10 research outputs found
Multi-port beamsplitters based on multi-core optical fibers for high-dimensional quantum information
Long-distance distribution of genuine energy-time entanglement
Any practical realization of entanglement-based quantum communication must be
intrinsically secure and able to span long distances avoiding the need of a
straight line between the communicating parties. The violation of Bell's
inequality offers a method for the certification of quantum links without
knowing the inner workings of the devices. Energy-time entanglement quantum
communication satisfies all these requirements. However, currently there is a
fundamental obstacle with the standard configuration adopted: an intrinsic
geometrical loophole that can be exploited to break the security of the
communication, in addition to other loopholes. Here we show the first
experimental Bell violation with energy-time entanglement distributed over 1 km
of optical fibers that is free of this geometrical loophole. This is achieved
by adopting a new experimental design, and by using an actively stabilized
fiber-based long interferometer. Our results represent an important step
towards long-distance secure quantum communication in optical fibers.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. Matches published versio
High-dimensional decoy-state quantum key distribution over 0.3 km of multicore telecommunication optical fibers
Multiplexing is a strategy to augment the transmission capacity of a
communication system. It consists of combining multiple signals over the same
data channel and it has been very successful in classical communications.
However, the use of enhanced channels has only reached limited practicality in
quantum communications (QC) as it requires the complex manipulation of quantum
systems of higher dimensions. Considerable effort is being made towards QC
using high-dimensional quantum systems encoded into the transverse momentum of
single photons but, so far, no approach has been proven to be fully compatible
with the existing telecommunication infrastructure. Here, we overcome such a
technological challenge and demonstrate a stable and secure high-dimensional
decoy-state quantum key distribution session over a 0.3 km long multicore
optical fiber. The high-dimensional quantum states are defined in terms of the
multiple core modes available for the photon transmission over the fiber, and
the decoy-state analysis demonstrates that our technique enables a positive
secret key generation rate up to 25 km of fiber propagation. Finally, we show
how our results build up towards a high-dimensional quantum network composed of
free-space and fiber based linksComment: Please see the complementary work arXiv:1610.01812 (2016
Challenging local realism with human choices
A Bell test is a randomized trial that compares experimental observations
against the philosophical worldview of local realism. A Bell test requires
spatially distributed entanglement, fast and high-efficiency detection and
unpredictable measurement settings. Although technology can satisfy the first
two of these requirements, the use of physical devices to choose settings in a
Bell test involves making assumptions about the physics that one aims to test.
Bell himself noted this weakness in using physical setting choices and argued
that human `free will' could be used rigorously to ensure unpredictability in
Bell tests. Here we report a set of local-realism tests using human choices,
which avoids assumptions about predictability in physics. We recruited about
100,000 human participants to play an online video game that incentivizes fast,
sustained input of unpredictable selections and illustrates Bell-test
methodology. The participants generated 97,347,490 binary choices, which were
directed via a scalable web platform to 12 laboratories on five continents,
where 13 experiments tested local realism using photons, single atoms, atomic
ensembles, and superconducting devices. Over a 12-hour period on 30 November
2016, participants worldwide provided a sustained data flow of over 1,000 bits
per second to the experiments, which used different human-generated data to
choose each measurement setting. The observed correlations strongly contradict
local realism and other realistic positions in bipartite and tripartite
scenarios. Project outcomes include closing the `freedom-of-choice loophole'
(the possibility that the setting choices are influenced by `hidden variables'
to correlate with the particle properties), the utilization of video-game
methods for rapid collection of human generated randomness, and the use of
networking techniques for global participation in experimental science.Comment: This version includes minor changes resulting from reviewer and
editorial input. Abstract shortened to fit within arXiv limit
Challenging local realism with human choices
A Bell test is a randomized trial that compares experimental observations against the philosophical worldview of local realism , in which the properties of the physical world are independent of our observation of them and no signal travels faster than light. A Bell test requires spatially distributed entanglement, fast and high-efficiency detection and unpredictable measurement settings . Although technology can satisfy the first two of these requirements , the use of physical devices to choose settings in a Bell test involves making assumptions about the physics that one aims to test. Bell himself noted this weakness in using physical setting choices and argued that human 'free will' could be used rigorously to ensure unpredictability in Bell tests . Here we report a set of local-realism tests using human choices, which avoids assumptions about predictability in physics. We recruited about 100,000 human participants to play an online video game that incentivizes fast, sustained input of unpredictable selections and illustrates Bell-test methodology . The participants generated 97,347,490 binary choices, which were directed via a scalable web platform to 12 laboratories on five continents, where 13 experiments tested local realism using photons , single atoms , atomic ensembles and superconducting devices . Over a 12-hour period on 30 November 2016, participants worldwide provided a sustained data flow of over 1,000 bits per second to the experiments, which used different human-generated data to choose each measurement setting. The observed correlations strongly contradict local realism and other realistic positions in bipartite and tripartite scenarios. Project outcomes include closing the 'freedom-of-choice loophole' (the possibility that the setting choices are influenced by 'hidden variables' to correlate with the particle properties ), the utilization of video-game methods for rapid collection of human-generated randomness, and the use of networking techniques for global participation in experimental science