Decoy-state reference-frame-independent quantum key distribution with both source errors and statistical fluctuations

Reference-frame-independent quantum key distribution(RFI QKD) can generate secret keys without the alignment of reference frames, which is very robust in real-life implementations of QKD systems. However, the performance of decoystate RFI QKD with both source errors and statistical fluctuations is still missing until now. In this paper, we investigate the performance of decoy-state RFI QKD in practical scenarios with two kinds of light sources, the heralded single photon source(HSPS) and the weak coherent source(WCS), and also give clear comparison results of decoy-state RFI QKD with WCS and HSPS. Simulation results show that the secret key rates of decoy-state RFI QKD with WCS are higher than those with HSPS in short distance range, but the secret key rates of RFI QKD with HSPS outperform those with WCS in long distance range.     

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.     

Practical Security of High-Dimensional Quantum Key Distribution with Intensity Modulator Extinction

Quantum key distribution (QKD) has attracted much attention due to its unconditional security. High-dimensional quantum key distribution (HD-QKD) is a brand-new type of QKD protocol that has many excellent advantages. Nonetheless, practical imperfections in realistic devices that are not considered in the theoretical security proof may have an impact on the practical security of realistic HD-QKD systems. In this paper, we research the influence of a realistic intensity modulator on the practical security of HD-QKD systems with the decoy-state method and finite-key effects. We demonstrate that there is a certain impact in the secret key rate and the transmission distance when taking practical factors into security analysis.     

Security of the Decoy State Two-Way Quantum Key Distribution with Finite Resources

The quantum key distribution(QKD) allows two parties to share a secret key by typically making use of a one-way quantum channel However,the two-way QKD has its own unique advantages,which means the two-way QKD has become a focus recently.To improve the practical performance of the two-way QKD,we present a security analysis of a two-way QKD protocol based on the decoy method with heralded single-photon sources(HSPSs).We make use of two approaches to calculate the yield and the quantum bit error rate of single-photon and two-photon pulses.Then we present the secret key generation rate based on the GLLP formula.The numerical simulation shows that the protocol with HSPSs has an advantage in the secure distance compared with weak coherent state sources.In addition,we present the final secret key generation rate of the LM05 protocol with finite resources by considering the statistical fluctuation of the yield and the error rate.     

Performance of passive decoy-state quantum key distribution with mismatched local detectors

In quantum key distribution(QKD),the passive decoy-state method can simplify the intensity modulation and reduce some of side-channel information leakage and modulation errors.It is usually implemented with a heralded single-photon source.In Wang et al 2016(Phys.Rev.A 96032312),a novel passive decoy-state method is proposed by Wang et al,which uses two local detectors to generate more detection events for tightly estimating channel parameters.However,in the original scheme,the two local detectors are assumed to be identical,including the same detection efficiency and dark count rate,which is often not satisfied in the realistic experiment.In this paper,we construct a model for this passive decoy-state QKD scheme with two mismatched detectors and explore the effect on QKD performance with certain parameters.We also take the finite-size effect into consideration,showing the performance with statistical fluctuations.The results show that the efficiencies of local detectors affect the key rate more obviously than dark count rates.     

Expandable quantum key distribution networks based on secret bits comparison

A scheme of quantum network based on multiuser differential phase shift quantum key distribution system (DPS-QKD) is proposed. In this quantum network, arbitrary two users can achieve secret bits sharing by point-to-multipoint quantum key distribution and secret bits comparison. A protocol of secret bits sharing between arbitrary two users is presented. This network can implement secret bits distribution over 200 km with higher key generation rate by today's technologies. In theory, the capacity of user numbers in this network is unlimited. Hence, our proposed quantum network can serve for a metropolitan QKD network. A wide area QKD network can be constructed with this metropolitan QKD network.     

Fluctuation Analysis of Decoy State QKD with Finite Data-Set Size

Decoy state method quantum key distribution (QKD) is one of the promisingpractical solutions for BB84 QKD with coherent light pulses. The number ofdata-set size in practical QKD protocol is always finite, which will causestatistical fluctuations. In this paper, we apply absolutely statisticalfluctuation to amend the yield and error rate of the quantum state. Therelationship between exchanged number of quantum signals and key generation rate is analyzed in our simulation, which offers a useful reference for experiment.     

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.     

Effect of excess noise on continuous variable entanglement sudden death and Gaussian quantum discord

A symmetric two-mode Gaussian entangled state is used to investigate the effect of excess noise on entanglement sudden death and Gaussian quantum discord with continuous variables. The results show that the excess noise in the channel can lead to entanglement sudden death of a symmetric two-mode Gaussian entangled state, while Gaussian quantum discord never vanishes. As a practical application, the security of a quantum key distribution （QKD） scheme based on a symmetric two-mode Gaussian entangled state against collective Gaussian attacks is analyzed. The calculation results show that the secret key cannot be distilled when entanglement vanishes and only quantum discord exists in such a QKD scheme.     

Asymmetric twin-field quantum key distribution with both statistical and intensity fluctuations

Twin-field quantum key distribution(TF-QKD) is a disruptive innovation which is able to overcome the rate-distance limit of QKD without trusted relays. Since the proposal of the first TF-QKD protocol, theoretical and experimental breakthroughs have been made to enhance its ability. However, there still exist some practical issues waiting for settlement. In this paper, we examine the performances of asymmetric TF-QKD protocol with unstable light sources and limited data sizes. The statistical fluctuations of the parameters are estimated employing Azuma's inequality. Through numerical simulations, we compare the secret key rates of the asymmetric TF-QKD protocol with different data sizes and variant intensity fluctuation magnitudes. Our results demonstrate that both statistical and intensity fluctuations have significant impacts on the performance of asymmetric TF-QKD.     

