Implementation vulnerabilities in general quantum cryptography

Quantum cryptography is information-theoretically secure owing to its solid basis in quantum mechanics. However, generally, initial implementations with practical imperfections might open loopholes, allowing an eavesdropper to compromise the security of a quantum cryptographic system. This has been shown to happen for quantum key distribution (QKD). Here we apply experience from implementation security of QKD to several other quantum cryptographic primitives. We survey quantum digital signatures, quantum secret sharing, source-independent quantum random number generation, quantum secure direct communication, and blind quantum computing. We propose how the eavesdropper could in principle exploit the loopholes to violate assumptions in these protocols, breaking their security properties. Applicable countermeasures are also discussed. It is important to consider potential implementation security issues early in protocol design, to shorten the path to future applications.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure

Generating Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states using multiport splitters

Symmetric multiport splitters are versatile tools in optical quantum information processing. They can be used for studying multiparticle scattering, studying distinguishability and mixedness, and also for the generation of multipartite entangled quantum states. Here, we show that N-photon N-mode Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states can be generated using symmetric multiport beam splitters. Varying the input states' internal degrees of freedom and post-selecting onto certain photon-number distributions allows the probabilistic generation of GHZ states with arbitrary photon numbers. We present two novel schemes, one for odd and one for even numbers of photons, to generate GHZ states using symmetric multiport splitters and compare them to a strategy utilizing a 2N-port network as well as the standard post-selection method

Experimental entanglement generation using multiport beam splitters

Multi-photon entanglement plays a central role in optical quantum technologies. One way to entangle two photons is to prepare them in orthogonal internal states, for example, in two polarisations, and then send them through a balanced beam splitter. Post-selecting on the cases where there is one photon in each output port results in a maximally entangled state. This idea can be extended to schemes for the post-selected generation of larger entangled states. Typically, switching between different types of entangled states require different arrangements of beam splitters and so a new experimental setup. Here, we demonstrate a simple and versatile scheme to generate different types of genuine tripartite entangled states with only one experimental setup. We send three photons through a three-port splitter and vary their internal states before post-selecting on certain output distributions. This results in the generation of tripartite W, G and GHZ states. We obtain fidelities of up to $(87.3 \pm 1.1)\%$ with regard to the respective ideal states, confirming a successful generation of genuine tripartite entanglement

Bell-state measurement exceeding 50% success probability with linear optics

Bell-state projections serve as a fundamental basis for most quantum communication and computing protocols today. However, with current Bell-state measurement schemes based on linear optics, only two of four Bell states can be identified, which means that the maximum success probability of this vital step cannot exceed $50\%$. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a scheme that amends the original measurement with additional modes in the form of ancillary photons, which leads to a more complex measurement pattern, and ultimately a higher success probability of $62.5\%$. Experimentally, we achieve a success probability of $(57.9 \pm 1.4)\%$, a significant improvement over the conventional scheme. With the possibility of extending the protocol to a larger number of ancillary photons, our work paves the way towards more efficient realisations of quantum technologies based on Bell-state measurements

Experimental Demonstration of Blind Quantum Computing

Quantum computers, besides offering substantial computational speedups, are also expected to provide the possibility of preserving the privacy of a computation. Here we show the first such experimental demonstration of blind quantum computation where the input, computation, and output all remain unknown to the computer. We exploit the conceptual framework of measurement-based quantum computation that enables a client to delegate a computation to a quantum server. We demonstrate various blind delegated computations, including one- and two-qubit gates and the Deutsch and Grover algorithms. Remarkably, the client only needs to be able to prepare and transmit individual photonic qubits. Our demonstration is crucial for future unconditionally secure quantum cloud computing and might become a key ingredient for real-life applications, especially when considering the challenges of making powerful quantum computers widely available