In quantum cryptography, device-independent (DI) protocols can be certified secure without requiring assumptions about the inner workings of the devices used to perform the protocol. In order to display nonlocality, which is an essential feature in DI protocols, the device must consist of at least two separate components sharing entanglement. This raises a fundamental question: how much entanglement is needed to run such DI protocols? We present a two-device protocol for DI random number generation (DIRNG) which produces approximately n bits of randomness starting from n pairs of arbitrarily weakly entangled qubits. We also consider a variant of the protocol where m singlet states are diluted into n partially entangled states before performing the first protocol, and show that the number m of singlet states need only scale sublinearly with the number n of random bits produced. Operationally, this leads to a DIRNG protocol between distant laboratories that requires only a sublinear amount of quantum communication to prepare the devices.
In quantum cryptography, device-independent (DI) protocols can be certified secure without requiring assumptions about the inner workings of the devices used to perform the protocol. In order to display nonlocality, which is an essential feature in DI protocols, the device must consist of at least two separate components sharing entanglement. This raises a fundamental question: how much entanglement is needed to run such DI protocols? We present a two-device protocol for DI random number generation (DIRNG) which produces approximately n bits of randomness starting from n pairs of arbitrarily weakly entangled qubits. We also consider a variant of the protocol where m singlet states are diluted into n partially entangled states before performing the first protocol, and show that the number m of singlet states need only scale sublinearly with the number n of random bits produced. Operationally, this leads to a DIRNG protocol between distant laboratories that requires only a sublinear amount of quantum communication to prepare the devices.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a provably secure way for two distant parties to establish a common secret key, which then can be used in a classical cryptographic scheme. Using quantum entanglement, one can reduce the necessary assumptions that the parties have to make about their devices, giving rise to device-independent QKD (DIQKD). However, in all existing protocols to date the parties need to have an initial (at least partially) random seed as a resource. In this work, we show that this requirement can be dropped. Using recent advances in the fields of randomness amplification and randomness expansion, we demonstrate that it is sufficient for the message the parties want to communicate to be (partially) unknown to the adversaries---an assumption without which any type of cryptography would be pointless to begin with. One party can use her secret message to locally generate a secret sequence of bits, which can then be openly used by herself and the other party in a DIQKD protocol. Hence our work reduces the requirements needed to perform secure DIQKD and establish safe communication.
As our foundational understanding of quantum information theory broadens, it remains to be seen whether novel foundational developments will lead to corresponding applications. Promising branches are quantum networks and quantum cryptography, which are more intertwined by the day. In particular, a fascinating phenomena is that in networks with independent sources, Bell nonlocality can take place without the need for measurement settings for the parties, i.e. in each round, each source is asked to produce the same state and each party measures the same measurement. This is in stark contrast to standard Bell nonlocality, where seed randomness is necessary to certify nonlocality and through it, randomness of the outcomes. Building on nonlocality without seed randomness in networks, we propose a device-independent quantum key distribution protocol (which can be extended to quantum conference key agreement if it involves more than 2 parties) which allows for the generation of shared secret keys without the need for input randomness. We rely on recent results on nonlocality in networks and its robustness, showing how in a ring network with N bipartite sources, one must only make standard assumptions in order to run the protocol, while no trust is required from the devices themselves. We thus give a device-independent proof of security under this network assumption in the IID setting. In summary, we propose a first-of-a-kind protocol for Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution which is native to the network setting, and which does not demand input randomness from the parties in order to produce output randomness.
