Quantum capacity gives the fundamental limit of information transmission through a channel. However, evaluating the quantum capacities of a continuous-variable bosonic quantum channel, as well as finding an optimal code to achieve the optimal information transmission rate, is in general challenging. In this work, we derive the quantum capacity and entanglement-assisted quantum capacity of the bosonic continuous-variable erasure channel when subject to energy constraints. We then construct random codes based on scrambling information within the typical subspace of the encoding state and prove that these codes are asymptotically optimal up to a constant gap. Finally, using our random coding scheme we design a bosonic variation of the Hayden-Preskill protocol and find that information recovery depends on the ratio between the input and output modes. This is in contrast with the conventional discrete-variable scenario which requires only a fixed number of additional output qudits.
Quantum capacity gives the fundamental limit of information transmission through a channel. However, evaluating the quantum capacities of a continuous-variable bosonic quantum channel, as well as finding an optimal code to achieve the optimal information transmission rate, is in general challenging. In this work, we derive the quantum capacity and entanglement-assisted quantum capacity of the bosonic continuous-variable erasure channel when subject to energy constraints. We then construct random codes based on scrambling information within the typical subspace of the encoding state and prove that these codes are asymptotically optimal up to a constant gap. Finally, using our random coding scheme we design a bosonic variation of the Hayden-Preskill protocol and find that information recovery depends on the ratio between the input and output modes. This is in contrast with the conventional discrete-variable scenario which requires only a fixed number of additional output qudits.
While the ultimate limits on the rate of quantum communication over noisy channels are well-established, very few efficient coding schemes achieving these limits are known. This contrasts sharply with transmitting classical data over classical channels, where polar codes and low-density parity-check codes both efficiently achieve the classical capacity of any noisy channel. In this work we construct an efficient entanglement generation scheme which achieves the coherent information for a broad class of channels. For degradable channels in the class, which includes truncated versions of the pure loss Bosonic channel, the resulting scheme achieves the quantum capacity. The construction makes use of polar codes for two kinds of classical-input, quantum-output (CQ) channels: those with commuting outputs and those whose outputs are heralded mixtures of pure states. The former case is amenable to decoding by classical polar decoding algorithms, the latter by the belief propagation with quantum messages (BPQM) algorithm. To our knowledge, this construction is the first explicit and efficiently decodable protocol that achieves the energy-constrained quantum capacity of the pure-loss Bosonic channel.
Quantum capacity, as the key figure of merit for a given quantum channel, upper bounds the channel's ability in transmitting quantum information. Identifying different types of channels, evaluating the corresponding quantum capacity, and finding the capacity-approaching coding scheme are the major tasks in quantum communication theory. Quantum channel in discrete variables has been discussed enormously based on various error models, while error model in the continuous variable channel has been less studied due to the infinite dimensional problem. In this paper, we investigate a general continuous variable quantum erasure channel. By defining an effective subspace of the continuous variable system, we find a continuous variable random coding model. We then derive the quantum capacity of the continuous variable erasure channel in the framework of decoupling theory. The discussion in this paper fills the gap of a quantum erasure channel in continuous variable setting and sheds light on the understanding of other types of continuous variable quantum channels.
The pure-loss channel is a fundamental noise model for bosonic quantum platforms, characterised by a single parameter, the transmissivity. In realistic scenarios such as free-space quantum communication, the transmissivity fluctuates from one channel use to another, and the channel is a convex combination of pure-loss channels, known as a fading channel. Despite its practical relevance, its quantum Shannon theory has remained largely unexplored. Here we investigate degradability, anti-degradability, entanglement breakingness, and capacities of the fading channel. We prove that entanglement distribution and quantum key distribution can be achieved at a strictly positive rate over any fading channel that is not completely noisy. When the transmissivity takes a finite set of values, we determine the energy-unconstrained two-way quantum and secret-key capacities exactly, as the averages of those of the pure-loss components. We prove that thermal states, optimal for a broad class of static bosonic Gaussian channels, do not in general achieve the entanglement-assisted classical capacity of fading channels: for a binary fading model we derive the capacity-achieving state in closed form, and we exhibit channels for which non-Gaussian Fock-diagonal states strictly outperform every Gaussian encoding. For the quantum capacity, we give a simple sufficient condition on the transmissivity distribution under which weak thermal inputs yield a strictly positive rate. Outside this condition, we numerically identify parameter regions where no thermal input compatible with the energy constraint has a positive coherent information, while optimized non-Gaussian inputs do. For general fading distributions, we design an iterative variational algorithm to optimize the coherent and mutual information. Our work advances the study of quantum communication in the non-Gaussian regime.
