The relation between the boolean functions and Bell inequalities for qubits is analyzed. The connection between the maximal quantum violation of a Bell inequality and the nonlinearity of the corresponding boolean function is discussed. A visualization scheme of boolean functions is proposed. An attempt to classify Bell inequalities for qubits is made, a weaker result (classification with respect to Jevons group) is obtained. The fractal structure of the classification is shown. All constructs are illustrated by Mathematica code.
We present a crytographic protocol based upon entangled qutrit pairs. We analyse the scheme under a symmetric incoherent attack and plot the region for which the protocol is secure and compare this with the region of violations of certain Bell inequalities.
Several mechanisms that affect one and two photon coherence in optical fibers and their remedies are discussed. The results are illustrated on quantum cryptography experiments and on long distance Bell inequality tests.
We present a setup for quantum cryptography based on photon pairs in energy-time Bell states and show its feasability in a laboratory experiment. Our scheme combines the advantages of using photon pairs instead of faint laser pulses and the possibility to preserve energy-time entanglement over long distances. Moreover, using 4-dimensional energy-time states, no fast random change of bases is required in our setup : Nature itself decides whether to measure in the energy or in the time base.
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.
Here we show that, if we insert context dependent unitary evolutions (which can be achieved via post selection) into spatial (i.e., normal) Bell-CHSH test, then it is possible to violate space-time Bell-CHSH inequality maximally (i.e., up to $4$). However this does not contradict Tsirelson quantum bound ($2\sqrt{2}$), as the latter has been derived without taking into consideration context dependent unitary evolutions and/or post selection. As an important application, this leads to a more efficient quantum key distribution protocol.
The concept of asymptotic correctability of Bell-diagonal quantum states is generalised to elementary quantum systems of higher dimensions. Based on these results basic properties of quantum state purification protocols are investigated which are capable of purifying tensor products of Bell-diagonal states and which are based on $B$-steps of the Gottesman-Lo-type with the subsequent application of a Calderbank-Shor-Steane quantum code. Consequences for maximum tolerable error rates of quantum cryptographic protocols are discussed.
We present a generalized tomographic quantum key distribution protocol in which the two parties share a Bell diagonal mixed state of two qubits. We show that if an eavesdropper performs a coherent measurement on many quantum ancilla states simultaneously, classical methods of secure key distillation are less effective than quantum entanglement distillation protocols. We also show that certain Bell diagonal states are resistant to any attempt of incoherent eavesdropping.
We propose a novel double-entanglement-based quantum cryptography protocol that is both efficient and deterministic. The proposal uses photon pairs with entanglement both in polarization and in time degrees of freedom; each measurement in which both of the two communicating parties register a photon can establish one and only one perfect correlation and thus deterministically create a key bit. Eavesdropping can be detected by violation of local realism. A variation of the protocol shows a higher security, similarly to the six-state protocol, under individual attacks. Our scheme allows a robust…
We present a game-based approach to teach Bell inequalities and quantum cryptography at high school. The approach is based on kinesthetic activities and allows students to experience and discover quantum features and their applications first-hand. We represent quantum states by the orientation of students, and mimic quantitative random behaviour and measurements using dice and apps.
Quantum Cryptography, or more accurately, Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is based on using an unconditionally secure ``quantum channel'' to share a secret key among two users. A manufacturer of QKD devices could, intentionally or not, use a (semi-)classical channel instead of the quantum channel, which would remove the supposedly unconditional security. One example is the BB84 protocol, where the quantum channel can be implemented in polarization of single photons. Here, use of several photons instead of one to encode each bit of the key provides a similar but insecure system. For protocols ba…
Bell's theorem states that no local realistic explanation of quantum mechanical predictions is possible, in which the experimenter has a freedom to choose between different measurement settings. Within a local realistic picture the violation of Bell's inequalities can only be understood if this freedom is denied. We determine the minimal degree to which the experimenter's freedom has to be abandoned, if one wants to keep such a picture and be in agreement with the experiment. Furthermore, the freedom in choosing experimental arrangements may be considered as a resource, since its lacking can b…
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 …
A quantum cryptography scheme based on entanglement between a single particle state and a vacuum state is proposed. The scheme utilizes linear optics devices to detect the superposition of the vacuum and single particle states. Existence of an eavesdropper can be detected by using a variant of Bell's inequality.
