Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2509.01074 · Laser & Photonics Review

High‐Efficiency Weak‐Trace‐Free Counterfactual Communication Via Quantum Zeno Effect

Tianyi Xing, Anqi Huang, Yizhi Wang, Chao Wu, Yaxuan Wang, Pingyu Zhu, Jiangfang Ding, Dongyang Wang, Yingwen Liu, Xiaogang Qiang, Sheng Ma, Ping Xu, Junjie Wu

Published Mar 23, 2026• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

ABSTRACT The quantum Zeno effect, which inhibits quantum state evolution via repeated weak measurements, significantly enhances the efficiency of interaction‐free measurement (IFM). This fundamental mechanism facilitates high‐efficiency counterfactual quantum communication, enabling information delivery without particle transmission through the channel. However, the transmission time of the counterfactual communication requires minutes for bit and suffers the bit error when transmitting an image. Applying the quantum Zeno effect, we experimentally demonstrate high‐efficiency weak‐trace‐free counterfactual communication on a quantum photonic chip, achieving a transmission probability of 74.2 1.6% for bit 0 and 85.1 1.3% for bit 1. Furthermore, we successfully transmit our group's logo – Quanta – through counterfactual communication, and reduce the time cost from minutes to seconds for bit, with zero bit errors after information processing. Our study provides a promising approach for secure and efficient communication using integrated silicon quantum photonics.

DOI
10.1002/lpor.202502974

Related papers

Trace-free counterfactual communication with a nanophotonic processor

Irati Alonso Calafell, Teodor Strömberg, David R. M. Arvidsson-Shukur +11 more

Abstract In standard communication information is carried by particles or waves. Counterintuitively, in counterfactual communication particles and information can travel in opposite directions. The quantum Zeno effect allows Bob to transmit a message to Alice by encoding information in particles he never interacts with. A first remarkable protocol for counterfactual communication relied on thousands of ideal optical operations for high success rate performance. Experimental realizations of that protocol have thus employed post-selection to demonstrate counterfactuality. This post-selection, together with arguments concerning a so-called “weak trace” of the particles traveling from Bob to Alice, have led to a discussion regarding the counterfactual nature of the protocol. Here we circumvent these controversies, implementing a new, and fundamentally different, protocol in a programmable nanophotonic processor, based on reconfigurable silicon-on-insulator waveguides that operate at telecom wavelengths. This, together with our telecom single-photon source and highly efficient superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors, provides a versatile and stable platform for a high-fidelity implementation of counterfactual communication with single photons, allowing us to actively tune the number of steps in the Zeno measurement, and achieve a bit error probability below 1%, without post-selection and with a vanishing weak trace. Our demonstration shows how our programmable nanophotonic processor could be applied to more complex counterfactual tasks and quantum information protocols.

arXiv:1808.04856•npj Quantum Information•Jul 23, 2019•21 citations

The Experimental Demonstration of High Efficiency Interaction-free Measurement for Quantum Counterfactual-like Communication

Chao Liu, Jinhong Liu, Junxiang Zhang +1 more

We present an interaction-free measurement with quantum Zeno effect and a high efficiency η = 74.6% ± 0.15%. As a proof-of-principle demonstration, this measurement can be used to implement a quantum counterfactual-like communication protocol. Instead of a single photon state, we use a coherent light as the input source and show that the output agrees with the proposed quantum counterfactual communication protocol according to Salih et al. Although the counterfactuality is not achieved due to the presence of a few photons in the public channel, we show that the signal light is nearly absent in the public channel, which exhibits a proof-of-principle quantum counterfactual-like property of communication.

