506 research outputs found
Experimental Quantum Cryptography with Qutrits
We produce two identical keys using, for the first time, entangled trinary
quantum systems (qutrits) for quantum key distribution. The advantage of
qutrits over the normally used binary quantum systems is an increased coding
density and a higher security margin. The qutrits are encoded into the orbital
angular momentum of photons, namely Laguerre-Gaussian modes with azimuthal
index l +1, 0 and -1, respectively. The orbital angular momentum is controlled
with phase holograms. In an Ekert-type protocol the violation of a
three-dimensional Bell inequality verifies the security of the generated keys.
A key is obtained with a qutrit error rate of approximately 10 %.Comment: New version includes additional references and a few minor changes to
the manuscrip
Experimental quantum cryptography scheme based on orthogonal states
Since, in general, non-orthogonal states cannot be cloned, any eavesdropping
attempt in a Quantum Communication scheme using non-orthogonal states as
carriers of information introduces some errors in the transmission, leading to
the possibility of detecting the spy. Usually, orthogonal states are not used
in Quantum Cryptography schemes since they can be faithfully cloned without
altering the transmitted data. Nevertheless, L. Goldberg and L. Vaidman [\prl
75 (1995) 1239] proposed a protocol in which, even if the data exchange is
realized using two orthogonal states, any attempt to eavesdrop is detectable by
the legal users. In this scheme the orthogonal states are superpositions of two
localized wave packets travelling along separate channels. Here we present an
experiment realizing this scheme
Experimental Quantum Cryptography With Classical Users
The exploit of quantum systems allows for insights that promise to
revolutionise information processing, although a main challenge for practical
implementations is technological complexity. Due to its feasibility, quantum
cryptography, which allows for perfectly secure communication, has become the
most prominent application of quantum technology. Nevertheless, this task still
requires the users to be capable of performing quantum operations, such as
state preparation or measurements in multiple bases. A natural question is
whether the users' technological requirements can be further reduced. Here we
demonstrate a novel quantum cryptography scheme, where users are fully
classical. In our protocol, the quantum operations are performed by an
untrusted third party acting as a server, which gives the users access to a
superimposed single photon, and the key exchange is achieved via
interaction-free measurements on the shared state. Our approach opens up new
interesting possibilities for quantum cryptography networks.Comment: Main Text (9 pages, 3 figures) + Appendix (19 pages, 2 figures
Tight Finite-Key Analysis for Quantum Cryptography
Despite enormous progress both in theoretical and experimental quantum
cryptography, the security of most current implementations of quantum key
distribution is still not established rigorously. One of the main problems is
that the security of the final key is highly dependent on the number, M, of
signals exchanged between the legitimate parties. While, in any practical
implementation, M is limited by the available resources, existing security
proofs are often only valid asymptotically for unrealistically large values of
M. Here, we demonstrate that this gap between theory and practice can be
overcome using a recently developed proof technique based on the uncertainty
relation for smooth entropies. Specifically, we consider a family of
Bennett-Brassard 1984 quantum key distribution protocols and show that security
against general attacks can be guaranteed already for moderate values of M.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure
Full-field implementation of a perfect eavesdropper on a quantum cryptography system
Quantum key distribution (QKD) allows two remote parties to grow a shared
secret key. Its security is founded on the principles of quantum mechanics, but
in reality it significantly relies on the physical implementation.
Technological imperfections of QKD systems have been previously explored, but
no attack on an established QKD connection has been realized so far. Here we
show the first full-field implementation of a complete attack on a running QKD
connection. An installed eavesdropper obtains the entire 'secret' key, while
none of the parameters monitored by the legitimate parties indicate a security
breach. This confirms that non-idealities in physical implementations of QKD
can be fully practically exploitable, and must be given increased scrutiny if
quantum cryptography is to become highly secure.Comment: Revised after editorial and peer-review feedback. This version is
published in Nat. Commun. 8 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl
Long-Range Fiber Transmission of Optical Vortices
We use specialty fiber (“vortex fiber”), to create and propagate orbital angular momentum states over ~kilometer lengths in telecom band (~1550nm). The spiral phase structure of the vortex beams was confirmed by interference with a Gaussian reference. This result is an important step toward achieving long-range classical and quantum communication links using orbital angular momentum of light.DARPA Grant No. HR0011-11-1-000
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