An arbitrarily dense discretisation of the Bloch sphere of complex Hilbert states is constructed, where points correspond to bit strings of fixed finite length. Number-theoretic properties of trigonometric functions (not part of the quantum-theoretic canon) are used to show that this constructive discretised representation incorporates many of the defining characteristics of quantum systems: completementarity, uncertainty relationships and (with a simple Cartesian product of discretised spheres) entanglement. Unlike Meyer's earlier discretisation of the Bloch Sphere, there are no orthonormal t…
Bell's theorem is supposed to exclude all local hidden-variable models of quantum correlations. However, an explicit counterexample shows that a new class of local realistic models, based on generalized arithmetic and calculus, can exactly reconstruct rotationally symmetric quantum probabilities typical of two-electron singlet states. Observable probabilities are consistent with the usual arithmetic employed by macroscopic observers, but counterfactual aspects of Bell's theorem are sensitive to the choice of hidden-variable arithmetic and calculus. The model is classical in the sense of Einste…
We consider a family of quantum communication protocols involving $N$ partners. We demonstrate the existence of a link between the security of these protocols against individual attacks by the eavesdropper, and the violation of some Bell's inequalities, generalizing the link that was noticed some years ago for two-partners quantum cryptography. The arguments are independent of the local hidden variable debate.
A generalization of the quantum cryptographic protocol by Bennett and Brassard is discussed, using three conjugate bases, i.e. six states. By calculating the optimal mutual information between sender and eavesdropper it is shown that this scheme is safer against eavesdropping on single qubits than the one based on two conjugate bases. We also address the question for a connection between the maximal classical correlation in a generalized Bell inequality and the intersection of mutual informations between sender/receiver and sender/eavesdropper.
The promise of secure cryptographic quantum key distribution schemes is based on the use of quantum effects in the spin space. We point out that in fact in many current quantum cryptography protocols the space part of the wave function is neglected. However exactly the space part of the wave function describes the behaviour of particles in ordinary real three-dimensional space. As a result such schemes can be secure against eavesdropping attacks in the abstract spin space but could be insecure in the real three-dimensional space. We discuss an approach to the security of quantum key distributi…
Bell nonlocality is a cornerstone of quantum theory with applications in information processing ranging from cryptography to distributed computing and game theory. Indeed, it is known that Bell's theorem can be formally linked to Bayesian games, allowing the use of nonlocal correlations to advise players and thereby achieve new points of equilibrium that are unavailable classically. Here we generalize this link, proving the connection between multistage games of incomplete information with Bell scenarios involving the communication of measurement outcomes between the parties. We apply the gene…
We investigate the maximal violation of Bell inequalities for two $d$-dimensional systems by using the method of Bell operator. The maximal violation corresponds to the maximal eigenvalue of the Bell operator matrix. The eigenvectors corresponding to these eigenvalues are described by asymmetric entangled states. We estimate the maximum value of the eigenvalue for large dimension. A family of elegant entangled states $|Ψ>_{\rm app}$ that violate Bell inequality more strongly than the maximally entangled state but are somewhat close to these eigenvectors is presented. These approximate states c…
A Franson-type test of Bell inequalities by photons 10.9 km apart is presented. Energy-time entangled photon-pairs are measured using two-channel analyzers, leading to a violation of the inequalities by 16 standard deviations without subtracting accidental coincidences. Subtracting them, a 2-photon interference visibility of 95.5% is observed, demonstrating that distances up to 10 km have no significant effect on entanglement. This sets quantum cryptography with photon pairs as a practical competitor to the schemes based on weak pulses.
