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arXiv:2202.10059 · Quantum

Improving the performance of twin-field quantum key distribution with advantage distillation technology

Hong-Wei Li, Rui-Qiang Wang, Chun-Mei Zhang, Qing-yu Cai

Published Dec 6, 2023• 12 citations
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Abstract

In this work, we apply the advantage distillation method to improve the performance of a practical twin-field quantum key distribution system under collective attack. Compared with the previous analysis result given by Maeda, Sasaki and Koashi [Nature Communication 10, 3140 (2019)], the maximal transmission distance obtained by our analysis method will be increased from 420 km to 470 km. By increasing the loss-independent misalignment error to 12%, the previous analysis method can not overcome the rate-distance bound. However, our analysis method can still overcome the rate-distance bound when the misalignment error is 16%. More surprisingly, we prove that twin-field quantum key distribution can generate positive secure key even if the misalignment error is close to 50%, thus our analysis method can significantly improve the performance of a practical twin-field quantum key distribution system.

DOI
10.22331/q-2023-12-06-1201

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In this work, we apply the advantage distillation method to improve the performance of a practical twin-field quantum key distribution system under collective attack. Compared with the previous analysis result given by Maeda, Sasaki and Koashi [Nature Communication 10, 3140 (2019)], the maximal transmission distance obtained by our analysis method will be increased from 420 km to 470 km. By increasing the loss-independent misalignment error to 12%, the previous analysis method can not overcome the rate-distance bound. However, our analysis method can still overcome the rate-distance bound when the misalignment error is 16%. More surprisingly, we prove that twin-field quantum key distribution can generate positive secure key even if the misalignment error is close to 50%, thus our analysis method can significantly improve the performance of a practical twin-field quantum key distribution system.
Abstract Quantum key distribution (QKD) provides a promising solution for sharing information-theoretic secret keys between two remote legitimate parties. To improve the maximal transmission distance and the maximal error rate tolerance, we apply the advantage distillation technology to analyze the security of practical decoy-state QKD systems. Based on the practical experimental parameters, the device-dependent QKD protocols and the measurement-device-independent QKD protocols have been respectively analyzed, and our analysis results demonstrate that the advantage distillation technology can significantly improve the performance of various QKD protocols. In the four-state and six-state device-dependent QKD protocols, we prove that the maximal transmission distance can be improved from 142 km to 180 km and from 146 km to 187 km respectively. In the four-state and six-state measurement-device-independent QKD protocols, we prove that the maximal transmission distance can be improved from 195 km to 273 km and from 200 km to 282 km respectively.
The twin-field quantum key distribution (TF-QKD) protocol and its variants provide promising solutions to long-distance information-theoretic-secure communication, which can surpass the fundamental rate-loss bound without quantum repeaters. Different from other variants, the discrete-phase-randomized TF-QKD variant only needs to modulate weak coherent sources with random discrete phases, which avoids the necessity of modulating continuously randomized phases and can be implemented with current technology. However, the discrete-phase-randomized variant compromises the performance of TF-QKD under high channel losses and error rates. To overcome this dilemma, we propose to adopt the advantage distillation method to improve the performance of discrete-phase-randomized TF-QKD, and analyze its security in the asymptotic case. Without changing the optical hardware of TF-QKD systems, the proposed scheme can improve the secret key rate under high channel losses and error rates, and extend the tolerable channel loss as well.
Twin-field quantum key distribution (TFQKD), using single-photon-type interference, offers a way to exceed the rate-distance limit without quantum repeaters. However, it still suffers from photon losses and dark counts, which impose an ultimate limit on its transmission distance. In this Letter, we propose a scheme to implement TFQKD with an entangled coherent state source in the middle to increase its range, as well as comparing its performance under coherent attacks with that of TFQKD variants. Simulations show that our protocol has a theoretical distance advantage of 400 km. Moreover, the scheme has great robustness against the misalignment error and finite-size effects. Our work is a promising step toward long-distance secure communication and is greatly compatible with future global quantum networks.
Mode-pairing quantum key distribution (MP-QKD) is an easy-to-implement scheme that transcends the Pirandola-Laurenza-Ottaviani-Banchi bound without using quantum repeaters. In this paper, we present an improvement of the performance of MP-QKD using an advantage distillation method. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme extends the transmission distance significantly with a channel loss exceeding 7.6 dB. Moreover, the scheme tolerates a maximum quantum bit error rate of 8.9%, which is nearly twice that of the original MP-QKD. In particular, as the system misalignment error increases, the expandable distance of the proposed scheme also increases. The proposed system is expected to promote the practical implementation of MP-QKD in a wide range of applications, particularly in scenarios involving high channel losses and system errors.
Abstract The advantage distillation (AD) technology has been proven to effectively improve the secret key rate and the communication distance of quantum key distribution (QKD). The mode-pairing quantum key distribution (MP-QKD) protocol can overcome a fundamental physical limit, known as the Pirandola–Laurenza–Ottaviani–Banchi bound, without requiring global phase-locking. In this work, we propose a method based on multi-step AD to further enhance the performance of MP-QKD. The simulation results show that, compared to one-step AD, multi-step AD achieves better performance in long-distance scenarios and can tolerate a higher quantum bit error rate. Specifically, when the difference between the communication distances from Alice and Bob to Charlie is 25 km, 50 km and 75 km, and the corresponding transmission distance exceeds 523 km, 512 km and 496 km, respectively, the secret key rate achieved by multi-step AD surpasses that of one-step AD. Our findings indicate that the proposed method can effectively promote the application of MP-QKD in scenarios with high loss and high error rate.
The advantage distillation (AD) method has proven effective in improving the performance of quantum key distribution (QKD). In this paper we introduce the AD method into a recently proposed asynchronous measurement-device-independent (AMDI) QKD protocol, taking finite-key effects into account. Simulation results show that the AD method significantly enhances AMDI QKD, e.g., extending the transmission distance by 16 km with a total pulse count of $N=7.24\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{13}$, and enables AMDI QKD, previously unable to generate keys, to generate keys with a misalignment error rate of 1010%10. As the AD method can be directly integrated into the current system through refined postprocessing, our results facilitate the practical implementation of AMDI QKD in various applications, particularly in scenarios with high channel losses and misalignment errors.