Security analysis of satellite-to-ground reference-frame-independent quantum key distribution with beam wandering

The reference-frame-independent(RFI)quantum key distribution(QKD)is suitable for satellite-based links by removing the active alignment on the reference frames.However,how the beam wandering influences the performance of RFI-QKD remains a pending issue in satellite-to-ground links.In this paper,based on the mathematical model for characterizing beam wandering,we present the security analysis for satellite-to-ground RFI-QKD and analytically derive formulas for calculating the secret key rate with beam wandering.Our simulation results show that the performance of RFI-QKD is better than the Bennett–Brassard 1984(BB84)QKD with beam wandering in asymptotic case.Furthermore,the degree of influences of beam wandering is specifically presented for satellite-to-ground RFI-QKD when statistical fluctuations are taken into account.Our work can provide theoretical support for the realization of RFI-QKD using satellite-to-ground links and have implications for the construction of large-scale satellite-based quantum networks.

Effect of weak randomness flaws on security evaluation of practical quantum key distribution with distinguishable decoy states

Quantum key distribution provides an unconditional secure key sharing method in theory,but the imperfect factors of practical devices will bring security vulnerabilities.In this paper,we characterize the imperfections of the sender and analyze the possible attack strategies of Eve.Firstly,we present a quantized model for distinguishability of decoy states caused by intensity modulation.Besides,considering that Eve may control the preparation of states through hidden variables,we evaluate the security of preparation in practical quantum key distribution(QKD)scheme based on the weak-randomness model.Finally,we analyze the influence of the distinguishability of decoy state to secure key rate,for Eve may conduct the beam splitting attack and control the channel attenuation of different parts.Through the simulation,it can be seen that the secure key rate is sensitive to the distinguishability of decoy state and weak randomness,especially when Eve can control the channel attenuation.

Reference-frame-independent quantum key distribution with two-way classical communication

The data post-processing scheme based on two-way classical communication(TWCC)can improve the tolerable bit error rate and extend the maximal transmission distance when used in a quantum key distribution(QKD)system.In this study,we apply the TWCC method to improve the performance of reference-frame-independent quantum key distribution(RFI-QKD),and analyze the influence of the TWCC method on the performance of decoy-state RFI-QKD in both asymptotic and non-asymptotic cases.Our numerical simulation results show that the TWCC method is able to extend the maximal transmission distance from 175 km to 198 km and improve the tolerable bit error rate from 10.48%to 16.75%.At the same time,the performance of RFI-QKD in terms of the secret key rate and maximum transmission distance are still greatly improved when statistical fluctuations are considered.We conclude that RFI-QKD with the TWCC method is of practical interest.

General Method of Combining Grover and Simon for Attacking Block Ciphers

The compatibility of different quantum algorithms should be considered when these algorithms are combined.In this paper,the method of combining Grover and Simon is studied for the first time,under some preconditions or assumptions.First,we give two preconditions of applying Grover’s algorithm,which ensure that the success probability of finding the marked element is close to 1.Then,based on these two preconditions,it is found out that the success probability of the quantum algorithm for FXconstruction is far less than 1.Furthermore,we give the design method of the Oracle function,and then present the general method of combining Grover and Simon algorithm for attacking block ciphers,with success probability close to 1.

Application of a Discrete Phase-Randomized Coherent State Source in Round-Robin Differential Phase-Shift Quantum Key Distribution

Recently, a novel kind of quantum key distribution called the round-robin differential phase-shift （RRDPS） protocol was proposed, which bounds the amount of leakage without monitoring signal disturbance. The protocol can be implemented by a weak coherent source. The security of this protocol with a simply characterized source has been proved. The application of a common phase shift can improve the secret key rate of the protocol. In practice, the randomized phase is discrete and the secret key rate is deviated from the continuous case. In this study, we analyze security of the RRDPS protocol with discrete-phase-randomized coherent state source and bound the secret key rate. We fix the length of each packet at 32 and 64, then simulate the secret key rates of the RRDPS protocol with discrete-phase randomization and continuous-phase randomization. Our simulation results show that the performance of the discrete-phase randomization case is close to the continuous counterpart with only a small number of discrete phases. The research is practically valuable for experimental implementation.

