Semiclassical models for multiple-user optical communication cannot assess the ultimate limits on reliable communication as permitted by the laws of physics. In all optical communications settings that have been analyzed within a quantum framework so far, the gaps between the quantum limit to the capacity and the Shannon limit for structured receivers become most significant in the low photon-number regime. Here, we present a quantum treatment of a multiple-transmitter multiple-receiver multi-spatial-mode free-space interference channel with diffraction-limited loss and a thermal background. We consider the performance of a laser-light (coherent state) encoding in conjunction with various detection strategies such as homodyne, heterodyne, and joint detection. Joint detection outperforms both homodyne and heterodyne detection whenever the channel exhibits “very strong” interference. We determine the capacity region for homodyne or heterodyne detection when the channel has “strong” interference, and we conjecture the existence of a joint detection strategy that outperforms the former two strategies in this case. Finally, we determine the Han-Kobayashi achievable rate regions for both homodyne and heterodyne detection and compare them to a region achievable by a conjectured joint detection strategy. In these latter cases, we determine achievable rate regions if the receivers employ a recently discovered minentropy quantum simultaneous decoder.
Semiclassical models for multiple-user optical communication cannot assess the ultimate limits on reliable communication as permitted by the laws of physics. In all optical communications settings that have been analyzed within a quantum framework so far, the gaps between the quantum limit to the capacity and the Shannon limit for structured receivers become most significant in the low photon-number regime. Here, we present a quantum treatment of a multiple-transmitter multiple-receiver multi-spatial-mode free-space interference channel with diffraction-limited loss and a thermal background. We consider the performance of a laser-light (coherent state) encoding in conjunction with various detection strategies such as homodyne, heterodyne, and joint detection. Joint detection outperforms both homodyne and heterodyne detection whenever the channel exhibits “very strong” interference. We determine the capacity region for homodyne or heterodyne detection when the channel has “strong” interference, and we conjecture the existence of a joint detection strategy that outperforms the former two strategies in this case. Finally, we determine the Han-Kobayashi achievable rate regions for both homodyne and heterodyne detection and compare them to a region achievable by a conjectured joint detection strategy. In these latter cases, we determine achievable rate regions if the receivers employ a recently discovered minentropy quantum simultaneous decoder.
We provide a summary of the classical information capacity of single-mode free-space optical communication for pure-loss channels. We compare the capacities afforded by structured transmitters and receivers to that of the ultimate communication capacity dictated by the quantum nature of light, and we draw the following conclusions. The ultimate capacity can be achieved with classical coherent states (i.e., ideal laser light), but the capacity-achieving receiver (measurement) is yet to be determined. In photon-starved pure-loss channels, binary phase modulation in combination with the optimal receiver is near-capacity achieving, and more importantly, it is superior to on-off keying with either the optimal receiver (as yet to be determined) or with a photon-counter. Heterodyne detection approaches the ultimate capacity at high mean photon numbers.
Laser-light (coherent-state) modulation is sufficient to achieve the ultimate (Holevo) capacity of classical communication over a lossy and noisy optical channel, but requires a receiver that jointly detects long modulated code words with highly nonlinear quantum operations, which are near-impossible to realize using current technology. We analyze the capacity of the lossy-noisy optical channel when the transmitter uses coherent-state modulation but the receiver is restricted to a general quantum-limited Gaussian receiver, i.e., one that may involve arbitrary combinations of Gaussian operations [passive linear optics: beam splitters and phase shifters; second-order nonlinear optics (or active linear optics): squeezers, along with homodyne or heterodyne detection measurements] and any amount of classical feedforward within the receiver. Under these assumptions, we show that the Gaussian receiver that attains the maximum mutual information is either homodyne detection, heterodyne detection, or time sharing between the two, depending upon the received power level. In other words, our result shows that to exceed the theoretical limit of conventional coherent optical communication, one has to incorporate non-Gaussian, i.e., third- or higher-order nonlinear operations in the receiver. Finally we compare our Gaussian receiver limit with experimentally feasible non-Gaussian receivers and show that in the regime of low received photon flux, it is possible to overcome the Gaussian receiver limit by relatively simple non-Gaussian receivers based on photon counting.
Laser-light (coherent-state) modulation is sufficient to achieve the ultimate (Holevo) capacity of classical communication over a lossy and noisy optical channel, but requires a receiver that jointly detects long modulated codewords with highly nonlinear quantum operations, which are near-impossible to realize using current technology. We analyze the capacity of the lossy-noisy optical channel when the transmitter uses coherent state modulation but the receiver is restricted to a general quantum-limited Gaussian receiver, i.e., one that may involve arbitrary combinations of Gaussian operations (passive linear optics: beamsplitters and phase-shifters, second order nonlinear process (squeezers), along with homodyne or heterodyne detection measurements) and any amount of classical feedforward within the receiver. Under these assumptions, we show that the Gaussian receiver that attains the maximum mutual information is either homodyne detection, heterodyne detection, or time sharing between the two, depending upon the received power level. In other words, our result shows that to exceed the theoretical limit of conventional coherent optical communications, one has to incorporate non-Gaussian (i.e. higher order nonlinear) operations in the receiver.
The discrete memoryless interference channel is modelled as a conditional probability distribution with two outputs depending on two inputs and has widespread applications in practical communication scenarios. In this paper, we introduce and study the quantum interference channel, a generalization of a two-input, two-output memoryless channel to the setting of quantum Shannon theory. We discuss three different coding strategies and obtain corresponding achievable rate regions for quantum interference channels. We calculate the capacity regions in the special cases of "very strong" and "strong" interference. The achievability proof in the case of "strong" interference exploits a novel quantum simultaneous decoder for two-sender quantum multiple access channels. We formulate a conjecture regarding the existence of a quantum simultaneous decoder in the three-sender case and use it to state the rates achievable by a quantum Han-Kobayashi strategy.
When classical information is sent over a channel with quantum-state modulation alphabet, such as the free-space optical (FSO) channel, attaining the ultimate (Holevo) limit to channel capacity requires the receiver to make joint measurements over long codeword blocks. In recent work, we showed a receiver for a pure-state channel that can attain the ultimate capacity by applying a single-shot optical (unitary) transformation on the received codeword state followed by simultaneous (but separable) projective measurements on the single-modulation-symbol state spaces. In this paper, we study the ultimate tradeoff between photon efficiency and spectral efficiency for the FSO channel. Based on our general results for the pure-state quantum channel, we show some of the first concrete examples of codes and laboratory-realizable joint-detection optical receivers that can achieve fundamentally higher (superadditive) channel capacity than receivers that physically detect each modulation symbol one at a time, as is done by all conventional (coherent or direct-detection) optical receivers.
Communication theory applied to lightwave channels is ordinarily carried out using the semiclassical theory of photodetection. Recent development of nonclassical light sources-whose photodetection statistics require the use of quantum theory-plus increasing interest in optics-based approaches to quantum information processing necessitates a thorough understanding of the similarities and distinctions between the semiclassical and quantum theories of optical communications. This paper is addressed to that need, focusing, for convenience, on the free-space communication channel using Gaussian states of light. The quantum version of the Huygens-Fresnel diffraction integral is reviewed, along with the semiclassical and quantum theories of direct, homodyne, and heterodyne detection. Maximally entangled Gaussian state light is used, in conjunction with quantum photodetection theory, to explain the nonclassical effects seen in Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometry and violation of the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt form of Bell's inequality. The classical information capacities of several bosonic channels are reviewed, and shown to exceed what can be achieved using conventional optical receivers.