Scientific Reports•Sep 1, 2017•23 citations

Quantum networks using counterfactual quantum communication

Aakash Warke, Kishore Thapliyal, Anirban Pathak

Abstract Counterfactual quantum communication is one of the most interesting facets of quantum communication, allowing two parties to communicate without any transmission of quantum or classical particles between the parties involved in the communication process. This aspect of quantum communication originates from the interaction-free measurements where the chained quantum Zeno effect plays an important role. Here, we propose a new counterfactual quantum communication protocol for transmitting an entangled state from a pair of electrons to two independent photons. Interestingly, the protocol proposed here shows that the counterfactual method can be employed to transfer information from house qubits to flying qubits. Following this, we show that the protocol finds uses in building quantum repeaters leading to a counterfactual quantum network, enabling counterfactual communication over a linear quantum network.

arXiv:2401.17397•Physica Scripta•Apr 30, 2024•2 citations

Direct counterfactual communication via quantum Zeno effect

Yuan Wen Cao, Yu-Huai Li, Zhu Cao +7 more

110:170502], quantum mechanics was found to allow for communication, even without the actual transmission of physical particles. From the viewpoint of communication, this mystery stems from a (nonintuitive) fundamental concept in quantum mechanics-wave-particle duality. All particles can be described fully by wave functions. To determine whether light appears in a channel, one refers to the amplitude of its wave function. However, in counterfactual communication, information is carried by the phase part of the wave function. Using a single-photon source, we experimentally demonstrate the counterfactual communication and successfully transfer a monochrome bitmap from one location to another by using a nested version of the quantum Zeno effect.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences•Apr 25, 2017•95 citations

"Interaction-free" quantum measurements

Andrew G. White, Paul G. Kwiat, Olaf Nairz +2 more

Summary form only given.Using the complementary wave-like and particle-like natures of photons, one can make interaction-free measurements (IFM)-the presence of an object can be determined with no photons being absorbed. By using an application of the quantum Zeno effect (weakly and repeatedly testing for the object's presence so that the otherwise coherent evolution of the interrogating photon is inhibited), we have demonstrated the feasibility of IFMs with an efficiency of >85%, higher than that possible in the original IFM scheme, where, at most, half of the measurements could be interaction free. We also investigate various interaction-free imaging systems, demonstrate imaging with a resolution <5 /spl mu/m, and define the limits to these systems. We also discuss in which sense interaction-free measurements really are not.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics•Jan 1, 1998•10 citations

On-chip interaction-free measurements via the quantum Zeno effect

Xiao‐Song Ma, Xiang Guo, Carsten Schuck +3 more

Although interference is a classical-wave phenomenon, the superposition principle, which underlies interference of individual particles, is at the heart of quantum physics. An interaction-free measurement (IFM) harnesses the wave-particle duality of single photons to sense the presence of an object via the modification of the interference pattern, which can be accomplished even if the photon and the object have not interacted with each other. By using the quantum Zeno effect, the efficiency of an IFM can be made arbitrarily close to unity. Here we report an on-chip realization of the IFM based on silicon photonics. We exploit the inherent advantages of the lithographically written waveguides (excellent interferometric phase stability and mode matching) and obtain multipath interference with visibility above $98%$. We achieved a normalized IFM efficiency up to $68.2%$, which exceeds the $50%$ limit of the original IFM proposal.