This paper introduces a new framework for quantum simultaneous information and power transfer (QSIPT), enabling the joint use of quantum states for classical information and energy transfer in quantum communication systems. We propose a model in which quantum states simultaneously transmit classical information through a quantum channel and transfer energy to an energy harvesting (EH) receiver. The trade-off between communication rate and harvested energy is characterized by the capacity-power function, defined for both discrete-variable (DV) and continuous-variable (CV) quantum channels. For DV channels, we derive properties of the capacity-power function, providing analytical upper and lower bounds for the amplitude damping channel and an exact closed-form characterization for the quantum erasure channel. For CV channels, we extend the framework by introducing a generalized beam-splitter (BS) receiver with adjustable transmissivity, jointly optimized with a transmitter mean-photon-number budget, splitting the channel output between the information decoder and the EH receiver. We analyze the capacity-power and achievable-rate-power trade-off under various Gaussian encoding schemes, including coherent, squeezed, and thermal states, for both lossy bosonic and additive Gaussian noise channels. Closed-form expressions are derived for coherent-state encoding under the joint photon-number-budget and adjustable-transmissivity formulation; squeezed-state inputs are evaluated numerically. Our results show that, within the considered displaced Gaussian encoding class, coherent states achieve the best capacity-power trade-off, squeezed states do not outperform coherent-state encoding under the phase-insensitive channel and passive receiver architecture, and thermal states enable energy transfer without supporting reliable communication.
We study quantum communication, entanglement distribution, and secret-key generation through multimode bosonic loss and fading channels, assisted by local quantum operations and two-way classical communication. Using sector teleportation, we determine the exact two-way quantum and secret-key capacities of multimode pure-loss channels under a mean photon-number constraint, allowing arbitrary adaptive quantum protocols. We extend these results to continuous frequency-dependent loss under a power constraint and identify the optimal allocation of photons among optical modes. For constant loss over an unlimited bandwidth, we obtain a closed-form capacity proportional to the square root of power. For randomly varying loss, we determine exact finite-energy capacities when the channel realization is publicly revealed, distinguishing knowledge before and after transmission. When fading remains unobserved, we derive capacity bounds and explicit formulas for an on/off channel. We also establish strong-converse bounds, with exact thresholds for the deterministic loss models considered here, observed fading, and unobserved fading with finitely many possible transmissivities. Under mean energy constraints, these thresholds generally exceed the corresponding finite-energy capacities. These results guide energy allocation and provide benchmarks for energy-constrained optical quantum communication with multimode signals and variable loss.
The classical capacity of a noisy optical channel is the maximum rate at which information can be transmitted reliably, given a constraint on the mean input energy. For the ubiquitous bosonic Gaussian channels, which include standard models of loss and noise in fibre and free-space optical links, determining this rate requires addressing whether entanglement between channel uses or non-Gaussian signals can outperform Gaussian encodings. More precisely, the question is whether the energy-constrained Holevo information is additive across arbitrarily many channel uses and coincides with its Gaussian counterpart. We answer these fundamental questions in the affirmative for every single-mode bosonic Gaussian channel at every input energy. Namely, we prove that independently prepared Gaussian states with Gaussian-distributed random displacements achieve the capacity, including in the low-energy regime where squeezing the signals competes with encoding information in their displacement. Our proof connects an entanglement inequality to a sharp, additive lower bound on output entropy. We then characterise communication above capacity: under a strict total photon-number cutoff, the probability of correct decoding decreases exponentially with the number of channel uses, and we derive explicit bounds on the decay exponent. When only the mean photon number is constrained, a simple energy-rescaling formula determines exactly the entire asymptotic rate--error trade-off: the capacity at mean photon number N and allowed average decoding error ε equals the vanishing-error capacity at mean photon number N/(1−ε). Together, these results identify the ultimate limits of classical communication for some of the most fundamental models of optical communication.