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arXiv:1801.06218

Interstellar Communication. VIII. Hard limits on the number of bits per photon

Michael Hippke

Published Jan 18, 2018• 3 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

A photon can encode several bits of information based on an alphabet of its time of arrival, energy, and polarization. Heisenberg's uncertainty principle places a limit on measuring pairs of physical properties of a particle, limiting the maximal information efficiency to <59 bits per photon in practice, and <171 bits per photon at Planck energy, at a data rate of one photon per second.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1801.06218

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A photon can encode several bits of information based on an alphabet of its time of arrival, energy, and polarization. Heisenberg's uncertainty principle places a limit on measuring pairs of physical properties of a particle, limiting the maximal information efficiency to <59 bits per photon in practice, and <171 bits per photon at Planck energy, at a data rate of one photon per second.
When single photons are used to code for individual bits, security can be guaranteed by exploiting Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. Binary information can be coded into two orthogonal states, such as polarization or relative phase (in an interferometer). To receive this information we require an analyzer able to discriminate between the two states in an error-free way. In a linear-polarization system a polarizing beam splitter is used with its axes aligned to the two possible polarization directions. However, using a polarizer at 45° to these directions will ensure a random output uncorrelated to the single-photon-coded bit stream. The principle of secure key sharing, or quantum cryptography, is that a random bit stream is encoded onto individual photons while randomly switching the coding basis between the 0° and 45° polarization bases (in general, any non-orthogonal measurement bases). The receiver also randomly switches between these basis, and information is shared only when a photon is received and the same basis is used for coding and for measurement. An initial experiment of this type was carried out by using faint pulses of polarized visible light over a 40-cm transmission distance.1
Quantum cryptography was designed to provide a new approach to the problem of distributing keys for private-key cryptography. The principal idea is that security can be ensured by exploiting the laws of quantum physics and, in particular, by the fact that any attempt to measure a quantum state will change it uncontrollably. This change can be detected by the legitimate users of the communication channel and so reveal to them the presence of an eavesdropper. In this paper I explain (briefly) how quantum key distribution works and some of the progress that has been made towards making this a viable technology. With the principles of quantum communication and quantum key distribution firmly established, it is perhaps time to consider how efficient it can be made. It is interesting to ask, in particular, how many bits of information might reasonably be encoded securely on each photon. The use of photons entangled in their time of arrival might make it possible to achieve data rates in excess of 10 bits per photon.
In Chap. 6 we presented in detail the relationship between observation and information, arriving at a very important result, namely, that for every observation there is a compensatory increase in entropy of other sources. We have shown that every physical observation, as well as every physical device, is ultimately limited by Heisenberg's uncertainty principle from quantum mechanics. In observing the most minute object or a small distance, there is a practical limit at which great accuracy cannot be achieved. Also, the smaller the distances or objects to be observed are, the more costly the energy (or entropy) required. In some instances, the amount of energy required may even approach infinity.
In the history of cryptography, quantum cryptography is a new and important chapter. It is a recent technique that can be used to ensure the confidentiality of information transmitted between two parties, usually called Alice and Bob, by exploiting the counterintuitive behavior of elementary particles such as photons. The physics of elementary particles is governed by the laws of quantum mechanics, which were discovered in the early twentieth century by talented physicists. Quantum mechanics fundamentally change the way we must see our world. At atomic scales, elementary particles do not have a precise location or speed, as we would intuitively expect. An observer who would want to get information on the particle's location would destroy information on its speed – and vice versa – as captured by the famous Heisenberg uncertainty principle . This is not a limitation due to the observer's technology but rather a fundamental limitation that no one can ever overcome. The uncertainty principle has long been considered as an inconvenient limitation, until recently, when positive applications were found. In the meantime, the mid-twentieth century was marked by the creation of a new discipline called information theory . Information theory is aimed at defining the concept of information and mathematically describing tasks such as communication, coding and encryption. Pioneered by famous scientists like Turing and von Neumann and formally laid down by Shannon, it answers two fundamental questions: what is the fundamental limit of data compression, and what is the highest possible transmission rate over a communication channel?
It is considered constraints imposed by the quantum mechanics on the measurement of the density of the electromagnetic energy. First, the energy of the electromagnetic wave and the volume (time) are bound with the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. It reduces from double to ordinary the relativistic effect for the density of the electromagnetic energy. Second, the frequency of photons and the number of photons are bound with the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. Then relativistic effects for the frequency of photons and for the number of photons are incompatible.