Quantum networks offer a unifying set of opportunities and challenges across
exciting intellectual and technical frontiers, including for quantum
computation, communication, and metrology. The realization of quantum networks
composed of many nodes and channels requires new scientific capabilities for
the generation and characterization of quantum coherence and entanglement.
Fundamental to this endeavor are quantum interconnects that convert quantum
states from one physical system to those of another in a reversible fashion.
Such quantum connectivity for networks can be achieved by optical interactions
of single photons and atoms, thereby enabling entanglement distribution and
quantum teleportation between nodes.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures Higher resolution versions of the figures can be
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