Upconversion-based receivers for quantum hacking-resistant quantum key distribution

We propose a novel upconversion (sum frequency generation)-based quantum-optical system design that can be employed as a receiver (Bob) in practical quantum key distribution systems. The pump governing the upconversion process is produced and utilized inside the physical receiver, making its access or control unrealistic for an external adversary (Eve). This pump facilitates several properties which permit Bob to define and control the modes that can participate in the quantum measurement. Furthermore, by manipulating and monitoring the characteristics of the pump pulses, Bob can detect a wide range of quantum hacking attacks launched by Eve.     

Round-robin differential-phase-shift quantum key distribution with heralded pair-coherent sources

Round-robin differential-phase-shift (RRDPS) quantum key distribution (QKD) scheme provides an effective way to overcome the signal disturbance from the transmission process. However, most RRDPS-QKD schemes use weak coherent pulses (WCPs) as the replacement of the perfect single-photon source. Considering the heralded pair-coherent source (HPCS) can efficiently remove the shortcomings of WCPs, we propose a RRDPS-QKD scheme with HPCS in this paper. Both infinite-intensity decoy-state method and practical three-intensity decoy-state method are adopted to discuss the tight bound of the key rate of the proposed scheme. The results show that HPCS is a better candidate for the replacement of the perfect single-photon source, and both the key rate and the transmission distance are greatly increased in comparison with those results with WCPs when the length of the pulse trains is small. Simultaneously, the performance of the proposed scheme using three-intensity decoy states is close to that result using infinite-intensity decoy states when the length of pulse trains is small.     

The enhanced measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with two-intensity decoy states

We put forward a new scheme for implementing the measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (QKD) with weak coherent source, while using only two different intensities. In the new scheme, we insert a beam splitter and a local detector at both Alice’s and Bob’s side, and then all the triggering and non-triggering signals could be employed to process parameter estimations, resulting in very precise estimations for the two-single-photon contributions. Besides, we compare its behavior with two other often used methods, i.e., the conventional standard three-intensity decoy-state measurement-device-independent QKD and the passive measurement-device-independent QKD. Through numerical simulations, we demonstrate that our new approach can exhibit outstanding characteristics not only in the secure transmission distance, but also in the final key generation rate.     

New scheme for measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution

We propose a new scheme for measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) with a two-mode state source. In this scheme, the trigger state is split into different paths and detected at both senders; thus, four types of detection events can be obtained. Based on these events, the signal state is divided into four non-empty sets that can be used for parameter estimation and key extraction. Additionally, we carry out a performance analysis on the scheme with two-intensity (vacuum state and signal state) heralded single-photon sources. We also numerically study the statistical fluctuation in the actual system. Our simulations show that the error rate and the secure transmission distance of our two-intensity scheme are better than those of existing three- and four-intensity MDI-QKD schemes with different light sources. Considering statistical fluctuations, the maximum secure distance of our scheme can reach 344 km when the data length is 10¹³ and remains as long as 250 km when the data length is 10¹⁰. Moreover, our scheme improves the system performance and reduces the challenges of implementing the system.     

Differential phase encoded measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution

Quantum Information Processing - By employing Pauli measurements, we present some nonlinear steering criteria applicable for arbitrary two-qubit quantum systems and optimized ones for symmetric...     

Measurement device-independent quantum key distribution with heralded pair coherent state

The original measurement device-independent quantum key distribution is reviewed, and a modified protocol using heralded pair coherent state (HPCS) is proposed to overcome the quantum bit error rate associated with the dark count rate of the detectors in long-distance quantum key distribution. Our simulation indicates that the secure transmission distance can be improved evidently with HPCS owing to the lower probability of vacuum events when compared with weak coherent source scenario, while the secure key rate can be increased with HPCS due to the higher probability of single-photon events when compared with heralded single-photon source scenario. Furthermore, we apply the finite key analysis to the decoy state MDI-QKD with HPCS and obtain a practical key rate.     