arXiv:1405.2068•Physical Review A•Oct 13, 2014•23 citations
ABSTRACT The quantum Zeno effect, which inhibits quantum state evolution via repeated weak measurements, significantly enhances the efficiency of interaction‐free measurement (IFM). This fundamental mechanism facilitates high‐efficiency counterfactual quantum communication, enabling information delivery without particle transmission through the channel. However, the transmission time of the counterfactual communication requires minutes for bit and suffers the bit error when transmitting an image. Applying the quantum Zeno effect, we experimentally demonstrate high‐efficiency weak‐trace‐free counterfactual communication on a quantum photonic chip, achieving a transmission probability of 74.2 1.6% for bit 0 and 85.1 1.3% for bit 1. Furthermore, we successfully transmit our group's logo – Quanta – through counterfactual communication, and reduce the time cost from minutes to seconds for bit, with zero bit errors after information processing. Our study provides a promising approach for secure and efficient communication using integrated silicon quantum photonics.
Abstract In standard communication information is carried by particles or waves. Counterintuitively, in counterfactual communication particles and information can travel in opposite directions. The quantum Zeno effect allows Bob to transmit a message to Alice by encoding information in particles he never interacts with. A first remarkable protocol for counterfactual communication relied on thousands of ideal optical operations for high success rate performance. Experimental realizations of that protocol have thus employed post-selection to demonstrate counterfactuality. This post-selection, together with arguments concerning a so-called “weak trace” of the particles traveling from Bob to Alice, have led to a discussion regarding the counterfactual nature of the protocol. Here we circumvent these controversies, implementing a new, and fundamentally different, protocol in a programmable nanophotonic processor, based on reconfigurable silicon-on-insulator waveguides that operate at telecom wavelengths. This, together with our telecom single-photon source and highly efficient superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors, provides a versatile and stable platform for a high-fidelity implementation of counterfactual communication with single photons, allowing us to actively tune the number of steps in the Zeno measurement, and achieve a bit error probability below 1%, without post-selection and with a vanishing weak trace. Our demonstration shows how our programmable nanophotonic processor could be applied to more complex counterfactual tasks and quantum information protocols.
We present an interaction-free measurement with quantum Zeno effect and a high efficiency η = 74.6% ± 0.15%. As a proof-of-principle demonstration, this measurement can be used to implement a quantum counterfactual-like communication protocol. Instead of a single photon state, we use a coherent light as the input source and show that the output agrees with the proposed quantum counterfactual communication protocol according to Salih et al. Although the counterfactuality is not achieved due to the presence of a few photons in the public channel, we show that the signal light is nearly absent in the public channel, which exhibits a proof-of-principle quantum counterfactual-like property of communication.
Abstract Counterfactual quantum communication is one of the most interesting facets of quantum communication, allowing two parties to communicate without any transmission of quantum or classical particles between the parties involved in the communication process. This aspect of quantum communication originates from the interaction-free measurements where the chained quantum Zeno effect plays an important role. Here, we propose a new counterfactual quantum communication protocol for transmitting an entangled state from a pair of electrons to two independent photons. Interestingly, the protocol proposed here shows that the counterfactual method can be employed to transfer information from house qubits to flying qubits. Following this, we show that the protocol finds uses in building quantum repeaters leading to a counterfactual quantum network, enabling counterfactual communication over a linear quantum network.
110:170502], quantum mechanics was found to allow for communication, even without the actual transmission of physical particles. From the viewpoint of communication, this mystery stems from a (nonintuitive) fundamental concept in quantum mechanics-wave-particle duality. All particles can be described fully by wave functions. To determine whether light appears in a channel, one refers to the amplitude of its wave function. However, in counterfactual communication, information is carried by the phase part of the wave function. Using a single-photon source, we experimentally demonstrate the counterfactual communication and successfully transfer a monochrome bitmap from one location to another by using a nested version of the quantum Zeno effect.
Summary form only given.Using the complementary wave-like and particle-like natures of photons, one can make interaction-free measurements (IFM)-the presence of an object can be determined with no photons being absorbed. By using an application of the quantum Zeno effect (weakly and repeatedly testing for the object's presence so that the otherwise coherent evolution of the interrogating photon is inhibited), we have demonstrated the feasibility of IFMs with an efficiency of >85%, higher than that possible in the original IFM scheme, where, at most, half of the measurements could be interaction free. We also investigate various interaction-free imaging systems, demonstrate imaging with a resolution <5 /spl mu/m, and define the limits to these systems. We also discuss in which sense interaction-free measurements really are not.
Although interference is a classical-wave phenomenon, the superposition principle, which underlies interference of individual particles, is at the heart of quantum physics. An interaction-free measurement (IFM) harnesses the wave-particle duality of single photons to sense the presence of an object via the modification of the interference pattern, which can be accomplished even if the photon and the object have not interacted with each other. By using the quantum Zeno effect, the efficiency of an IFM can be made arbitrarily close to unity. Here we report an on-chip realization of the IFM based on silicon photonics. We exploit the inherent advantages of the lithographically written waveguides (excellent interferometric phase stability and mode matching) and obtain multipath interference with visibility above 9898%98. We achieved a normalized IFM efficiency up to 68.268.2%68.2, which exceeds the 5050%50 limit of the original IFM proposal.