Phase-matching quantum key distribution with imperfect sources

The huge discrepancies between actual devices and theoretical assumptions severely threaten the security of quantum key distribution.Recently,a general new framework called the reference technique has attracted wide attention in defending against the imperfect sources of quantum key distribution.Here,the state preparation flaws,the side channels of mode dependencies,the Trojan horse attacks,and the pulse classical correlations are studied by using the reference technique on the phase-matching protocol.Our simulation results highlight the importance of the actual secure parameters choice for transmitters,which is necessary to achieve secure communication.Increasing the single actual secure parameter will reduce the secure key rate.However,as long as the parameters are set properly,the secure key rate is still high.Considering the influences of multiple actual secure parameters will significantly reduce the secure key rate.These actual secure parameters must be considered when scientists calibrate transmitters.This work is an important step towards the practical and secure implementation of phase-matching protocol.In the future,it is essential to study the main parameters,find out their maximum and general values,classify the multiple parameters as the same parameter,and give countermeasures.

Finite-key analysis of practical time-bin high-dimensional quantum key distribution with afterpulse effect

High-dimensional quantum resources provide the ability to encode several bits of information on a single photon,which can particularly increase the secret key rate rate of quantum key distribution(QKD) systems. Recently, a practical four-dimensional QKD scheme based on time-bin quantum photonic state, only with two single-photon avalanche detectors as measurement setup, has been proven to have a superior performance than the qubit-based one. In this paper, we extend the results to our proposed eight-dimensional scheme. Then, we consider two main practical factors to improve its secret key bound. Concretely, we take the afterpulse effect into account and apply a finite-key analysis with the intensity fluctuations.Our secret bounds give consideration to both the intensity fluctuations and the afterpulse effect for the high-dimensional QKD systems. Numerical simulations show the bound of eight-dimensional QKD scheme is more robust to the intensity fluctuations but more sensitive to the afterpulse effect than the four-dimensional one.

Performance analysis of continuous-variable measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution under diverse weather conditions

The effects of weather conditions are ubiquitous in practical wireless quantum communication links.Here in this work,the performances of atmospheric continuous-variable measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution(CV-MDI-QKD)under diverse weather conditions are analyzed quantitatively.According to the Mie scattering theory and atmospheric CV-MDI-QKD model,we numerically simulate the relationship between performance of CV-MDI-QKD and the rainy and foggy conditions,aiming to get close to the actual combat environment in the future.The results show that both rain and fog will degrade the performance of the CV-MDI-QKD protocol.Under the rainy condition,the larger the raindrop diameter,the more obvious the extinction effect is and the lower the secret key rate accordingly.In addition,we find that the secret key rate decreases with the increase of spot deflection distance and the fluctuation of deflection.Under the foggy condition,the results illustrate that the transmittance decreases with the increase of droplet radius or deflection distance,which eventually yields the decrease in the secret key rate.Besides,in both weather conditions,the increase of transmission distance also leads the secret key rate to deteriorate.Our work can provide a foundation for evaluating the performance evaluation and successfully implementing the atmospheric CV-MDI-QKD in the future field operation environment under different weather conditions.

Quantum search for unknown number of target items by hybridizing fixed-point method with trail-and-error method

For the unsorted database quantum search with the unknown fraction λ of target items, there are mainly two kinds of methods, i.e., fixed-point and trail-and-error.(i) In terms of the fixed-point method, Yoder et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett.113 210501(2014)] claimed that the quadratic speedup over classical algorithms has been achieved. However, in this paper, we point out that this is not the case, because the query complexity of Yoder’s algorithm is actually in O(1/λ01/2)rather than O(1/λ1/2), where λ0 is a known lower bound of λ.(ii) In terms of the trail-and-error method, currently the algorithm without randomness has to take more than 1 times queries or iterations than the algorithm with randomly selected parameters. For the above problems, we provide the first hybrid quantum search algorithm based on the fixed-point and trail-and-error methods, where the matched multiphase Grover operations are trialed multiple times and the number of iterations increases exponentially along with the number of trials. The upper bound of expected queries as well as the optimal parameters are derived. Compared with Yoder’s algorithm, the query complexity of our algorithm indeed achieves the optimal scaling in λ for quantum search, which reconfirms the practicality of the fixed-point method. In addition, our algorithm also does not contain randomness, and compared with the existing deterministic algorithm, the query complexity can be reduced by about 1/3. Our work provides a new idea for the research on fixed-point and trial-and-error quantum search.

