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arXiv:1902.07529 · Physical Review Letters

Experimental Realization of Device-Independent Quantum Randomness Expansion

Minghan Li, Xingjian Zhang, Wen‐Zhao Liu, Si-Ran Zhao, Bing Bai, Yang Liu, Qi Zhao, Yuxiang Peng, Jun Zhang, Yanbao Zhang, William J. Munro, Xiongfeng Ma, Qiang Zhang, Jingyun Fan, Jian-Wei Pan

Published Feb 4, 2021• 69 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Randomness expansion where one generates a longer sequence of random numbers from a short one is viable in quantum mechanics but not allowed classically. Device-independent quantum randomness expansion provides a randomness resource of the highest security level. Here, we report the first experimental realization of device-independent quantum randomness expansion secure against quantum side information established through quantum probability estimation. We generate $5.47\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{8}$ quantum-proof random bits while consuming $4.39\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{8}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{bits}$ of entropy, expanding our store of randomness by $1.08\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{8}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{bits}$ at a latency of about 13.1 h, with a total soundness error $4.6\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}10}$. Device-independent quantum randomness expansion not only enriches our understanding of randomness but also sets a solid base to bring quantum-certifiable random bits into realistic applications.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.126.050503

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Applications of randomness such as private key generation and public randomness beacons require small blocks of certified random bits on demand. Device-independent quantum random number generators can produce such random bits, but existing quantum-proof protocols and loophole-free implementations suffer from high latency, requiring many hours to produce any random bits. We demonstrate device-independent quantum randomness generation from a loophole-free Bell test with a more efficient quantum-proof protocol, obtaining multiple blocks of 512 random bits with an average experiment time of less than 5 min per block and with a certified error bounded by 2^{-64}≈5.42×10^{-20}.
Device-independent randomness expansion protocols aim to expand a short uniformly random string into a much longer one whilst guaranteeing that their output is truly random. They are device-independent in the sense that this guarantee does not dependent on the specifics of an implementation. Rather, through the observation of nonlocal correlations we can conclude that the outputs generated are necessarily random. This thesis reports a general method for constructing these protocols and evaluating their security. Using this method, we then construct several explicit protocols and analyse their performance on noisy qubit systems. With a view towards near-future quantum technologies, we also investigate whether randomness expansion is possible using current nonlocality experiments. We find that, by combining the recent theoretical and experimental advances, it is indeed now possible to reliably and securely expand randomness.
For practical applications of quantum randomness generation, it is important to certify and further produce a fixed block of fresh random bits with as few trials as possible.Consequently, protocols with high finite-data efficiency are preferred.To yield such protocols with respect to quantum side information, we develop quantum probability estimation.Our approach is applicable to device-independent as well as device-dependent scenarios, and it generalizes techniques from previous works [Miller and Shi, SIAM J. Comput. 46, 1304 (2017); Arnon-Friedman et al., Nat. Commun. 9, 459 (2018)].Quantum probability estimation can adapt to changing experimental conditions, allows stopping the experiment as soon as the prespecified randomness goal is achieved, and can tolerate imperfect knowledge of the input distribution.Moreover, the randomness rate achieved at constant error is asymptotically optimal.For the device-independent scenario, our approach certifies the amount of randomness available in experimental results without first searching for relations between randomness and violations of fixed Bell inequalities.We implement quantum probability estimation for device-independent randomness generation in the CHSH Bell-test configuration, and we show significant improvements in finite-data efficiency, particularly at small Bell violations which are typical in current photonic loophole-free Bell tests.
Although quantum random number generators rely on the inherent indeterminism of quantum mechanics, ensuring that the numbers produced are secure remains a significant challenge. We introduce two semi-device-independent randomness expansion protocols in a prepare-and-measure setting, where the source and measurement devices are treated as uncharacterised and we assume trust only in testing device, which could be implemented using a photodiode. One protocol achieves expansion by recycling the input randomness, while the other uses a biased input distribution to achieve expansion in settings where recycling is not possible. The protocols are proven secure against quantum side information. Our results show that high randomness rates are achievable under experimentally realistic conditions, with expansion obtained in as few as 10510^5105 to 10610^6106 rounds with the recycling protocol.
Measurements on entangled quantum systems necessarily yield outcomes that are intrinsically unpredictable if they violate a Bell inequality. This property can be used to generate certified randomness in a device-independent way, i.e., without making detailed assumptions about the internal working of the quantum devices used to generate the random numbers. Furthermore these numbers are also private; i.e., they appear random not only to the user but also to any adversary that might possess a perfect description of the devices. Since this process requires a small initial random seed to sample the behavior of the quantum devices and to extract uniform randomness from the raw outputs of the devices, one usually speaks of device-independent randomness expansion. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we point out that in most real, practical situations, where the concept of device independence is used as a protection against unintentional flaws or failures of the quantum apparatuses, it is sufficient to show that the generated string is random with respect to an adversary that holds only classical side information; i.e., proving randomness against quantum side information is not necessary. Furthermore, the initial random seed does not need to be private with respect to the adversary, provided that it is generated in a way that is independent from the measured systems. The devices, however, will generate cryptographically secure randomness that cannot be predicted by the adversary, and thus one can, given access to free public randomness, talk about private randomness generation. The theoretical tools to quantify the generated randomness according to these criteria were already introduced in S. Pironio et al. [Nature (London) 464, 1021 (2010)], but the final results were improperly formulated. The second aim of this paper is to correct this inaccurate formulation and therefore lay out a precise theoretical framework for practical device-independent randomness generation.