning-based individual attack. In doing so, we generalize Cerf's formalism for cloning machines and establish the form of the most general cloning machine that respects all the symmetries of the problem. We obtain an upper bound on the error rate that guarantees the confidentiality of quNit generalisations of the Ekert's protocol for qubits.
Tests of local realism vs quantum mechanics based on Bell's inequality employ two entangled qubits. We investigate the general case of two entangled quNits, i.e. quantum systems defined in an N-dimensional Hilbert space. Via a numerical linear optimization method we show that violations of local realism are stronger for two maximally entangled quNits (N=3,4,...,9), than for two qubits and that they increase with N. The two quNit measurements can be experimentally realized using entangled photons and unbiased multiport beamsplitters.
We present a generalized Bell inequality for two entangled quNits. On one quNit the choice is between two standard von Neumann measurements, whereas for the other quNit there are $N^2$ different binary measurements. These binary measurements are related to the intermediate states known from eavesdropping in quantum cryptography. The maximum violation by $\sqrt{N}$ is reached for the maximally entangled state. Moreover, for N=2 it coincides with the familiar CHSH-inequality.
Predictions for systems in entangled states cannot be described in local realistic terms. However, after admixing some noise such a description is possible. We show that for two quNits (quantum systems described by N dimensional Hilbert spaces) in a maximally entangled state the minimal admixture of noise increases monotonically with N. The results are a direct extension of those of Kaszlikowski et. al., Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 85}, 4418 (2000), where results for $N\leq 9$ were presented. The extension up to N=16 is possible when one defines for each N a specially chosen set of observables. We a…
Results obtained in two recent papers, \cite{Kaszlikowski} and \cite{Durt}, seem to indicate that the nonlocal character of the correlations between the outcomes of measurements performed on entangled systems separated in space is not robust in the presence of noise. This is surprising, since entanglement itself is robust. Here we revisit this problem and argue that the class of gedanken-experiments considered in \cite{Kaszlikowski} and \cite{Durt} is too restrictive. By considering a more general class, involving sequences of measurements, we prove that the nonlocal correlations are in fact r…
Integrated photonic circuits offer the possibility for complex quantum optical experiments in higher-dimensional photonic systems. However, the advantages of integration and scalability can only be fully utilized with the availability of a source for higher-dimensional entangled photons. Here, a novel fiber integrated source for path-entangled photons in the telecom band at 1.55\mum using only standard fiber technology is presented. Due to the special design the source shows good scalability towards higher-dimensional entangled photonic states (quNits), while path entanglement offers direct co…
We explore the connection between quantum entanglement and the exchange symmetry of the states of N identical particles. Each particle has n-levels. The N particles span the nN dimensional Hilbert space. We shall call the general state of the particle as a qunit. The direct product of the N qunit space is given a decomposition in terms of states with definite permutation symmetry that are found to have a measure of entanglement which is related to the representation of the permutation group. The maximally entangled states are generated from the linear combinations of fully correlated but unent…
The thesis is divided into three parts. In the first part a new theoretical analysis of interferometric experiments by Alley-Shih, Ou-Mandel and the entanglement swapping experiment is performed. It is shown that the double- and single-photon distinguishability is not necessary for the experiments to be genuine tests against local realism. In the second part, basing on simple geometrical properties of Hilbert space, new, stronger Bell inequalities for M qubits in a maximally entangled state are derived. Application of the same method to two maximally entangled qubits yields an inequality for a…
Intermediate states are known from intercept/resend eavesdropping in the BB84 quantum cryptographic protocol. But they also play fundamental roles in the optimal eavesdropping strategy on BB84 and in the CHSH inequality. We generalize the intermediate states to arbitrary dimension and consider intercept/resend eavesdropping, optimal eavesdropping on the generalized BB84 protocol and present a generalized CHSH inequality for two entangled quNits based on these states.
The study of quantum cryptography and quantum non-locality have traditionnally been based on two-level quantum systems (qubits). In this paper we consider a generalisation of Ekert's cryptographic protocol [Ekert] where qubits are replaced by qutrits. The security of this protocol is related to non-locality, in analogy with Ekert's protocol. In order to study its robustness against the optimal individual attacks, we derive the information gained by a potential eavesdropper applying a cloning-based attack.