基于纠缠的量子密钥分配协议仿真

由于受物理资源和实验条件的限制,在经典计算机上对量子密钥分配（QKD）仿真,为研究者提供一种手段以便更好地掌握这类抽象协议。对以纠缠态为基础的E91协议的量子密钥分配过程进行仿真,重点对比分析了理想环境、有噪环境以及窃听环境下的仿真结果,并验证该量子密钥分配协议的安全性。     

Photon-monitoring attack on continuous-variable quantum key distribution with source in middle

Motivated by a fact that the non-Gaussian operation may increase entanglement of an entangled system, we suggest a photon-monitoring attack strategy in the entanglement-based (EB) continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CVQKD) using the photon subtraction operations, where the entangled source originates from the center instead of one of the legal participants. It shows that an eavesdropper, Eve, can steal large information from participants after intercepting the partial beams with the photon-monitoring attach strategy. The structure of the proposed CVQKD protocol is useful in simply analyzing how quantum loss in imperfect channels can decrease the performance of the CVQKD protocol. The proposed attack strategy can be implemented under current technology, where a newly developed and versatile no-Gaussian operation can be well employed with the entangled source in middle in order to access to mass information in the EB CVQKD protocol, as well as in the prepare-and-measure (PM) CVQKD protocol.     

Key-leakage evaluation of authentication in quantum key distribution with finite resources

Partial information leakages of generation key undoubtedly influence the security of practical Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) system. In this paper, based on finite-key analysis and deep investigation on privacy amplification, we present a method for characterizing information leakages gained by adversary in each authentication round and therefore take the theory derived by Cederlöf and Larsson (IEEE Trans Inf Theory 54:1735–1741, 2008) into practical case. As the authentication key is fed from one round of generation keys to the next except the first round, by considering its security weakness due to information leakages and finite size effect, we further propose a universal formula for calculating the lifetime of initial authentication key used in QKD with finite resources. Numerical simulations indicate that our bound for estimating information leakages strictly characterizes the stability of practical QKD against information-leakage-based attacks, and our calculation formula in terms of lifetime can precisely evaluate the usage time of initial authentication key. Our work provides a practical solution for evaluating authentication security of QKD.     

Proof-of-principle demonstration of decoy-state quantum key distribution with biased basis choices

Quantum Information Processing - Entanglement of assistance from multipartite to fewer partites (e.g., bipartite) entangled state via measurements is an important way for generating entanglement....     

Composable security of unidimensional continuous-variable quantum key distribution

We investigate the composable security of unidimensional continuous-variable quantum key distribution (UCVQKD) protocol in generally phase-sensitive channel; the UCVQKD protocol is based on the Gaussian modulation of a single quadrature of the coherent state of light, aiming to provide a simple implementation of key distribution compared to the symmetrically modulated Gaussian coherent-state protocols. This protocol neglects the necessity in one of the quadrature modulations in coherent states and hence reduces the system complexity. To clarify the influence of finite-size effect and the cost of performance degeneration, we establish the relationship of the balanced parameters of the unmodulated quadrature and estimate the precise secure region. Subsequently, we illustrate the composable security of the UCVQKD protocol against collective attacks and achieve the tightest bound of the UCVQKD protocol. Numerical simulations show the asymptotic secret key rate of the UCVQKD protocol, together with the symmetrically modulated Gaussian coherent-state protocols.     

Fundamental finite key limits for one-way information reconciliation in quantum key distribution

The security of quantum key distribution protocols is guaranteed by the laws of quantum mechanics. However, a precise analysis of the security properties requires tools from both classical cryptography and information theory. Here, we employ recent results in non-asymptotic classical information theory to show that one-way information reconciliation imposes fundamental limitations on the amount of secret key that can be extracted in the finite key regime. In particular, we find that an often used approximation for the information leakage during information reconciliation is not generally valid. We propose an improved approximation that takes into account finite key effects and numerically test it against codes for two probability distributions, that we call binary–binary and binary–Gaussian, that typically appear in quantum key distribution protocols.     

