基于量子存储的长距离测量设备无关量子密钥分配研究

针对量子中继器短时间内难以应用于长距离量子密钥分配系统的问题, 提出了基于量子存储的长距离测量设备无关量子密钥分配协议, 分析了其密钥生成率与存储效率、信道传输效率和安全传输距离等参数间的关系, 研究了该协议中量子存储单元的退相干效应对最终密钥生成率的影响, 比较了经典测量设备无关量子密钥分配协议和基于量子存储的测量设备无关量子密钥分配协议的密钥生成率与安全传输距离的关系. 仿真结果表明, 添加量子存储单元后, 协议的安全传输距离由无量子存储的216 km增加至500 km, 且量子存储退相干效应带来的误码对最终的密钥生成率影响较小. 实验中可以采取调节信号光强度的方式提高测量设备无关量子密钥分配系统的密钥生成率, 为实用量子密钥分配实验提供了重要的理论参数.     

The Decoy-State Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution with Heralded Single-Photon Source

Based on heralded single-photon source (HSPS), a decoy-state measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) protocol is proposed in this paper. The MDI-QKD protocol mainly uses orbital angular momentum (OAM) states and pulse position modulation (PPM) technology to realize the coding of the signal states in heralded single-photon source. The three-intensity decoy states are used to avoid the attacks against the light source. Moreover, the formula of key generation rate is given by computing the lower bound of the yield of single-photon pairs and the upper bound of the error rate of single-photon pairs. Numerical simulation shows that the new MDI-QKD protocol has high key generation rate and low error rate. Moreover, the secure communication distance can be up to 450 km.

     

Bidirectional Quantum States Sharing

With the help of the shared entanglement and LOCC, multidirectional quantum states sharing is considered. We first put forward a protocol for implementing four-party bidirectional states sharing (BQSS) by using eight-qubit cluster state as quantum channel. In order to extend BQSS, we generalize this protocol from four sharers to multi-sharers utilizing two multi-qubit GHZ-type states as channel, and propose two multi-party BQSS schemes. On the other hand, we generalize the three schemes from two senders to multi-senders with multi GHZ-type states of multi-qubit as quantum channel, and give a multidirectional quantum states sharing protocol. In our schemes, all receivers can reconstruct the original unknown single-qubit state if and only if all sharers can cooperate. Only Pauli operations, Bell-state measurement and single-qubit measurement are used in our schemes, so these schemes are easily realized in physical experiment and their successful probabilities are all one.     

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with hyper-encoding

Measurement device-independent quantum key distribution(MDI-QKD) protocols are immune to all possible attacks on the photon detectors during quantum communication, but their key generation rates are low compared with those of other QKD schemes.Increasing each individual photon's channel capacity is an efficient way to increase the key generation rate, and high-dimensional(HD) encoding is a powerful tool for increasing the channel capacity of photons. In this paper, we propose an HD MDI-QKD protocol with qudits hyper-encoded in spatial mode and polarization degrees of freedom(DOFs). In the proposed protocol, keys can be generated using the spatial mode and polarization DOFs simultaneously. The proposed protocol is unconditionally secure,even for weak coherent pulses with decoy states. The proposed MDI-QKD protocol may be useful for future quantum secure communication applications.     

Measurement-device-independent quantum cryptographic conferencing with an untrusted source

Measurement-device-independent quantum cryptographic conferencing(MDI-QCC) protocol puts MDI quantum key distribution(MDI-QKD) forwards to multi-party applications, and suggests a significant framework for practical multi-party quantum communication. In order to mitigate the experimental complexity of MDI-QCC and remove the key assumption(the sources are trusted) in MDI-QCC, we extend the framework of MDI-QKD with an untrusted source to MDI-QCC and give the rigorous security analysis of MDI-QCC with an untrusted source. What is more, in the security analysis we clearly provide a rigorous analytical method for parameters' estimation, which with simple modifications can be applied to not only MDI-QKD with an untrusted source but also arbitrary multi-party communication protocol with an untrusted source. The simulation results show that at reasonable distances the asymptotic key rates for the two cases(with trusted and untrusted sources) almost overlap, which indicates the feasibility of our protocol.     

Time-Bin Phase-Encoding Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution with Four Single-Photon Detectors

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution(MDI-QKD) eliminates all loopholes on detection.Previous experiments of time-bin phase-encoding MDI-QKD allow a factor of 3/4 loss in the final key for the incapability of identifying two successive detection events by a single photon detector.Here we propose a new scheme to realize the time-bin phase-encoding MDI-QKD.The polarization states are used to generate the time bins and the phase-encoding states.The factor of loss in the final key is eliminated by using four single photon detectors at the measurement site.We show the feasibility of our scheme with a proof-of-principle experimental demonstration.The phase reference frame is rotated extremely slowly with only passive stabilization measures.The quantum bit error rate can reach 0.8% in the Z-basis and 26.2% in the X-basis.     