We propose a scheme for the secure direct communication based on the entangled phase-coherent states, which shows an elevated level of confidentiality. The protocol gives a simultaneous security control for every bit of transferred information. The security-check-per-bit is provided by sending an additional mode to prove the legitimate parties' authenticity. Other benefit include increased transfer rate, since a separate control sequences is unnecessary. We study the security of the scheme for both ideal and realistic quantum channel. The protocol shows a robust security and prepares 50% proba…
The general individual (non-coherent) attack on the ping-pong protocol with completely entangled pairs of three-dimensional quantum systems (qutrits) is analyzed. The expression for amount of the eavesdropper's information as functions from probability of attack detection is derived. It is shown, that the security of the ping-pong protocol with pairs of qutrits is higher the security of the protocol with pairs of qubits. It is also shown, that with the use by legitimate users in a control mode two mutually unbiased measuring bases the ping-pong protocol with pairs of qutrits, similar to the pr…
In quantum games based on 2-player--$N$-strategies classical games, each player has a quNit (a normalized vector in an $N$-dimensional Hilbert space ${\cal H}_N$) upon which he applies his strategy (a matrix $U \in$ SU(N)). The players draw their payoffs from a state $|Ψ\ra=J^\dagger U_1 \otimes U_2 J|Ψ_0 \ra \in {\cal H}_N \otimes {\cal H}_N $. Here $|Ψ_0 \ra$ and $J$ (both determined by the game's referee) are respectively an {\it unentangled} 2-quNit (pure) state and a unitary operator such that $|Ψ_1 \ra \equiv J|Ψ_0 \ra \in {\cal H}_N \otimes {\cal H}_N$ is {\it partially entangled}. The …
The majority of research to date has concentrated on the quantum key distribution (QKD) between two parties. In general, the QKD protocols proposed for the multiparty scenario often involve the usage of a maximally entangled state, such as GHZ, which is challenging to implement in practice. This paper examines the prepare and measure version of multiparty communication through quantum key distribution. It is sufficient to have the capability of preparing and measuring a single qubit state. The security of the multiparty prepare and measure QKD is demonstrated by utilizing the well-known techni…
We produce and holographically measure entangled qudits encoded in transverse spatial modes of single photons. With the novel use of a quantum state tomography method that only requires two-state superpositions, we achieve the most complete characterisation of entangled qutrits to date. Ideally, entangled qutrits provide better security than qubits in quantum bit-commitment: we model the sensitivity of this to mixture and show experimentally and theoretically that qutrits with even a small amount of decoherence cannot offer increased security over qubits.
Security of the Ekert protocol is proven against individual attacks where an eavesdropper is allowed to share any density matrix with the two communicating parties. The density matrix spans all of the photon number states of both receivers, as well as a probe state of arbitrary dimensionality belonging to the eavesdropper. Using this general eavesdropping strategy, we show that the Shannon information on the final key, after error correction and privacy amplification, can be made exponentially small. This is done by finding a bound on the eavesdropper's average collision probability. We find t…
In a recent work by Maitra et al. (Phys. Rev. A, 2017), it was shown that the existing Quantum Private Query (QPQ) protocols fail to maintain the database security if the entangled states shared between Alice and Bob are not of a certain form. So it is necessary to certify the states a priori. In this regard, the local CHSH test was proposed. However, the proposed scheme works perfectly for the asymptotic case when we have infinite number of qubits. In this brief report, we upgrade the protocol for finite number of qubits and connect the sample size to the success probability of CHSH test. We …
We propose genuine ($k$, $m$)-threshold controlling schemes for controlled teleportation via multi-particle entangled states, where the teleportation of a quantum state from a sender (Alice) to a receiver (Bob) is under the control of $m$ supervisors such that $k$ ($k\leq m$) or more of these supervisors can help Bob recover the transferred state. By construction, anyone of our quantum channels is a genuine multipartite entangled state of which any two parts are inseparable. Their properties are compared and contrasted with those of the well-known Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger, W, and linear clu…
A two-step quantum key distribution protocol using frequency and polarization doubly entangled photons is proposed. In this protocol, information is encoded by a unitary operation on each of the two doubly entangled photons and sent from Alice to Bob in two steps. State measurement device is designed. The security of the communication is analyzed.
