410 research outputs found
NOTES ON INSECT PESTS OF SOURSOP (GUANABANA), ANNONA MURICATA L., AND THEIR NATURAL ENEMIES IN PUERTO RICO
NOTES ON INSECT PESTS OF SOURSOP (GUANABANA), ANNONA MURICATA L., AND THEIR NATURAL ENEMIES IN PUERTO RIC
Security proof of a three-state quantum key distribution protocol without rotational symmetry
Standard security proofs of quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols often
rely on symmetry arguments. In this paper, we prove the security of a
three-state protocol that does not possess rotational symmetry. The three-state
QKD protocol we consider involves three qubit states, where the first two
states, |0_z> and |1_z>, can contribute to key generation and the third state,
|+>=(|0_z>+|1_z>)/\sqrt{2}, is for channel estimation. This protocol has been
proposed and implemented experimentally in some frequency-based QKD systems
where the three states can be prepared easily. Thus, by founding on the
security of this three-state protocol, we prove that these QKD schemes are, in
fact, unconditionally secure against any attacks allowed by quantum mechanics.
The main task in our proof is to upper bound the phase error rate of the qubits
given the bit error rates observed. Unconditional security can then be proved
not only for the ideal case of a single-photon source and perfect detectors,
but also for the realistic case of a phase-randomized weak coherent light
source and imperfect threshold detectors. Our result on the phase error rate
upper bound is independent of the loss in the channel. Also, we compare the
three-state protocol with the BB84 protocol. For the single-photon source case,
our result proves that the BB84 protocol strictly tolerates a higher quantum
bit error rate than the three-state protocol; while for the coherent-source
case, the BB84 protocol achieves a higher key generation rate and secure
distance than the three-state protocol when a decoy-state method is used.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 2 column
Quantum Hacking: Experimental demonstration of time-shift attack against practical quantum key distribution systems
Quantum key distribution (QKD) systems can send signals over more than 100 km
standard optical fiber and are widely believed to be secure. Here, we show
experimentally for the first time a technologically feasible attack, namely the
time-shift attack, against a commercial QKD system. Our result shows that,
contrary to popular belief, an eavesdropper, Eve, has a non-negligible
probability (~4%) to break the security of the system. Eve's success is due to
the well-known detection efficiency loophole in the experimental testing of
Bell inequalities. Therefore, the detection efficiency loophole plays a key
role not only in fundamental physics, but also in technological applications
such as QKD.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Substantially revised versio
Decoy state quantum key distribution with two-way classical post-processing
Decoy states have recently been proposed as a useful method for substantially
improving the performance of quantum key distribution protocols when a coherent
state source is used. Previously, data post-processing schemes based on one-way
classical communications were considered for use with decoy states. In this
paper, we develop two data post-processing schemes for the decoy-state method
using two-way classical communications. Our numerical simulation (using
parameters from a specific QKD experiment as an example) results show that our
scheme is able to extend the maximal secure distance from 142km (using only
one-way classical communications with decoy states) to 181km. The second scheme
is able to achieve a 10% greater key generation rate in the whole regime of
distances
Phase-Remapping Attack in Practical Quantum Key Distribution Systems
Quantum key distribution (QKD) can be used to generate secret keys between
two distant parties. Even though QKD has been proven unconditionally secure
against eavesdroppers with unlimited computation power, practical
implementations of QKD may contain loopholes that may lead to the generated
secret keys being compromised. In this paper, we propose a phase-remapping
attack targeting two practical bidirectional QKD systems (the "plug & play"
system and the Sagnac system). We showed that if the users of the systems are
unaware of our attack, the final key shared between them can be compromised in
some situations. Specifically, we showed that, in the case of the
Bennett-Brassard 1984 (BB84) protocol with ideal single-photon sources, when
the quantum bit error rate (QBER) is between 14.6% and 20%, our attack renders
the final key insecure, whereas the same range of QBER values has been proved
secure if the two users are unaware of our attack; also, we demonstrated three
situations with realistic devices where positive key rates are obtained without
the consideration of Trojan horse attacks but in fact no key can be distilled.
