Passive decoy-state quantum key distribution using weak coherent pulses with modulator attenuation

Passive decoy-state quantum key distribution is more desirable than the active one in some scenarios. It is also affected by the imperfections of the devices. In this paper, the influence of modulator attenuation on the passive decoy-state method is considered. We introduce and analyze the unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer, briefly, and combining with the virtual source and imaginary unitary transformation, we characterize the passive decoy-state method using a weak coherent photon source with modulator attenuation. According to the attenuation parameter 6, the pass efficiencies are given. Then, the key generation rate can be acquired. From numerical simulations, it can be seen that modulator attenuation has a non- negligible influence on the performance of passive-state QKD protocol. Based on the research, the analysis method of virtual source and imaginary unitary transformation are preferred in analyzing passive decoy state protocol, and the passive decoy-state method is better than the active one and is close to the active vacuum ＋ weak decoy state under the condition of having the same modulator attenuation.

Passive decoy-state quantum key distribution for the weak coherent photon source with finite-length key

Passive decoy-state quantum key distribution systems, proven to be more desirable than active ones in some scenarios, also have the problem of device imperfections like finite-length keys. In this paper, based on the WCP source which can be used for the passive decoy-state method, we obtain the expressions of single-photon error rates, single-photon counts, and phase error rates. According to the information of smooth min-entropy, we calculate the key generation rate under the condition of finite-length key. Key generation rates with different numbers of pulses are compared by numerical simulations. From the results, it can be seen that the passive decoy-state method can have good results if the total number of pulses reaches 1010. We also simulate the passive decoy-state method with different probabilities of choosing a pulse for parameter estimation when the number of pulses is fixed.

Far-zone behaviors of scattering-induced statistical properties of partially polarized spatially and spectrally partially coherent electromagnetic pulsed beam

In this study, we explore the far-zero behaviors of a scattered partially polarized spatially and spectrally partially coherent electromagnetic pulsed beam irradiating on a deterministic medium. The analytical formula for the cross-spectral density matrix elements of this beam in the spherical coordinate system is derived. Within the framework of the first-order Born approximation, the effects of the scattering angle θ, the source parameters (i.e., the pulse duration T0 and the temporal coherence length Tcxx), and the scatterer parameter (i.e., the effective width of the medium σR) on the spectral density, the spectral shift, the spectral degree of polarization, and the degree of spectral coherence of the scattered source in the far-zero field are studied numerically and comparatively. Our work improves the scattering theory of stochastic electromagnetic beams and it may be useful for the applications involving the interaction between incident light waves and scattering media.

Novel method for radial velocity difference estimation of moving targets with wideband signals

For the frequency difference of arrival （FDOA） esti-mation in passive location, this paper transforms the frequency difference estimation into the radial velocity difference estimation, which is difficult to achieve a high accuracy due to the mismatch between the sampling period and the pulse repetition interval. The proposed algorithm firstly estimates the point-in-time that each pulse arrives at two receivers accurately. Secondly two time of arrival （TOA） sequences are subtracted. And final y the radial ve-locity difference of a target relative to two stations with the least square method is estimated. This algorithm only needs accurate estimation of the time delay between pulses and is not influenced by parameters such as frequency and modulation mode. It avoids transmitting a large amount of data between two stations in real time. Simulation results corroborate that the performance is bet-ter than the arithmetic average of the Cramer-Rao lower bound （CRLB） for monopulse under suitable conditions.

Long-distance quantum state transfer through cavity-assisted interaction

We propose a scheme for long-distance quantum state transfer between different atoms based on cavity-assisted interactions. In our scheme, a coherent optical pulse sequentially interacts with two distant atoms trapped in separated cavities. Through the measurement of the state of the first atom and the homodyne detection of the final output coherent light, the quantum state can be transferred into the second atom with a success probability of unity and a fidelity of unity. In addition, our scheme neither requires the high-Q cavity working in the strong coupling regime nor employs the single-photon quantum channel, which greatly relaxes the experimental requirements.

A concept for multiterawatt fibre lasers based on coherent pulse stacking in passive cavities

Since the advent of femtosecond lasers,performance improvements have constantly impacted on existing applications and enabled novel applications.However,one performance feature bearing the potential of a quantum leap for high-field applications is still not available:the simultaneous emission of extremely high peak and average powers.Emerging applications such as laser particle acceleration require exactly this performance regime and,therefore,challenge laser technology at large.On the one hand,canonical bulk systems can provide pulse peak powers in the multi-terawatt to petawatt range,while on the other hand,advanced solid-state-laser concepts such as the thin disk,slab or fibre are well known for their high efficiency and their ability to emit high average powers in the kilowatt range with excellent beam quality.In this contribution,a compact laser system capable of simultaneously providing high peak and average powers with high wall-plug efficiency is proposed and analysed.The concept is based on the temporal coherent combination(pulse stacking)of a pulse train emitted from a high-repetition-rate femtosecond laser system in a passive enhancement cavity.Thus,the pulse energy is increased at the cost of the repetition rate while almost preserving the average power.The concept relies on a fast switching element for dumping the enhanced pulse out of the cavity.The switch constitutes the key challenge of our proposal.Addressing this challenge could,for the first time,allow the highly efficient dumping of joule-class pulses at megawatt average power levels and lead to unprecedented laser parameters.

In situ frequency gating and beam splitting of vacuum- and extreme-ultraviolet pulses

Monochromatization of high-harmonic sources has opened fascinating perspectives regarding time-resolved photoemission from all phases of matter.Such studies have invariably involved the use of spectral filters or spectrally dispersive optical components that are inherently lossy and technically complex.Here we present a new technique for the spectral selection of near-threshold harmonics and their spatial separation from the driving beams without any optical elements.We discover the existence of a narrow phase-matching gate resulting from the combination of the non-collinear generation geometry in an extended medium,atomic resonances and absorption.Our technique offers a filter contrast of up to 104 for the selected harmonics against the adjacent ones and offers multiple temporally synchronized beamlets in a single unified scheme.We demonstrate the selective generation of 133,80 or 56 nm femtosecond pulses from a 400-nm driver,which is specific to the target gas.These results open new pathways towards phase-sensitive multi-pulse spectroscopy in the vacuum-and extreme-ultraviolet,and frequencyselective output coupling from enhancement cavities.

Extracting cavity and pulse phases from limited data for coherent pulse stacking

Coherent pulse stacking（CPS） is a new time-domain coherent addition technique that stacks several optical pulses into a single output pulse, enabling high pulse energy and high average power. A Z-domain model targeting the pulsed laser is assembled to describe the optical interference process. An algorithm, extracting the cavity phase and pulse phases from limited data, where only the pulse intensity is available, is developed to diagnose optical cavity resonators. We also implement the algorithm on the cascaded system of multiple optical cavities,achieving phase errors less than 1.0°（root mean square）, which could ensure the stability of CPS.

Decoy-state method for quantum-key-distribution-based quantum private query

The quantum private query(QPQ)is a quantum solution for the symmetrically private information retrieval problem.We study the security of quantum-key-distribution-based QPQ with weak coherent pulses.The result shows that multiphoton pulses have posed a serious threat to the participant’s privacy in QPQ protocols.Then we propose a decoy-state method that can help the honest participant detect the attack by exploiting multiphoton pulses and improving the key distillation process to defend against such attack.The analysis demonstrates that our decoy-state method significantly improves the security of the QPQ with weak coherent pulses,which solves a major obstacle in the practical application of the QPQ.