The field of device-independent quantum cryptography has seen enormous success in the past several years, including security proofs for key distribution and random number generation that account for arbitrary imperfections in the devices used. Full security proofs in the field so far are long and technically deep. In this paper we show that the concept of the mirror adversary can be used to simplify device-independent proofs. We give a short proof that any bipartite Bell violation can be used to generate private random numbers. The proof is based on elementary techniques and is self-contained.
Lectures on classical and quantum cryptography. Contents: Private key cryptosystems. Elements of number theory. Public key cryptography and RSA cryptosystem. Shannon`s entropy and mutual information. Entropic uncertainty relations. The no cloning theorem. The BB84 quantum cryptographic protocol. Security proofs. Bell`s theorem. The EPRBE quantum cryptographic protocol.
We consider the Bennett-Brassard cryptographic scheme, which uses two conjugate quantum bases. An eavesdropper who attempts to obtain information on qubits sent in one of the bases causes a disturbance to qubits sent in the other basis. We derive an upper bound to the accessible information in one basis, for a given error rate in the conjugate basis. Independently fixing the error rate in the conjugate bases, we show that both bounds can be attained simultaneously by an optimal eavesdropping probe, consisting of two qubits. The qubits' interaction and their subsequent measurement are described…
Understanding the limits of quantum theory in terms of uncertainty and correlation has always been a topic of foundational interest. Surprisingly this pursuit can also bear interesting applications such as device-independent quantum cryptography and tomography or self-testing. Building upon a series of recent works on the geometry of quantum correlations, we are interested in the problem of computing quantum Bell inequalities or the boundary between quantum and post-quantum world. Better knowledge of this boundary will lead to more efficient device-independent quantum processing protocols. We …
States that strongly violate Bell's inequalities are required in many quantum informational protocols as, for example, in cryptography, secret sharing and the reduction of communication complexity. We investigate families of such states with a numerical method which allows to reveal non-classicality even without direct knowledge of Bell's inequalities for the given problem. An extensive set of numerical results is presented and discussed.
Tomography of the two qubit density matrix shared by Alice and Bob is an essential ingredient for guaranteeing an acceptable margin of confidentiality during the establishment of a secure fresh key through the Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) scheme. We show how the Singapore protocol for key distribution is optimal from this point of view, due to the fact that it is based on so called SIC POVM qubit tomography which allows the most accurate full tomographic reconstruction of an unknown density matrix on the basis of a restricted set of experimental data. We illustrate with the help of experimen…
Measurements performed on distant parts of an entangled quantum state can generate correlations incompatible with classical theories respecting the assumption of local causality. This is the phenomenon known as quantum non-locality that, apart from its fundamental role, can also be put to practical use in applications such as cryptography and distributed computing. Clearly, developing ways of quantifying non-locality is an important primitive in this scenario. Here, we propose to quantify the non-locality of a given probability distribution via its trace distance to the set of classical correl…
We implement experimentally a deterministic method to prepare and measure so called single-photon two-qubit entangled states or single-photon Bell-states, in which the polarization and the spatial modes of a single-photon each represent a quantum bit. All four single-photon Bell-states can be easily prepared and measured deterministically using linear optical elements alone. We also discuss how this method can be used for recently proposed single-photon two-qubit quantum cryptography protocol.