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.     

对称噪声信道下利用多纠缠态实现量子密钥分配

研究了对称噪声信道下的量子密钥分配(Quantum Key Distribution,QKD)过程，并得到了其误码率和信道保真度的关系式。基于量子态的局域区分原理，我们提出了使用“多纠缠态”进行噪声信道下的密钥分配的新方案。应用这个新方案，我们可以获得和在理想无噪声信道下使用最大纠缠态(四个Bell态之一)进行QKD一样好的结果。     

Phase-matching quantum key distribution with light source monitoring

The transmission loss of photons during quantum key distribution (QKD) process leads to the linear key rate bound for practical QKD systems without quantum repeaters. Phase matching quantum key distribution (PM-QKD) protocol, an novel QKD protocol, can overcome the constraint with a measurement-device-independent structure, while it still requires the light source to be ideal. This assumption is not guaranteed in practice, leading to practical secure issues. In this paper, we propose a modified PM-QKD protocol with a light source monitoring, named PM-QKD-LSM protocol, which can guarantee the security of the system under the non-ideal source condition. The results show that our proposed protocol performs almost the same as the ideal PM-QKD protocol even considering the imperfect factors in practical systems. PM-QKD-LSM protocol has a better performance with source fluctuation, and it is robust in symmetric or asymmetric cases.     

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.     

基于实用光源的诱惑态量子密钥分配研究

文章通过比较主动诱惑态和被动诱惑态的特性,假设所有可测量都围绕渐近值上下波动,得到相应变量的偏离量,采用标准误差法分析实用光源条件下,有限脉冲数编码对密钥生成率和传输距离的影响,比较了主动诱惑态、被动诱惑态 、无限长时间极限情况和不同量子效率条件下密钥生成率随传输距离的变化关系,为实用的量子密钥分配实验提供了重要的理论参数. 关键词： 诱惑态 量子密钥分配 统计涨落     

基于不同介质间量子密钥分发的研究

文章主要解决了偏振编码的光子在不同介质间进行量子密钥分发的问题,定量地分析了光子不同分量的不同透过率引起的误码率问题,并实际分析了空气-水介质间量子密钥分发引起的误码率.进一步给出了可以消除这种非理想BB84协议的单光子补偿方案,以及可以采用更加鲁棒、实用性的抗界面非幺正噪声的双光子编码方案,从而为未来实现全地域广域量子通信迈出了重要的一步.     

基于不可信光源的量子密钥分配的统计特性研究

通过比较被动系统与主动系统的特性, 得出可信光源、不可信光源主动系统和不可信光源被动系统的密钥生成率随距离的变化关系; 采用标准误差分析法, 得到相应变量的偏离量; 基于诱骗态方案分析不可信光源被动系统暗计数率和光源强度参数波动对系统安全特性的影响, 得出在1310 nm 和1550 nm通信窗口下, 系统最大安全通信距离范围分别为[73.2 km, 96.5 km] 和[104.5 km, 137.9 km]. 这可为实用量子通信实验提供重要的理论参数. 关键词： 量子密钥分配 不可信光源 被动系统 统计波动     

Security analysis on some experimental quantum key distribution systems with imperfect optical and electrical devices

In general, quantum key distribution （QKD） has been proved unconditionally secure for perfect devices due to quantum uncertainty principle, quantum noneloning theorem and quantum nondividing principle which means that a quantum cannot be divided further. However, the practical optical and electrical devices used in the system are imperfect, which can be exploited by the eavesdropper to partially or totally spy the secret key between the legitimate parties. In this article, we first briefly review the recent work on quantum hacking on some experimental QKD systems with respect to imperfect devices carried out internationally, then we will present our recent hacking works in details, including passive faraday mirror attack, partially random phase attack, wavelength-selected photon-number-splitting attack, frequency shift attack, and single-photon-detector attack. Those quantum attack reminds people to improve the security existed in practical QKD systems due to imperfect devices by simply adding countermeasure or adopting a totally different protocol such as measurement-device independent protocol to avoid quantum hacking on the imperfection of measurement devices [Lo, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 2012, 108： 130503].     

Proof-of-principle experimental demonstration of quantum secure imaging based on quantum key distribution

We present a quantum secure imaging(QSI) scheme based on the phase encoding and weak+vacuum decoy-state BB84 protocol of quantum key distribution(QKD). It allows us to implement a computational ghost imaging(CGI) system with more simplified equipment and reconstructed algorithm by using a digital micro-mirror device(DMD) to preset the specific spatial distribution of the light intensity. What is more, the quantum bit error rate(QBER) and the secure key rate analytical functions of QKD are used to see through the intercept-resend jamming attacks and ensure the authenticity of the imaging information. In the experiment, we obtained the image of the object quickly and efficiently by measuring the signal photon counts with a single-photon detector(SPD), and achieved a secure key rate of 571.0 bps and a secure QBER of 3.99%, which is well below the lower bound of QBER of 14.51%. Besides, our imaging system uses a laser with invisible wavelength of 1550 nm, whose intensity is as low as single-photon, that can realize weak-light imaging and is immune to the stray light or air turbulence, thus it will become a better choice for quantum security radar against intercept-resend jamming attacks.