46 research outputs found
Unconditionally secure quantum coin flipping
Quantum coin flipping (QCF) is an essential primitive for quantum
cryptography. Unconditionally secure strong QCF with an arbitrarily small bias
was widely believed to be impossible. But basing on a problem which cannot be
solved without quantum algorithm, here we propose such a QCF protocol, and show
how it manages to evade all existing no-go proofs on QCF.Comment: The protocol is modified so that the security proof can be
simplified. Also corrected a flaw in the analysis on the no-go proof in
Ref.[13]. We thank the anonymous referee for pinpointing out the fla
Quantum cryptography: key distribution and beyond
Uniquely among the sciences, quantum cryptography has driven both
foundational research as well as practical real-life applications. We review
the progress of quantum cryptography in the last decade, covering quantum key
distribution and other applications.Comment: It's a review on quantum cryptography and it is not restricted to QK
Quantum Cryptography: Key Distribution and Beyond
Uniquely among the sciences, quantum cryptography has driven both foundational research as well as practical real-life applications. We review the progress of quantum cryptography in the last decade, covering quantum key distribution and other applications.Quanta 2017; 6: 1–47
Quantum Computing
Quantum mechanics---the theory describing the fundamental workings of
nature---is famously counterintuitive: it predicts that a particle can be in
two places at the same time, and that two remote particles can be inextricably
and instantaneously linked. These predictions have been the topic of intense
metaphysical debate ever since the theory's inception early last century.
However, supreme predictive power combined with direct experimental observation
of some of these unusual phenomena leave little doubt as to its fundamental
correctness. In fact, without quantum mechanics we could not explain the
workings of a laser, nor indeed how a fridge magnet operates. Over the last
several decades quantum information science has emerged to seek answers to the
question: can we gain some advantage by storing, transmitting and processing
information encoded in systems that exhibit these unique quantum properties?
Today it is understood that the answer is yes. Many research groups around the
world are working towards one of the most ambitious goals humankind has ever
embarked upon: a quantum computer that promises to exponentially improve
computational power for particular tasks. A number of physical systems,
spanning much of modern physics, are being developed for this task---ranging
from single particles of light to superconducting circuits---and it is not yet
clear which, if any, will ultimately prove successful. Here we describe the
latest developments for each of the leading approaches and explain what the
major challenges are for the future.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures, 291 references. Early draft of Nature 464, 45-53
(4 March 2010). Published version is more up-to-date and has several
corrections, but is half the length with far fewer reference
Ideal quantum protocols in the non-ideal physical world
The development of quantum protocols from conception to experimental realizations is one of
the main sources of the stimulating exchange between fundamental and experimental research
characteristic to quantum information processing. In this thesis we contribute to the development
of two recent quantum protocols, Universal Blind Quantum Computation (UBQC) and Quantum
Digital Signatures (QDS). UBQC allows a client to delegate a quantum computation to a more
powerful quantum server while keeping the input and computation private. We analyse the resilience
of the privacy of UBQC under imperfections. Then, we introduce approximate blindness
quantifying any compromise to privacy, and propose a protocol which enables arbitrary levels of
security despite imperfections. Subsequently, we investigate the adaptability of UBQC to alternative
implementations with practical advantages. QDS allow a party to send a message to other
parties which cannot be forged, modified or repudiated. We analyse the security properties of a
first proof-of-principle experiment of QDS, implemented in an optical system. We estimate the
security failure probabilities of our system as a function of protocol parameters, under all but the
most general types of attacks. Additionally, we develop new techniques for analysing transformations
between symmetric sets of states, utilized not only in the security proofs of QDS but in
other applications as well