Four-qubit Smolin bound entangled state has a distinct feature: the state is not distillable when every qubit is seperated from each other; but it makes two separated qubit entangled if the other qubits group together. Here the feature is applied to quantum secret sharing, a QSS protocol similar to Ekert 91 protocol of QKD is proposed. The security problem, disadvantage and advantageof this protocol are disscused.
We present a quantum secure direct communication protocol where the channels are not maximally entangled states. The communication parties utilize decoy photons to check eavesdropping. After ensuring the security of the quantum channel, the sender encodes the secret message and transmits it to the receiver by using Controlled-NOT operation and von Neumann measurement. The protocol is simple and realizable with present technology. We also show the protocol is secure for noisy quantum channel.
Based on the fact that the entanglement can not be created locally, we proposed a quantum bit commitment protocol, in which entangled states and quantum algorithms is used. The bit is not encoded with the form of the quantum states, and delaying the measurement is required. Therefore the protocol will not be denied by the Mayers-Lo-Chau no-go theorem, and unconditional security is achieved.
We analyze tolerable quantum bit error rates in secret sharing protocols, and show that using entangled encoding states is advantageous in the case when the eavesdropping attacks are local. We also provide a criterion for security in secret sharing -- a parallel of the Csiszar-Korner criterion in single-receiver cryptography.
We investigate schemes for quantum secret sharing and quantum dense coding via tripartite entangled states. We present a scheme for sharing classical information via entanglement swapping using two tripartite entangled GHZ states. In order to throw light upon the security affairs of the quantum dense coding protocol, we also suggest a secure quantum dense coding scheme via W state in analogy with the theory of sharing information among involved users.
Standard quantum cryptographic protocols are not secure if one assumes that nonlocal hidden variables exist and can be measured with arbitrary precision. The security can be restored if one of the communicating parties randomly switches between two standard protocols.
Ping-Pong protocol is a type of quantum key distribution which makes use of two entangled photons in the EPR state. Its security is based on the randomization of the operations that Alice performs on the travel photon (qubit), and on the anti-correlation between the two photons in the EPR state. In this paper, we study the security of this protocol against some known quantum attacks, and present a scheme that may enhance its security to some degree.
We show that non-maximally entangled states can be used to build a quantum key distribution (QKD) scheme whose security and key rate transmission is nearly equivalent to those of standard QKD protocols. These aspects can be controlled by using the new free parameter in the present scheme, namely, the degree of partial entanglement. Furthermore, we discuss how to build a controlled QKD scheme, also based on partially entangled states, where a third party can decide whether or not Alice and Bob are allowed to share a key.
We present a scheme to realize a quantum key distribution using vacuum-one photon entangled states created both from Alice and Bob. The protocol consists in an exchange of spatial modes between Alice and Bob and in a recombination which allows one of them to reconstruct the bit encoded by the counterpart in the phase of the entangled state. The security of the scheme is analyzed against some simple kind of attack. The model is shown to reach higher efficiency with respect to prior schemes using phase encoding methods.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) has long been a promising area for application of quantum effects toward solving real-world problems. But two major obstacles have stood in the way of widespread applications: low secure key generation rates and short achievable operating distances. In this paper, a new physical mechanism for dealing with the first of these problems is proposed: interplay between different degrees of freedom in a hyperentangled system (parametric down conversion) is used to increase the Hilbert space dimension available for key generation while maintaining security. Polarization-…
We propose in this paper a novel deterministic protocol using particular maximally entangled states of polarized photons for a genuine bidirectional secure communication setup. We further propose a plausible experimental setup for such a protocol using currently available optical technology which liberates two communicating party from sharing identical apparatus. We note that security of the protocol is promised by the monogamous nature of maximally entangled states. We discuss the security of our protocol in the light of some simple eavesdropping scenarios.
We suggest a quantum cryptographic scheme using continuous EPR-like correlations of bright optical beams. For binary key encoding, the continuous information is discretized in a novel way by associating a respective measurement, amplitude or phase, with a bit value "1" or "0". The secure key distribution is guaranteed by the quantum correlations. No pre-determined information is sent through the quantum channel contributing to the security of the system.
