Entanglement is a key resource in quantum communication, but bipartite schemes are often insufficient for advanced protocols like quantum secret sharing or distributed computing. Graph states offer a flexible way to represent and manage multipartite entanglement in quantum networks, enabling logical connectivity through local operations and classical communication (LOCC). In this work, we extend existing approaches based on bi-star configurations to more complex multi-star topologies. We analyze the maximum connectivity that can be achieved in networks of$m$switches, each connected to$n$clients, including asymmetric cases where the number of clients varies per switch. We also propose methods to enable logical communication between distant nodes. Our results support the development of scalable quantum networks with rich connectivity beyond traditional bipartite structures.
Entanglement is a key resource in quantum communication, but bipartite schemes are often insufficient for advanced protocols like quantum secret sharing or distributed computing. Graph states offer a flexible way to represent and manage multipartite entanglement in quantum networks, enabling logical connectivity through local operations and classical communication (LOCC). In this work, we extend existing approaches based on bi-star configurations to more complex multi-star topologies. We analyze the maximum connectivity that can be achieved in networks ofmswitches, each connected tonclients, including asymmetric cases where the number of clients varies per switch. We also propose methods to enable logical communication between distant nodes. Our results support the development of scalable quantum networks with rich connectivity beyond traditional bipartite structures.
In the near to mid future, Quantum Local Area Networks (QLANs) – the fundamental building block of the Quantum Internet – will unlike exhibit physical topologies characterized by densely physical connections among the nodes. On the contrary, it is pragmatic to consider QLANs based on simpler, scarcely-connected physical topologies, such as star topologies. This constraint, if not properly tackled, will significantly impact the QLAN performance in terms of communication delay and/or overhead. Thankfully, it is possible to create on-demand links between QLAN nodes, without physically deploying them, by properly manipulating a shared multipartite entangled state, namely, a graph state. Thus, it is possible to build an overlay topology, referred to asartificial topology, upon the physical one, by only performing Local Operations and Classical Communication (LOCC). In this paper, we address the fundamental issue of engineering the artificial topology of a QLAN to bypass the limitations induced by the physical topology. The designed framework relays only on local operations, without exchanging signaling among the client nodes of the QLAN, which, in turn, would introduce further delays in a scenario very sensitive to the decoherence. Finally, by exploiting the artificial topology, it is proved that the troubleshooting is simplified, by overcoming the single point of failure, typical of classical LAN star topologies.
Building large-scale quantum computers, essential to demonstrating quantum advantage, is a key challenge. Quantum networks can help address this challenge by enabling the construction of large, robust, and more capable quantum computing platforms by connecting smaller quantum computers. Moreover, unlike classical systems, quantum networks can enable fully secured long-distance communication. Thus, quantum networks lie at the heart of the success of future quantum information technologies. In quantum networks, multipartite entangled states distributed over the network help implement and support many quantum network applications for communications, sensing, and computing. Our work focuses on developing optimal techniques to generate and distribute multipartite entanglement states efficiently. Prior works on generating general multipartite entanglement states have focused on the objective of minimizing the number of maximally entangled pairs while ignoring the heterogeneity of the network nodes and links as well as the stochastic nature of underlying processes. In this work, we develop a hypergraph-based linear programming framework that delivers optimal (under certain assumptions) generation schemes for general multipartite entanglement represented by graph states, under the network resources, decoherence, and fidelity constraints, while considering the stochasticity of the underlying processes. We illustrate our technique by developing generation schemes for the special cases of path and tree graph states and discuss optimized generation schemes for more general classes of graph states. Using extensive simulations over a quantum network simulator, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our developed techniques and show that they outperform prior known schemes by up to orders of magnitude.