The generation of certifiable randomness is one of the most promising applications of quantum technologies. Furthermore, the intrinsic non-locality of quantum correlations allow us to certify randomness in a device-independent way, i.e., we do not need to make assumptions about the devices used. Due to the work of Curchod et al. a single entangled two-qubit pure state can be used to produce arbitrary amounts of certified randomness. However, the obtaining of this randomness is experimentally challenging as it requires a large number of measurements, both projective and general. Motivated by these difficulties in the device-independent setting, we instead consider the scenario of one-sided device independence where certain devices are trusted, and others are not; a scenario motivated by asymmetric experimental set-ups such as ion-photon networks. We show how certain aspects of previous works can be adapted to this scenario and provide theoretical bounds on the amount of randomness that can be certified. Furthermore, we give a protocol for unbounded randomness certification in this scenario, and provide numerical results demonstrating the protocol in the ideal case. Finally, we numerically test the possibility of implementing this scheme on near-term quantum technologies, by considering the performance of the protocol on several physical platforms.
The generation of certifiable randomness is one of the most promising applications of quantum technologies. Furthermore, the intrinsic non-locality of quantum correlations allow us to certify randomness in a device-independent way, ie, we do not need to make assumptions about the devices used. Due to the work of Curchod et al. a single entangled two-qubit pure state can be used to produce arbitrary amounts of certified randomness. However, the obtaining of this randomness is experimentally challenging as it requires a large number of measurements, both projective and general. Motivated by these difficulties in the device-independent setting, we instead consider the scenario of one-sided device independence where certain devices are trusted, and others are not; a scenario motivated by asymmetric experimental set-ups such as ion-photon networks. We show how certain aspects of previous works can be adapted to this scenario and provide theoretical bounds on the amount of randomness that can be certified. Furthermore, we give a protocol for unbounded randomness certification in this scenario, and provide numerical results demonstrating the protocol in the ideal case. Finally, we numerically test the possibility of implementing this scheme on near-term quantum technologies, by considering the performance of the protocol on several physical platforms.
Device-independent random number generation (DIQRNG) is the most secure form of generating private randomness using quantum physical processes. Its strength lies in producing numbers that are impossible to predict by any eavesdropper restricted by the laws of quantum theory. Moreover, security is proven solely from observed measurement statistics, without the need to characterise or trust the devices used in random number generation. Implementing DIQRNG is, however, costly, as it requires high-quality entangled systems. It is therefore important to make the best use of available resources. In this work, we show that using projective measurements -- which are most readily implementable experimentally -- one can certify 2log(d) bits of device-independent randomness from a bipartite system of local dimension d for every d≥2, thus reaching the theoretically maximum possible rate of DIQRNG. We provide explicit protocols reaching 2log(d) bits based on mutually unbiased bases. Furthermore, we compute numerical bounds on the rate for the case of imperfect implementations, showing that our protocols are robust to experimental noise.
One of the striking properties of quantum mechanics is the occurrence of the Bell-type non-locality. They are a fundamental feature of the theory that allows two parties that share an entangled quantum system to observe correlations stronger than possible in classical physics. In addition to their theoretical significance, non-local correlations have practical applications, such as device-independent randomness generation, providing private unpredictable numbers even when obtained using devices delivered by an untrusted vendor. Thus, determining the quantity of certifiable randomness that can be produced using a specific set of non-local correlations is of significant interest. First, we present an experimental realization of recent Bell-type operators designed to provide private random numbers that are secure against adversaries with quantum resources. We use semi-definite programming to give lower bounds on the generated randomness in terms of both min-entropy and von Neumann entropy in a device-independent scenario. Our results demonstrate the first experiment that certifies nearly two bits of randomness from binary measurements of two parties [1], [2]. Apart from single-round certification, we provide an analysis of finite-key protocol for quantum randomness expansion using the Entropy Accumulation Theorem. Second, we present an efficient and practical method for certifying quantum randomness using generalized measurements. Indeed, we have derived a method for self-testing the presence of POVMs. We present the certification of more than one bit of min-entropy from a single POVM on one of the qubits of an entangled state using a variant of the elegant Bell inequality. We also obtain more than one bit of randomness in a prepare and measure scenario of a similar structure with a POVM on a single qubit [3]. We provide numerical simulations to demonstrate the effectiveness of our randomness certification and expansion.