High-Efficiency Three-Party Quantum Key Agreement Protocol with Quantum Dense Coding and Bell States

We propose a high-efficiency three-party quantum key agreement protocol, by utilizing two-photon polarization-entangled Bell states and a few single-photon polarization states as the information carriers, and we use the quantum dense coding method to improve its efficiency. In this protocol, each participant performs one of four unitary operations to encode their sub-secret key on the passing photons which contain two parts, the first quantum qubits of Bell states and a small number of single-photon states. At the end of this protocol, based on very little information announced by other, all participants involved can deduce the same final shared key simultaneously. We analyze the security and the efficiency of this protocol, showing that it has a high efficiency and can resist both outside attacks and inside attacks. As a consequence, our protocol is a secure and efficient three-party quantum key agreement protocol.

     

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution of multiple degrees of freedom of a single photon

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution(MDI-QKD)provides us a powerful approach to resist all attacks at detection side.Besides the unconditional security,people also seek for high key generation rate,but MDI-QKD has relatively low key generation rate.In this paper,we provide an efficient approach to increase the key generation rate of MDI-QKD by adopting multiple degrees of freedom(DOFs)of single photons to generate keys.Compared with other high-dimension MDI-QKD protocols encoding in one DOF,our protocol is more flexible,for our protocol generating keys in independent subsystems and the detection failure or error in a DOF not affecting the information encoding in other DOFs.Based on above features,our MDI-QKD protocol may have potential application in future quantum comniunication field.     

Security Analysis of Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution in Collective-Rotation Noisy Environment

Noise is a problem that communication channels cannot avoid. It is, thus, beneficial to analyze the security of MDI-QKD in noisy environment. An analysis model for collective-rotation noise is introduced, and the information theory methods are used to analyze the security of the protocol. The maximum amount of information that Eve can eavesdrop is 50%, and the eavesdropping can always be detected if the noise level ε ≤ 0.68. Therefore, MDI-QKD protocol is secure as quantum key distribution protocol. The maximum probability that the relay outputs successful results is 16% when existing eavesdropping. Moreover, the probability that the relay outputs successful results when existing eavesdropping is higher than the situation without eavesdropping. The paper validates that MDI-QKD protocol has better robustness.     

Quantum Private Comparison Protocol with Linear Optics

In this paper, we propose an innovative quantum private comparison(QPC) protocol based on partial Bell-state measurement from the view of linear optics, which enabling two parties to compare the equality of their private information with the help of a semi-honest third party. Partial Bell-state measurement has been realized by using only linear optical elements in experimental measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution(MDI-QKD) schemes, which makes us believe that our protocol can be realized in the near future. The security analysis shows that the participants will not leak their private information.     

一种K分布强湍流下的测量设备无关量子密钥分发方案

研究了K分布强湍流下自由空间测量设备无关量子密钥分发协议模型,采用阈值后选择方法来减少大气湍流对密钥生成率的影响,对比分析了使用阈值后选择方法前后协议的密钥率和湍流强度之间的关系.仿真结果表明,使用阈值后选择方法可以有效地提高协议的密钥生成率,尤其是在高损耗和强湍流区域,而且其最佳阈值与湍流强度、信道平均损耗有关,对实际搭建性能较好的自由空间测量设备无关量子密钥分发协议系统具有一定的参考价值.     

Free-Space QKD with Modulating Retroreflectors Based on the B92 Protocol

Free-space quantum key distribution (QKD) has attracted considerable attention due to its lower channel loss and link flexibility. It allows two participants share theoretical unconditional secure keys, and can potentially be applied to air-to-ground quantum communication to establish a global quantum network. Free-space QKD using modulating retro-reflectors (MRR-QKD) significantly reduces the pointing requirement and simplifies the structure of the mobile terminal, therefore making it suitable for lightweight aircraft such as unmanned aerial vehicle and Cubesat, etc. Based on intensity modulation of two non-orthogonal states and the B92 protocol, we proposed a scheme to improve the previous work (Optics Express 2018, 26, 11331). Our scheme simplifies the optical structure and shows more robustness in equipment imperfection. The analysis and simulation show that the number of multiple quantum well modulators needed in our scheme decreases from eight to three with similar performance. Additionally, while the previous scheme cannot work due to low modulator extinction ratio or high optical misalignment, our scheme can still operate.     

Decoy-state measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with mismatched-basis statistics

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution(MDI-QKD) is aimed at removing all detector side channel attacks,while its security relies on the assumption that the encoding systems including sources are fully characterized by the two legitimate parties. By exploiting the mismatched-basis statistics in the security analysis, MDI-QKD even with uncharacterized qubits can generate secret keys. In this paper, considering the finite size effect, we study the decoy-state MDI-QKD protocol with mismatchedbasis events statistics by performing full parameter optimization, and the simulation result shows that this scheme is very practical.     

Quantum Secure Direct Communication with Two-Photon Four-Qubit Cluster States

In a quantum secure direct communication protocol, two remote parties can transmit the secret message directly without first generating a key to encrypt them. A quantum secure direct communication protocol using two-photon four-qubit cluster states is presented. The presented scheme can achieve a higher efficiency in transmission and source capacity compared with the proposed quantum secure direct communication protocols with cluster states, and the security of the protocol is also discussed.     