A finite non-classical framework for physical theory is described which challenges the conclusion that the Bell Inequality has been shown to have been violated experimentally, even approximately. This framework postulates the universe as a deterministic locally causal system evolving on a measure-zero fractal-like geometry $I_U$ in cosmological state space. Consistent with the assumed primacy of $I_U$, and $p$-adic number theory, a non-Euclidean (and hence non-classical) metric $g_p$ is defined on cosmological state space, where $p$ is a large but finite Pythagorean prime. Using number-theoret…
Violations of a Bell inequality are reported for an experiment where one of two entangled qubits is stored in a collective atomic memory for a user-defined time delay. The atomic qubit is found to preserve the violation of a Bell inequality for storage times up to 21 microseconds, 700 times longer than the duration of the excitation pulse that creates the entanglement. To address the question of the security of entanglement-based cryptography implemented with this system, an investigation of the Bell violation as a function of the cross-correlation between the generated nonclassical fields is …
The Bell-type (spatial), Kochen-Specker (contextuality) or Leggett-Garg (temporal) inequalities are based on classically plausible but otherwise quite distinct assumptions. For any of these inequalities, satisfaction is equivalent to a joint probability distribution for all observables in the experiment. This implies a joint distribution for all pairs of observables, and is indifferent to whether or not they commute in the theory. This indifference underpins a unification of the above inequalities into a general framework of correlation inequalities. When the physical scenario is such that the…
In the first part of this thesis Bell's theorem is revisited. It points at a difference between the quantum and the classical world. This difference is often behind the advantages of solutions using quantum mechanics. New and more general versions of Bell inequalities are presented. These inequalities involve multiple settings per observer. Compared with the two-setting inequalities, the new ones reveal the non-classical character of a broader class of states. Some of them are also proven to be optimal (tight). Next, we go beyond Bell's theorem. It is shown, both in theory and in experiment, t…
The aim of this thesis is to investigate quantum entanglement and quantum nonlocality of bipartite finite-dimensional systems (bipartite qudits). Entanglement is one of the most fascinating non-classical features of quantum theory, and besides its impact on our view of the world, it can be exploited for applications such as quantum cryptography and quantum computing. (...) Although entanglement and nonlocality are ordinarily regarded as one and the same, under close consideration this cannot be taken for granted. The reason for this is that entanglement is defined by the mathematical structure…
Despite high hopes for quantum computation in the 1990s, progress in the past decade has been slow; we still cannot perform computation with more than about three qubits and are no closer to solving problems of real interest than a decade ago. Separately, recent experiments in fluid mechanics have demonstrated the emergence of a full range of quantum phenomena from completely classical motion. We present two specific hypotheses. First, Kuramoto theory may give a basis for geometrical thinking about entanglement. Second, we consider a recent soliton model of the electron, in which the quantum-m…
Certifying optimal device-independent quantum randomness in quantum networks
Hangzhou Dianzi University（杭州电子科技大学）；Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Sensitive Data Security and Confidentiality Governance（浙江省敏感数据安全与保密治理重点实验室）；The University of Hong Kong（香港大学）
Bell inequalities are an important tool in device-independent quantum information processing because their violation can serve as a certificate of relevant quantum properties. Probably the best known example of a Bell inequality is due to Clauser, Horne, Shimony and Holt (CHSH), which is defined in the simplest scenario involving two dichotomic measurements and whose all key properties are well understood. There have been many attempts to generalise the CHSH Bell inequality to higher-dimensional quantum systems, however, for most of them the maximal quantum violation---the key quantity for mos…
Instrumental variables allow the estimation of cause and effect relations even in presence of unobserved latent factors, thus providing a powerful tool for any science wherein causal inference plays an important role. More recently, the instrumental scenario has also attracted increasing attention in quantum physics, since it is related to the seminal Bell's theorem and in fact allows the detection of even stronger quantum effects, thus enhancing our current capabilities to process information and becoming a valuable tool in quantum cryptography. In this work, we further explore this bridge be…
Probing many-body Bell correlation depth with superconducting qubits
School of Physics, Zhejiang University（浙江大学物理学院）；Center for Quantum Information, IIIS, Tsinghua University（清华大学信息科学技术研究院量子信息中心）；Instituut-Lorentz, Universiteit Leiden（莱顿大学洛伦兹研究所）；ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center（浙江大学杭州国际科技创新中心）；Hefei National Laboratory（合肥国家实验室）；Shanghai Qi Zhi Institute（上海量子科学研究中心）
Classical Cellular Automaton for Measurement-Only Entanglement Transitions
Western Washington University（西华盛顿大学）；Advanced Materials Science and Engineering Center, Western Washington University（西华盛顿大学先进材料科学与工程中心）；Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara（加州大学圣塔芭芭拉分校卡弗里理论物理研究所）
