775 research outputs found
Quantum identification system
A secure quantum identification system combining a classical identification
procedure and quantum key distribution is proposed. Each identification
sequence is always used just once and new sequences are ``refuelled'' from a
shared provably secret key transferred through the quantum channel. Two
identification protocols are devised. The first protocol can be applied when
legitimate users have an unjammable public channel at their disposal. The
deception probability is derived for the case of a noisy quantum channel. The
second protocol employs unconditionally secure authentication of information
sent over the public channel, and thus it can be applied even in the case when
an adversary is allowed to modify public communications. An experimental
realization of a quantum identification system is described.Comment: RevTeX, 4 postscript figures, 9 pages, submitted to Physical Review
General impossible operations in quantum information
We prove a general limitation in quantum information that unifies the
impossibility principles such as no-cloning and no-anticloning. Further, we
show that for an unknown qubit one cannot design a universal Hadamard gate for
creating equal superposition of the original and its complement state.
Surprisingly, we find that Hadamard transformations exist for an unknown qubit
chosen either from the polar or equatorial great circles. Also, we show that
for an unknown qubit one cannot design a universal unitary gate for creating
unequal superpositions of the original and its complement state. We discuss why
it is impossible to design a controlled-NOT gate for two unknown qubits and
discuss the implications of these limitations.Comment: 15 pages, no figures, Discussion about personal quantum computer
remove
Quantum Communication Protocol Employing Weak Measurements
We propose a communication protocol exploiting correlations between two
events with a definite time-ordering: a) the outcome of a {\em weak
measurement} on a spin, and b) the outcome of a subsequent ordinary measurement
on the spin. In our protocol, Alice, first generates a "code" by performing
weak measurements on a sample of N spins.
The sample is sent to Bob, who later performs a post-selection by measuring
the spin along either of two certain directions. The results of the
post-selection define the "key', which he then broadcasts publicly. Using both
her previously generated code and this key, Alice is able to infer the {\em
direction} chosen by Bob in the post-selection. Alternatively, if Alice
broadcasts publicly her code, Bob is able to infer from the code and the key
the direction chosen by Alice for her weak measurement. Two possible
experimental realizations of the protocols are briefly mentioned.Comment: 5 pages, Revtex, 1 figure. A second protocol is added, where by a
similar set of weak measurement Alice can send, instead of receiving, a
message to Bob. The security question for the latter protocol is discusse
Countering Quantum Noise with Supplementary Classical Information
We consider situations in which i) Alice wishes to send quantum information
to Bob via a noisy quantum channel, ii) Alice has a classical description of
the states she wishes to send and iii) Alice can make use of a finite amount of
noiseless classical information. After setting up the problem in general, we
focus attention on one specific scenario in which Alice sends a known qubit
down a depolarizing channel along with a noiseless cbit. We describe a protocol
which we conjecture is optimal and calculate the average fidelity obtained. A
surprising amount of structure is revealed even for this simple case which
suggests that relationships between quantum and classical information could in
general be very intricate.Comment: RevTeX, 5 pages, 2 figures Typo in reference 9 correcte
Quantum cryptography via parametric downconversion
The use of quantum bits (qubits) in cryptography holds the promise of secure
cryptographic quantum key distribution schemes. It is based usually on
single-photon polarization states. Unfortunately, the implemented ``qubits'' in
the usual weak pulse experiments are not true two-level systems, and quantum
key distribution based on these imperfect qubits is totally insecure in the
presence of high (realistic) loss rate. In this work, we investigate another
potential implementation: qubits generated using a process of parametric
downconversion. We find that, to first (two-photon) and second (four-photon)
order in the parametric downconversion small parameter, this implementation of
quantum key distribution is equivalent to the theoretical version.
Once realistic measurements are taken into account, quantum key distribution
based on parametric downconversion suffers also from sensitivity to extremely
high (nonrealistic) losses. By choosing the small parameter of the process
according to the loss rates, both implementations of quantum key distribution
can in principle become secure against the attack studied in this paper.
However, adjusting the small parameter to the required levels seems to be
impractical in the weak pulse process. On the other hand, this can easily be
done in the parametric downconversion process, making it a much more promising
implementation.Comment: 6 pages, Latex (a special style file is attached). Presented in
QCM'98 conference. Similar results regarding the insecurity of weak-pulse
schemes were also presented by Norbert Lutkenhaus in the same conferenc
Efficient quantum key distribution scheme with nonmaximally entangled states
We propose an efficient quantum key distribution scheme based on
entanglement. The sender chooses pairs of photons in one of the two equivalent
nonmaximally entangled states randomly, and sends a sequence of photons from
each pair to the receiver. They choose from the various bases independently but
with substantially different probabilities, thus reducing the fraction of
discarded data, and a significant gain in efficiency is achieved. We then show
that such a refined data analysis guarantees the security of our scheme against
a biased eavesdropping strategy.Comment: 5 Pages, No Figur
Common origin of no-cloning and no-deleting principles - Conservation of information
We discuss the role of the notion of information in the description of
physical reality. We consider theories for which dynamics is linear with
respect to stochastic mixing. We point out that the no-cloning and no-deleting
principles emerge in any such theory, if law of conservation of information is
valid, and two copies contain more information than one copy. We then describe
the quantum case from this point of view.Comment: This paper is dedicated to Asher Peres on the occasion of his
seventieth birthda
A Lorentz-invariant look at quantum clock synchronization protocols based on distributed entanglement
Recent work has raised the possibility that quantum information theory
techniques can be used to synchronize atomic clocks nonlocally. One of the
proposed algorithms for quantum clock synchronization (QCS) requires
distribution of entangled pure singlets to the synchronizing parties. Such
remote entanglement distribution normally creates a relative phase error in the
distributed singlet state which then needs to be purified asynchronously. We
present a fully relativistic analysis of the QCS protocol which shows that
asynchronous entanglement purification is not possible, and, therefore, that
the proposed QCS scheme remains incomplete. We discuss possible directions of
research in quantum information theory which may lead to a complete, working
QCS protocol.Comment: 5 pages; typeset in RevTe
Minimum cbits for remote preperation and measurement of a qubit
We show that a qubit chosen from equatorial or polar great circles on a Bloch
spehere can be remotely prepared with one cbit from Alice to Bob if they share
one ebit of entanglement. Also we show that any single particle measurement on
an arbitrary qubit can be remotely simulated with one ebit of shared
entanglement and communication of one cbit.Comment: Latex, 7 pages, minor changes, references adde
Security of the Bennett 1992 quantum-key distribution against individual attack over a realistic channel
The security of two-state quantum key distribution against individual attack
is estimated when the channel has losses and noises. We assume that Alice and
Bob use two nonorthogonal single-photon polarization states. To make our
analysis simple, we propose a modified B92 protocol in which Alice and Bob make
use of inconclusive results and Bob performs a kind of symmetrization of
received states. Using this protocol, Alice and Bob can estimate Eve's
information gain as a function of a few parameters which reflect the
imperfections of devices or Eve's disturbance. In some parameter regions, Eve's
maximum information gain shows counter-intuitive behavior, namely, it decreases
as the amount of disturbances increases. For a small noise rate Eve can extract
perfect information in the case where the angle between Alice's two states is
small or large, while she cannot extract perfect information for intermediate
angles. We also estimate the secret key gain which is the net growth of the
secret key per one pulse. We show the region where the modified B92 protocol
over a realistic channel is secure against individual attack.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figure
- …