The effective routing of entanglement over a quantum network is a fundamental problem in quantum communication. The distribution and reshaping of multipartite entanglement over a quantum network requires scalable protocols that adapt to the underlying topology. Graph states provide a convenient framework for this challenging task, as they encode global entanglement in a structured way that can be locally manipulated to produce a variety of target states, without requiring additional long-distance quantum operations. In this article, we propose graph-state-based routing protocols for sharing GHZ states, achieving larger sizes than those achieved in the existing works for given network topologies. For this improvement, we consider tree structures connecting the users participating in the final GHZ states, as opposed to the linear configurations used in the earlier works. In particular, for grid networks, we show special constructions of such trees that achieve larger GHZ states than the prior works. Moreover, if the user nodes along which the entanglement is to be routed are pre-specified, a strategy is proposed to accomplish this routing.
In recent years, quantum communication and quantum computing have become strategic technologies of great importance to countries around the world, with profound implications for individuals, businesses, and even nations. Among these, graph states are a very important class of multi-particle entangled states, playing a crucial role in fields such as quantum secret sharing, measurement-based quantum computing, and quantum metrology. However, the distribution of graph states faces the following challenges: existing quantum communication networks designed for single-qubit transmission cannot effectively accomplish graph state distribution tasks, and current methods for graph state distribution lack consideration of node resources, making it difficult to complete graph state distribution in some cases.We conduct research on cross-node graph states distribution methods in quantum communication networks under limited resource constraints. To address the issue that current quantum communication networks cannot handle graph states and other multi-particle entangled states, a graph state distribution method is proposed. This method combines local operations and classical communication to meet the distribution requirements for graph states, which are multi-particle entangled states. Additionally, to solve the problem of limited quantum resources at individual nodes, we proposed a graph states segmentation method. This method divides a complete graph state into subgraphs for distribution and subsequently integrates them, enabling graph state distribution services in a broader range of resource scenarios.
Scaling the number of entangled nodes in a quantum network is a challenge with significant implications for quantum computing, clock synchronisation, secure communications, and quantum sensing. In a quantum network, photons interact with matter qubits at different nodes, flexibly enabling the creation of remote entanglement between them. Multipartite entanglement among multiple nodes will be crucial for many proposed quantum network applications, including quantum computational tasks and quantum metrology. To date, experimental efforts have primarily focused on generating bipartite entanglement between nodes, which is widely regarded as the fundamental quantum resource for quantum networks. However, relying exclusively on bipartite entanglement to form more complex multipartite entanglement introduces several challenges. These include the need for ancillary qubits, extensive local entangling operations which increases the preparation latency, and increasingly stringent requirements on coherence times as the number of nodes grows. Here, we analyse various schemes that achieve multipartite entanglement between nodes in a single step, bypassing the need for multiple rounds of bipartite entanglement. We demonstrate that different schemes can produce distinct multipartite entangled states, with varying fidelity and generation rates. Additionally, we discuss the applicability of these schemes across different experimental platforms, highlighting their primary advantages and disadvantages.
We consider the problem of generating multipartite entangled states in a quantum network upon request. We follow a top-down approach, where the required entanglement is initially present in the network in form of network states shared between network devices, and then manipulated in such a way that the desired target state is generated. This minimizes generation times, and allows for network structures that are in principle independent of physical links. We present a modular and flexible architecture, where a multi-layer network consists of devices of varying complexity, including quantum network routers, switches and clients, that share certain resource states. We concentrate on the generation of graph states among clients, which are resources for numerous distributed quantum tasks. We assume minimal functionality for clients, i.e. they do not participate in the complex and distributed generation process of the target state. We present architectures based on shared multipartite entangled Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger states of different size, and fully connected decorated graph states, respectively. We compare the features of these architectures to an approach that is based on bipartite entanglement, and identify advantages of the multipartite approach in terms of memory requirements and complexity of state manipulation. The architectures can handle parallel requests, and are designed in such a way that the network state can be dynamically extended if new clients or devices join the network. For generation or dynamical extension of the network states, we propose a quantum network configuration protocol, where entanglement purification is used to establish high fidelity states. The latter also allows one to show that the entanglement generated among clients is private, i.e. the network is secure.