Certifying the entanglement of quantum states with Bell inequalities allows one to guarantee the security of quantum information protocols independently of imperfections in the measuring devices. Here we present a similar procedure for witnessing entangled measurements, which play a central role in many quantum information tasks. Our procedure is termed semi-device-independent, as it uses uncharacterized quantum preparations of fixed Hilbert space dimension. Using a photonic setup, we experimentally certify an entangled measurement using measurement statistics only. We also apply our technique…
We propose an efficient quantum key distribution scheme based on entanglement. The sender chooses pairs of photons in one of the two equivalent nonmaximally entangled states randomly, and sends a sequence of photons from each pair to the receiver. They choose from the various bases independently but with substantially different probabilities, thus reducing the fraction of discarded data, and a significant gain in efficiency is achieved. We then show that such a refined data analysis guarantees the security of our scheme against a biased eavesdropping strategy.
We present a protocol for deterministic and highly efficient quantum cryptography with entangled photon pairs in a 4x4-dimentional Hilbert space. Two communicating parties, Alice and Bob first share a both polarization- and path-entangled photon pair, and then each performs a complete Bell-state measurement on their own photon in one of two complementary Bell-state bases. It is demonstrated that each measurement in which both Alice and Bob register a photon can build certain perfect correlation and generate 1.5 key bits on average. The security of our protocol is guaranteed by the non-cloning …
By realizing a quantum cryptography system based on polarization entangled photon pairs we establish highly secure keys, because a single photon source is approximated and the inherent randomness of quantum measurements is exploited. We implement a novel key distribution scheme using Wigner's inequality to test the security of the quantum channel, and, alternatively, realize a variant of the BB84 protocol. Our system has two completely independent users separated by 360 m, and generates raw keys at rates of 400 - 800 bits/second with bit error rates arround 3 percent.
Analyzing carefully an experimentally feasible non-entangled single qubit quantum secret sharing protocol and its modified version [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 230505 (2005); ibid. 98, 028902 (2007)], it is found that both versions are insecure against coherent attacks though the original idea is so remarkable. To overcome this fatal flaw, here we propose a protocol with a distinct security checking strategy, which still involves single qubit operations only, making it possible to achieve better security of quantum secret sharing with current technology.
It is shown that Smolin four-qubit bound entangled states [Phys. Rev. A, 63 032306 (2001)] can maximally violate two-setting Bell inequality similar to standard CHSH inequality. Surprisingly this entanglement does not allow for secure key distillation, so neither entanglement nor violation of Bell inequalities implies quantum security. It is also pointed out how that kind of bound entanglement can be useful in reducing communication complexity.
We introduce a novel time-frequency quantum key distribution (TFQKD) scheme based on photon pairs entangled in these two conjugate degrees of freedom. The scheme uses spectral detection and phase modulation to enable measurements in the temporal basis by means of time-to-frequency conversion. This allows large-alphabet encoding to be implemented with realistic components. A general security analysis for TFQKD with binned measurements reveals a close connection with finite-dimensional QKD protocols and enables analysis of the effects of dark counts on the secure key size.
We demonstrate a prototype-implementation of deterministic information encoding for quantum key distribution (QKD) following the ping-pong coding protocol [K. Bostroem, T. Felbinger, Phys. Rev. Lett. 89 (2002) 187902-1]. Due to the deterministic nature of this protocol the need for post-processing the key is distinctly reduced compared to non-deterministic protocols. In the course of our implementation we analyze the practicability of the protocol and discuss some security aspects of information transfer in such a deterministic scheme.
High-precision time transfer is of fundamental interest in physics and metrology. Quantum time transfer technologies that use frequency-entangled pulses and their coincidence detection have been proposed, offering potential enhancements in precision and better guarantees of security. In this paper, we describe a fiber-optic two-way quantum time transfer experiment. Using quantum nonlocal dispersion cancellation, time transfer over a 20-km fiber link achieves a time deviation of 922 fs over 5 s and 45 fs over 40960 s. The time transfer accuracy as a function of fiber lengths from 15 m to 20 km …
We consider the class of (N+1)-partite states suitable for protocols where there is a powerful party, the authority, and the other N parties play the same role, namely the state of their system live in the symmetric Hilbert space. We show that, within this scenario, there is a "maximally entangled state" that can be transform by a LOCC protocol into any other state. In addition, we show how to make the protocol efficiently including the construction of the state and discuss security issues for possible applications to cryptographic protocols. As an immediate consequence we recover a sequential…
We establish a security proof of frequency-time coding quantum key distribution (FT-QKD) protocol by showing its connection to the squeezed state quantum key distribution protocol, which has been proven to be unconditionally secure. We also extend the prepare-and-measure FT-QKD protocol to an entanglement based FT-QKD protocol which is more appealing in practice. Furthermore, we propose a correlated frequency measurement scheme of entangled photon pair by using time resolving single photon detector. Simulation results show that the FT-QKD protocol can be implemented with today's technology.
