3,958 research outputs found
An information-theoretic security proof for QKD protocols
We present a new technique for proving the security of quantum key
distribution (QKD) protocols. It is based on direct information-theoretic
arguments and thus also applies if no equivalent entanglement purification
scheme can be found. Using this technique, we investigate a general class of
QKD protocols with one-way classical post-processing. We show that, in order to
analyze the full security of these protocols, it suffices to consider
collective attacks. Indeed, we give new lower and upper bounds on the
secret-key rate which only involve entropies of two-qubit density operators and
which are thus easy to compute. As an illustration of our results, we analyze
the BB84, the six-state, and the B92 protocol with one-way error correction and
privacy amplification. Surprisingly, the performance of these protocols is
increased if one of the parties adds noise to the measurement data before the
error correction. In particular, this additional noise makes the protocols more
robust against noise in the quantum channel.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figure
Quantum Key Distribution Using Quantum Faraday Rotators
We propose a new quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol based on the fully
quantum mechanical states of the Faraday rotators. The protocol is
unconditionally secure against collective attacks for multi-photon source up to
two photons on a noisy environment. It is also robust against impersonation
attacks. The protocol may be implemented experimentally with the current
spintronics technology on semiconductors.Comment: 7 pages, 7 EPS figure
On giant piezoresistance effects in silicon nanowires and microwires
The giant piezoresistance (PZR) previously reported in silicon nanowires is
experimentally investigated in a large number of surface depleted silicon nano-
and micro-structures. The resistance is shown to vary strongly with time due to
electron and hole trapping at the sample surfaces. Importantly, this time
varying resistance manifests itself as an apparent giant PZR identical to that
reported elsewhere. By modulating the applied stress in time, the true PZR of
the structures is found to be comparable with that of bulk silicon
A de Finetti representation theorem for infinite dimensional quantum systems and applications to quantum cryptography
According to the quantum de Finetti theorem, if the state of an N-partite
system is invariant under permutations of the subsystems then it can be
approximated by a state where almost all subsystems are identical copies of
each other, provided N is sufficiently large compared to the dimension of the
subsystems. The de Finetti theorem has various applications in physics and
information theory, where it is for instance used to prove the security of
quantum cryptographic schemes. Here, we extend de Finetti's theorem, showing
that the approximation also holds for infinite dimensional systems, as long as
the state satisfies certain experimentally verifiable conditions. This is
relevant for applications such as quantum key distribution (QKD), where it is
often hard - or even impossible - to bound the dimension of the information
carriers (which may be corrupted by an adversary). In particular, our result
can be applied to prove the security of QKD based on weak coherent states or
Gaussian states against general attacks.Comment: 11 pages, LaTe
Quantum cryptography with finite resources: unconditional security bound for discrete-variable protocols with one-way post-processing
We derive a bound for the security of QKD with finite resources under one-way
post-processing, based on a definition of security that is composable and has
an operational meaning. While our proof relies on the assumption of collective
attacks, unconditional security follows immediately for standard protocols like
Bennett-Brassard 1984 and six-states. For single-qubit implementations of such
protocols, we find that the secret key rate becomes positive when at least
N\sim 10^5 signals are exchanged and processed. For any other discrete-variable
protocol, unconditional security can be obtained using the exponential de
Finetti theorem, but the additional overhead leads to very pessimistic
estimates
A de Finetti representation for finite symmetric quantum states
Consider a symmetric quantum state on an n-fold product space, that is, the
state is invariant under permutations of the n subsystems. We show that,
conditioned on the outcomes of an informationally complete measurement applied
to a number of subsystems, the state in the remaining subsystems is close to
having product form. This immediately generalizes the so-called de Finetti
representation to the case of finite symmetric quantum states.Comment: 22 pages, LaTe
Quantum circuit for security proof of quantum key distribution without encryption of error syndrome and noisy processing
One of the simplest security proofs of quantum key distribution is based on
the so-called complementarity scenario, which involves the complementarity
control of an actual protocol and a virtual protocol [M. Koashi, e-print
arXiv:0704.3661 (2007)]. The existing virtual protocol has a limitation in
classical postprocessing, i.e., the syndrome for the error-correction step has
to be encrypted. In this paper, we remove this limitation by constructing a
quantum circuit for the virtual protocol. Moreover, our circuit with a shield
system gives an intuitive proof of why adding noise to the sifted key increases
the bit error rate threshold in the general case in which one of the parties
does not possess a qubit. Thus, our circuit bridges the simple proof and the
use of wider classes of classical postprocessing.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures. Typo correcte
On low-sampling-rate Kramers-Moyal coefficients
We analyze the impact of the sampling interval on the estimation of
Kramers-Moyal coefficients. We obtain the finite-time expressions of these
coefficients for several standard processes. We also analyze extreme situations
such as the independence and no-fluctuation limits that constitute useful
references. Our results aim at aiding the proper extraction of information in
data-driven analysis.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
A measure of majorisation emerging from single-shot statistical mechanics
The use of the von Neumann entropy in formulating the laws of thermodynamics
has recently been challenged. It is associated with the average work whereas
the work guaranteed to be extracted in any single run of an experiment is the
more interesting quantity in general. We show that an expression that
quantifies majorisation determines the optimal guaranteed work. We argue it
should therefore be the central quantity of statistical mechanics, rather than
the von Neumann entropy. In the limit of many identical and independent
subsystems (asymptotic i.i.d) the von Neumann entropy expressions are recovered
but in the non-equilbrium regime the optimal guaranteed work can be radically
different to the optimal average. Moreover our measure of majorisation governs
which evolutions can be realized via thermal interactions, whereas the
nondecrease of the von Neumann entropy is not sufficiently restrictive. Our
results are inspired by single-shot information theory.Comment: 54 pages (15+39), 9 figures. Changed title / changed presentation,
same main results / added minor result on pure bipartite state entanglement
(appendix G) / near to published versio
Higher Security Thresholds for Quantum Key Distribution by Improved Analysis of Dark Counts
We discuss the potential of quantum key distribution (QKD) for long distance
communication by proposing a new analysis of the errors caused by dark counts.
We give sufficient conditions for a considerable improvement of the key
generation rates and the security thresholds of well-known QKD protocols such
as Bennett-Brassard 1984, Phoenix-Barnett-Chefles 2000, and the six-state
protocol. This analysis is applicable to other QKD protocols like Bennett 1992.
We examine two scenarios: a sender using a perfect single-photon source and a
sender using a Poissonian source.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, v2: We obtained better results by using reverse
reconciliation as suggested by Nicolas Gisi
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