We remark that our attack is feasible with only current technology. Therefore,
it is very important to be aware of our attack in order to ensure absolute
security. In finding our attack, we minimize the QBER over individual
measurements described by a general POVM, which has some similarity with the
standard quantum state discrimination problem.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure
Quantum key distribution with delayed privacy amplification and its application to security proof of a two-way deterministic protocol
Privacy amplification (PA) is an essential post-processing step in quantum
key distribution (QKD) for removing any information an eavesdropper may have on
the final secret key. In this paper, we consider delaying PA of the final key
after its use in one-time pad encryption and prove its security. We prove that
the security and the key generation rate are not affected by delaying PA.
Delaying PA has two applications: it serves as a tool for significantly
simplifying the security proof of QKD with a two-way quantum channel, and also
it is useful in QKD networks with trusted relays. To illustrate the power of
the delayed PA idea, we use it to prove the security of a qubit-based two-way
deterministic QKD protocol which uses four states and four encoding operations.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
Flipping quantum coins
Coin flipping is a cryptographic primitive in which two distrustful parties
wish to generate a random bit in order to choose between two alternatives. This
task is impossible to realize when it relies solely on the asynchronous
exchange of classical bits: one dishonest player has complete control over the
final outcome. It is only when coin flipping is supplemented with quantum
communication that this problem can be alleviated, although partial bias
remains. Unfortunately, practical systems are subject to loss of quantum data,
which restores complete or nearly complete bias in previous protocols. We
report herein on the first implementation of a quantum coin-flipping protocol
that is impervious to loss. Moreover, in the presence of unavoidable
experimental noise, we propose to use this protocol sequentially to implement
many coin flips, which guarantees that a cheater unwillingly reveals
asymptotically, through an increased error rate, how many outcomes have been
fixed. Hence, we demonstrate for the first time the possibility of flipping
coins in a realistic setting. Flipping quantum coins thereby joins quantum key
distribution as one of the few currently practical applications of quantum
communication. We anticipate our findings to be useful for various
cryptographic protocols and other applications, such as an online casino, in
which a possibly unlimited number of coin flips has to be performed and where
each player is free to decide at any time whether to continue playing or not.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure
Phase encoding schemes for measurement device independent quantum key distribution and basis-dependent flaw
In this paper, we study the unconditional security of the so-called
measurement device independent quantum key distribution (MDIQKD) with the
basis-dependent flaw in the context of phase encoding schemes. We propose two
schemes for the phase encoding, the first one employs a phase locking technique
with the use of non-phase-randomized coherent pulses, and the second one uses
conversion of standard BB84 phase encoding pulses into polarization modes. We
prove the unconditional security of these schemes and we also simulate the key
generation rate based on simple device models that accommodate imperfections.
Our simulation results show the feasibility of these schemes with current
technologies and highlight the importance of the state preparation with good
fidelity between the density matrices in the two bases. Since the
basis-dependent flaw is a problem not only for MDIQKD but also for standard
QKD, our work highlights the importance of an accurate signal source in
practical QKD systems.
Note: We include the erratum of this paper in Appendix C. The correction does
not affect the validity of the main conclusions reported in the paper, which is
the importance of the state preparation in MDIQKD and the fact that our schemes
can generate the key with the practical channel mode that we have assumed.Comment: We include the erratum of this paper in Appendix C. The correction
does not affect the validity of the main conclusions reported in the pape
The Political Economy of Natural Resource Use: Lessons for Fisheries Reform
This report discusses key lessons drawn from reform experience in the wider natural resource sector that might inform successful reform in fisheries. This report is a compilation of 12 papers prepared by acknowledged international experts in the fields of fisheries and wider natural resource reform which were reviewed at a workshop convened by the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) in May 2009.The report forms an important initial input into an ongoing enquiry into the political economy of fisheries reform initiated by the World Bank in partnership with the Partnership for African Fisheries (a United Kingdom Department for International Development funded program of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD))
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