Three Attacks on the Mediated Semi-Quantum Key Distribution without Invoking Quantum Measurement

Semi-quantum key distribution is a very interesting new branch of quantum key distribution. It can be implemented when one or more participants are restricted to operate quantum states only on the quantum computational basis. Very recently, a mediated semi-quantum key distribution protocol without invoking two participants' quantum measurement has been proposed. The protocol allows two “classical” participants without sophisticated quantum capability to establish a shared secret key under an untrusted third party. It is claimed that the protocol is secure against several well-known attacks. However, in this paper, it is first pointed out that there exist three attacks “Measurement Attack, Modification Attack, and Collective Attack” on the mediated semi-quantum key distribution protocol without invoking quantum measurement. By proposed attacks, a malicious third party can obtain the secret key without being noticed by legitimated participants.     

Fluctuations of Internal Transmittance in Security of Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution with an Untrusted Source

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution(MDI-QKD) is immune to detector side channel attacks, which is a crucial security loophole problem in traditional QKD. In order to relax a key assumption that the sources are trusted in MDI-QKD, an MDI-QKD protocol with an untrusted source has been proposed. For the security of MDI-QKD with an untrusted source, imperfections in the practical experiment should also be taken into account. In this paper, we analyze the effects of fluctuations of internal transmittance on the security of a decoy-state MDI-QKD protocol with an untrusted source. Our numerical results show that both the secret key rate and the maximum secure transmission distance decrease when taken fluctuations of internal transmittance into consideration. Especially, they are more sensitive when Charlie's mean photon number per pulse is smaller. Our results emphasize that the stability of correlative optical devices is important for practical implementations.     

Multi-party Quantum Key Agreement Protocol with Authentication

Utilizing the advantage of quantum entanglement swapping, a multi-party quantum key agreement protocol with authentication is proposed. In this protocol, a semi-trusted third party is introduced, who prepares Bell states, and sends one particle to multiple participants respectively. After that the participants can share a Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state by entanglement swapping. Finally, these participants measure the particles in their hands and obtain an agreement key. Here, classical hash function and Hadamard operation are utilized to authenticate the identity of participants. The correlations of GHZ states ensure the security of the proposed protocol. To illustrated it detailly, the security of this protocol against common attacks is analyzed, which shows that the proposed protocol is secure in theory.

     

The Performance of Satellite-Based Links for Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) protocol has high practical value. Satellite-based links are useful to build long-distance quantum communication network. The model of satellite-based links for MDI-QKD was proposed but it lacks practicality. This work further analyzes the performance of it. First, MDI-QKD and satellite-based links model are introduced. Then considering the operation of the satellite the performance of their combination is studied under different weather conditions. The results may provide important references for combination of optical-fiber-based links on the ground and satellite-based links in space, which is helpful for large-scale quantum communication network.     

Three-party reference frame independent quantum key distribution protocol

We present a three-party reference frame independent quantum key distribution protocol which can be implemented without any alignment of reference frames between the sender and the receiver. The protocol exploits entangled states to establish a secret key among three communicating parties. We derive the asymptotic key rate for the proposed protocol against collective attacks and perform a finite-size key security analysis against general attacks in the presence of statistical fluctuations. We investigate the impact of reference frame misalignment on the stability of our protocol, and we obtain a transmission distance of 180 km, 200 km, and 230 km for rotation of reference frames β=π/6, β=π/8 and β=0, respectively. Remarkably, our results demonstrate that our proposed protocol is not heavily affected by an increase in misalignment of reference frames as the achievable transmission distances are still comparable to the case where there is no misalignment in reference frames (when β=0). We also simulate the performance of our protocol for a fixed number of signals. Our results demonstrate that the protocol can achieve an effective key generation rate over a transmission distance of about 120 km with realistic 10⁷ finite data signals and approximately achieve 195 km with 10⁹ signals. Moreover, our proposed protocol is robust against noise in the quantum channel and achieves a threshold error rate of 22.7%.     

Polarization-Encoding-Based Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution with a Single Untrusted Source

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution(MDI-QKD) can be immune to all detector sidechannel attacks and guarantee the information-theoretical security even with uncharacterized single photon detectors.MDI-QKD has been demonstrated in both laboratories and field-tests by using attenuated lasers combined with the decoy-state technique.However,it is a critical assumption that the sources used by legitimate participants are trusted in MDI-QKD.Hence,it is possible that a potential security risk exists.Here we propose a new scheme of polarization-encoding-based MDI-QKD with a single untrusted source,by which the complexity of the synchronization system can be reduced and the success rate of the Bell-state measurement can be improved.Meanwhile,the decoy-state method is employed to avoid the security issues introduced by a non-ideal single photon source.We also derive a security analysis of the proposed system.In addition,it seems to be a promising candidate for the implementation for QKD network in the near future.