Security of quantum key distribution with virtual mutually unbiased bases

In a perfect quantum key distribution(QKD)protocol,quantum states should be prepared and measured with mutually unbiased bases(MUBs).However,in a practical QKD system,quantum states are generally prepared and measured with imperfect MUBs using imperfect devices,possibly reducing the secret key rate and transmission distance.To analyze the security of a QKD system with imperfect MUBs,we propose virtual MUBs to characterize the quantum channel against collective attack,and analyze the corresponding secret key rate under imperfect state preparation and measurement conditions.More generally,we apply the advantage distillation method for analyzing the security of QKD with imperfect MUBs,where the error tolerance and transmission distance can be sharply improved.Our analysis method can be applied to benchmark and standardize a practical QKD system,elucidating the security analysis of different QKD protocols with imperfect devices.

Dynamic quantum secret sharing protocol based on two-particle transform of Bell states

To solve the problems of updating sub-secrets or secrets as well as adding or deleting agents in the quantum secret sharing protocol, we propose a two-particle transform of Bell states, and consequently present a novel dynamic quantum secret sharing protocol. The new protocol can not only resist some typical attacks, but also be more efficient than the existing protocols. Furthermore, we take advantage of the protocol to establish the dynamic secret sharing of a quantum state protocol for two-particle maximum entangled states.

Realization of -bit semiclassical quantum Fourier transform on IBM's quantum cloud computer

To overcome the difficulty of realizing large-scale quantum Fourier transform(QFT) within existing technology, this paper implements a resource-saving method(named t-bit semiclassical QFT over Z_(2~n)), which could realize large-scale QFT using an arbitrary-scale quantum register. By developing a feasible method to realize the control quantum gate Rk, we experimentally realize the 2-bit semiclassical QFT over Z_(2~3) on IBM's quantum cloud computer, which shows the feasibility of the method. Then, we compare the actual performance of 2-bit semiclassical QFT with standard QFT in the experiments.The squared statistical overlap experimental data shows that the fidelity of 2-bit semiclassical QFT is higher than that of standard QFT, which is mainly due to fewer two-qubit gates in the semiclassical QFT. Furthermore, based on the proposed method, N = 15 is successfully factorized by implementing Shor's algorithm.

Temperature effects on atmospheric continuous-variable quantum key distribution

Compared with the fiber channel,the atmospheric channel offers the possibility of a broader geographical coverage and more flexible transmission for continuous-variable quantum key distribution(CVQKD).However,the fluctuation of atmospheric conditions will lead to the loss of performance in atmospheric quantum communication.In this paper,we study how temperature affects atmospheric CVQKD.We mainly consider the temperature effects on the transmittance and interruption probability.From the numerical simulation analysis,it can be shown that the performance of atmospheric CVQKD is improved as temperature increases,with the other factors fixed.Moreover,the results in this work can be used to evaluate the feasibility of the experimental implementation of the atmospheric CVQKD protocols.

Research on co-propagation of QKD and classical communication by reducing the classical optical power

We investigate the crosstalk noise, especially the spontaneous Raman scattering, in the optical fiber of a copropagation system between quantum key distribution(QKD) and classical communications. Although many methods have been proposed, such as increasing the wavelength spacing and narrowband filtering technique, to suppress Raman scattering noise, these methods greatly affect the performance of QKD. One way to solve the obstacle restricting the coexistence is to decrease the classical signal power. Based on the high gain of the gated avalanche photodiode and pulse position modulation, we demonstrate that the co-propagation system works effectively with only a small effect on long-haul fibers, which has great significance for the practical widespread commercialization of QKD.