We describe a protocol by which an imaging system could be protected against jamming by a malevolent party. Our protocol not only allows recognition of the jamming, but also allows for the recovery of the true image from the jammed one. We apply the method to jamming of quantum ghost imaging, for which the jamming detection probability is increased when the imaging light is entangled. The method can also be used to provide image recovery in general noisy environments.
Recently, Ri-Gui Zhou et al. [Int. J. Theor. Phys. 59, 166-172 (2020)] proposed a scheme for bidirectional quantum teleportation of two-two and two-three qubit states by utilizing a six-qubit entangled state as a quantum channel. It is observed that the intrinsic efficiency calculated by Zhou et al. is not correct. In this improved scheme, we show that bidirectional teleportation of two-two and two-three qubit quantum states can be done by using optimized quantum resource and less consumption of classical resource. We also calculate the intrinsic efficiency of our improved scheme which is much…
Two deterministic secure quantum communication schemes are proposed, one based on pure entangled states and the other on $d$-dimensional single-photon states. In these two schemes, only single-photon measurements are required for the two authorized users, which makes the schemes more convenient than others in practical applications. Although each qubit can be read out after a transmission of additional classical bit, it is unnecessary for the users to transmit qubits double the distance between the sender and the receiver, which will increase their bit rate and their security. The parties use …
We present three quantum key distribution protocols using entangled state. In the first two protocols, all Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen pairs are used to distribute a secret key except those chosen for eavesdropping check, because the communication parties measure each of their particles in an invariable measuring basis. The first protocol is based on the ideal of qubit transmission in blocks. Although it need quantum memory, its theoretic efficiency approximates to 100%. The second protocol does not need quantum memory and its efficiency for qubits can achieve 100%. In the third protocol, we prese…
In this paper, a multi-party quantum private comparison (MQPC) scheme is suggested based on entanglement swapping of Bell entangled states within d-level quantum system, which can accomplish the equality comparison of secret binary sequences from n users via one execution of scheme. Detailed security analysis shows that both the outside attack and the participant attack are ineffective. The suggested scheme needn't establish a private key among n users beforehand through the quantum key distribution (QKD) method to encrypt the secret binary sequences. Compared with previous MQPC scheme based o…
Device-independent quantum key distribution (DI-QKD) represents one of the most fascinating challenges in quantum communication, exploiting concepts of fundamental physics, namely Bell tests of nonlocality, to ensure the security of a communication link. This requires the loophole-free violation of a Bell inequality, which is intrinsically difficult due to losses in fibre optic transmission channels. Heralded photon amplification is a teleportation-based protocol that has been proposed as a means to overcome transmission loss for DI-QKD. Here we demonstrate heralded photon amplification for pa…
We prove unconditional security for a quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol based on distilling pbits (twisted ebits) [quant-ph/0309110] from an arbitrary untrusted state that is claimed to contain distillable key. Our main result is that we can verify security using only public communication -- via parameter estimation of the given untrusted state. The technique applies even to bound entangled states, thus extending QKD to the regime where the available quantum channel has zero quantum capacity. We also show how to convert our purification-based QKD schemes to prepare-measure schemes.
Security against simple eavesdropping attacks is demonstrated for a recently proposed quantum key distribution protocol which uses the Fibonacci recursion relation to enable high-capacity key generation with entangled photon pairs. No transmitted pairs need to be discarded in reconciliation; the only pairs not used for key generation are those used for security-checking. Although the proposed approach does not allow eavesdropper-induced errors to be detected on single trials, it can nevertheless reveal the eavesdropper's action on the quantum channel by detecting changes in the distribution of…
Device-independent quantum key distribution is a secure quantum cryptographic paradigm that allows two honest users to establish a secret key, while putting minimal trust in their devices. Most of the existing protocols have the following structure: first, a bipartite nonlocal quantum state is distributed between the honest users, who perform local measurements to establish nonlocal correlations. Then, they announce the implemented measurements and extract a secure key by post-processing their measurement outcomes. We show that no protocol of this form allows for establishing a secret key when…