New passive decoy-state quantum key distribution with thermal distributed parametric down-conversion source

We present a new scheme on implementing the passive quantum key distribution with thermal distributed parametric down-conversion source. In this scheme, only one-intensity decoy state is employed, but we can achieve very precise estimation on the single-photon-pulse contribution by utilizing those built-in decoy states. Moreover, we compare the new scheme with other practical methods, i.e., the standard three-intensity decoy-state BB84 protocol using either weak coherent states or parametric down-conversion source. Through numerical simulations, we demonstrate that our new scheme can drastically improve both the secure transmission distance and the key generation rate.     

Checking noise correlations for safer two-way quantum key distribution

We check for noise correlations between forward and backward paths in two-way quantum key distribution, which leads to reduced potentialities for an eavesdropper since she can only hide herself behind uncorrelated (natural) noise. The security enhancement is evaluated through the ratio of eavesdropper’s information and legitimate users’ information achievable against the most relevant individual attacks.     

量子密钥分发光源时序校准系统设计

针对量子密钥分发终端设备中八路量子态光信号在设备出口处存在固有时间偏差的问题,设计了一套以TDC-GPX为核心的量子密钥分发光源时序校准系统。系统对量子态光信号进行光电转换、信号调理,使用高精度时间间隔测量芯片TDC-GPX分时对调理后的脉冲电信号进行采集,并通过FPGA进行数据处理,调整八路光信号的发光时间,使其满足在时间上的不可分辨性。测试结果表明,系统测量精度小于80 ps,用于实际量子密钥分发待校准设备中的校准性能良好,满足校准要求。     

Trojan horse attack free fault-tolerant quantum key distribution protocols

This work proposes two quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols—each of which is robust under one kind of collective noises—collective-dephasing noise and collective-rotation noise. Due to the use of a new coding function which produces error-robust codewords allowing one-time transmission of quanta, the proposed QKD schemes are fault-tolerant and congenitally free from Trojan horse attacks without having to use any extra hardware. Moreover, by adopting two Bell state measurements instead of a 4-GHZ state joint measurement for decoding, the proposed protocols are practical in combating collective noises.     

Improved statistical fluctuation analysis for measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) is a promising protocol for realizing long-distance secret keys sharing. However, its key rate is relatively low when the finite-size effect is taken into account. In this paper, we consider statistical fluctuation analysis for the three-intensity decoy-state MDI-QKD system based on the recent work (Zhang et al. in Phys Rev A 95:012333, 2017) and further compare its performance with that of applying the Gaussian approximation technique and the Chernoff bound method. The numerical simulations demonstrate that the new method has apparent enhancement both in key generation rate and transmission distance than using Chernoff bound method. Meanwhile, the present work still shows much higher security than Gaussian approximation analysis.     

A practical protocol for three-party authenticated quantum key distribution

Recently, Hwang et al. proposed two three-party authenticated quantum key distribution protocols for two communicating parties to establish a session key via a trusted center. They also showed their protocols were secure by using random oracle model. However, their protocols were designed to run in an ideal world. In this paper, we present a more practical protocol by considering some issues, which have not been addressed in their protocols. These issues include (1) session key consistence, (2) online guessing attack, and (3) noise in quantum channels. To deal with these issues, we use error correction code and key evolution. We also give a formal proof for the security of our protocols by using standard reduction, instead of the random oracle model.     

基于BB84的多用户量子密钥分发协议

BB84协议是目前最接近实用化的量子密钥分发(QKD)协议。点对点的量子密钥分发系统已经可以商用,但现有的多用户量子密钥分发协议都是采用量子纠缠、量子存储等技术手段进行密钥分发,在现有的技术条件下只能停留在理论阶段,离工程应用还有较长的距离。该文提出了一种基于BB84的多用户量子密钥分发协议,将计算机通信技术应用到量子保密通信中,实现一对多的量子通信网络的量子密钥分发,并从理论和实验结果两方面分析其可行性。