Attacking a high-dimensional quantum key distribution system with wavelength-dependent beam splitter

The unconditional security of quantum key distribution(QKD) can be guaranteed by the nature of quantum physics.Compared with the traditional two-dimensional BB84 QKD protocol, high-dimensional quantum key distribution(HDQKD) can be applied to generate much more secret key.Nonetheless, practical imperfections in realistic systems can be exploited by the third party to eavesdrop the secret key.The practical beam splitter has a correlation with wavelength,where different wavelengths have different coupling ratios.Using this property, we propose a wavelength-dependent attack towards time-bin high-dimensional QKD system.What is more, we demonstrate that this attacking protocol can be applied to arbitrary d-dimensional QKD system, and higher-dimensional QKD system is more vulnerable to this attacking strategy.

Finite-Key Analysis for a Practical High-Dimensional Quantum Key Distribution System Based on Time-Phase States

High-dimensional quantum states key distribution(HD-QKD) can enable more than one bit per photon and tolerate more noise. Recently, a practical HD-QKD system based on time-phase states has provided a secret key at Mbps over metropolitan distances. For the purposes of further improving the secret key rate of a practical HD-QKD system, we make two main contributions in this work. Firstly, we present an improved parameter estimation for this system in the finite-key scenario based on the Chernoff bound and the improved Chernoff bound. Secondly, we analyze how the dimension d affects the performance of the practical HD-QKD system.We present numerical simulations about the secret key rate of the practical HD-QKD system based on different parameter estimation methods. It is found that using the improved Chernoff bound can improve the secret key rate and maximum channel loss of the practical HD-QKD system. In addition, a mixture of the 4-level and 8-level practical HD-QKD system can provide better performance in terms of the key generation rate over metropolitan distances.

Reference-frame-independent quantum key distribution with an untrusted source

Reference frame independent quantum key distribution(RFI-QKD) allows two legitimate parties to share the common secret keys with the drift of reference frames. In order to reduce the actual requirements of RFI-QKD protocol on light source and make it more suitable for practical applications, this paper gives a specific description of RFI-QKD protocol with an untrusted source and analyzes the practical security of this protocol based on the two-way "plug and play" structure commonly used in practical systems. In addition, we also investigate the performance of RFI-QKD with an untrusted source considering statistical fluctuations based on Chernoff bound. Using simulations, we compare the secret key rate of RFIQKD with an untrusted source to RFI-QKD with trusted source. The results show that the performance of RFI-QKD with an untrusted source is similar to that of RFI-QKD with trusted source, and the finite data size clearly effects the performance of our protocol.

Ground state cooling of an optomechanical resonator with double quantum interference processes

We present a cooling scheme with a tripod configuration atomic ensemble trapped in an optomechanical cavity.With the employment of two different quantum interference processes,our scheme illustrates that it is possible to cool a resonator to its ground state in the strong cavity-atom coupling regime.Moreover,with the assistance of one additional energy level,our scheme takes a larger cooling rate to realize the ground state cooling.In addition,this scheme is a feasible candidate for experimental applications.

Quantum feedback cooling of two trapped ions

We present a sub-Doppler cooling scheme of a two-trapped-ion crystal by quantum feedback control method. In the scheme, we obtain the motional information by continuously measuring the spontaneous emission photons from one single ion of the crystal, and then apply a feedback force to cool the whole chain down.We derive the cooling dynamics of the cooling scheme using quantum feedback theory and quantum regression theorem. The result shows that with experimentally achievable parameters, our scheme can achieve lower temperature and faster cooling rate than Doppler cooling.

Passive Decoy-State Reference-Frame-Independent Quantum Key Distribution with Heralded Single-Photon Source

Reference-frame-independent（RFI）quantum key distribution（QKD）is a protocol which can share unconditional secret keys between two remote users without the alignment of slowly varying reference frames.We propose a passive decoy-state RFI-QKD protocol with heralded single-photon source（HSPS）and present its security analysis.Compared with RFI QKD using a weak coherent pulse source（WCPS）,numerical simulations show that the passive decoy-state RFI QKD with HSPS performs better not only in secret key rate but also in secure transmission distance.Moreover,our protocol is robust against the relative motion of the reference frames as well as RFI QKD with the WCPS.In addition,we also exploit Hoeffding＇s inequality to investigate the finite-key effect on the security of the protocol.