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arXiv:2602.15653 · PRX Quantum

High-rate Scalable Entanglement Swapping Between Remote Entanglement Sources on Deployed New York City Fibers

Alexander N. Craddock, Tyler Cowan, Niccolò Bigagli, Suresh Yekasiri, Dylan Robinson, Gabriel Bello Portmann, Aditya Verma, Ziyu Guo, Michael Kilzer, Jiapeng Zhao, Mael Flament, Javad Shabani, Reza Nejabati, Mehdi Namazi

quant-phSubmitted Feb 17, 2026• Announced Feb 18, 2026• 2 citations• Revised Mar 2, 2026 (v2)

v1 · Feb 17, 2026 v2 · Mar 2, 2026

Abstract

Entanglement swapping between photon pairs generated at physically separated nodes over telecommunication fiber infrastructure is an essential step towards the quantum internet, enabling applications such as quantum repeaters, blind quantum computing, distributed quantum computing, and distributed quantum sensing. However, successful networked entanglement swapping relies on generating indistinguishable pairs of photons and preserving them over deployed fibers. This has limited most previous demonstrations to laboratory settings or relied on sophisticated methods to maintain the necessary indistinguishability. Here, we demonstrate a scalable entanglement swapping experiment using naturally indistinguishable entanglement sources based on warm atomic vapor cells. Without sharing lasers or optical frequency references between nodes, nor the need for pulsing the sources, we achieve a swapping rate of nearly 500 pairs/s while maintaining the CHSH parameter above 2. Additionally, we demonstrate the scalability of our method by maintaining the quality of the entanglement swapping on 17.6-km of deployed fibers in NYC, relying on commercially available SPADs at the spoke nodes, SNSPDs at the hub and standard time-synchronization techniques. Our work paves the way for the practical deployment of large-scale hub-and-spoke quantum networks within cities and data centers.

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Entanglement swapping between photon pairs generated at physically separated nodes over telecommunication fiber infrastructure is an essential step towards the quantum internet, enabling applications such as quantum repeaters, blind quantum computing, distributed quantum computing, and distributed quantum sensing. However, successful networked entanglement swapping relies on generating indistinguishable pairs of photons and preserving them over deployed fibers. This has limited most previous demonstrations to laboratory settings or relied on sophisticated methods to maintain the necessary indistinguishability. Here, we demonstrate a scalable entanglement swapping experiment using naturally indistinguishable entanglement sources based on warm atomic vapor cells. Without sharing lasers or optical frequency references between nodes, nor the need for pulsing the sources, we achieve a swapping rate of nearly 500 pairs/s while maintaining the CHSH parameter above 2. Additionally, we demonstrate the scalability of our method by maintaining the quality of the entanglement swapping on 17.6-km of deployed fibers in NYC, relying on commercially available SPADs at the spoke nodes, SNSPDs at the hub and standard time-synchronization techniques. Our work paves the way for the practical deployment of large-scale hub-and-spoke quantum networks within cities and data centers.

The distribution of high-fidelity high-rate entanglement over telecommunication infrastructure is one of the main paths toward large-scale quantum networks, enabling applications such as quantum encryption and network protection, blind quantum computing, distributed quantum computing, and distributed quantum sensing. However, the fragile nature of entangled photons operating in real-world fiber infrastructure has historically limited continuous operation of such networks. Here, we present a fully automated system capable of distributing polarization-entangled photons over a 34-km deployed fiber in New York City, achieving high rates of nearly 5 × 10 5 pairs/s. Separately, we demonstrate a high fidelity of approximately 99 % for rates up to 2 × 10 4 pairs/s. Lastly, we achieve 15 days of continuous distribution, with a network up-time of 99.84 % . Our work paves the way for practical deployment of always-on entanglement-based networks with rates and fidelity adequate for many current and future use cases. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Distributing high-fidelity, high-rate entanglement over telecommunication infrastructure is one of the main paths towards large-scale quantum networks, enabling applications such as quantum encryption and network protection, blind quantum computing, distributed quantum computing, and distributed quantum sensing. However, the fragile nature of entangled photons operating in real-world fiber infrastructure has historically limited continuous operation of such networks. Here, we present a fully automated system capable of distributing polarization entangled photons over a 34 km deployed fiber in New York City. We achieve end-to-end pair rates of nearly

5\times10^5

pairs/s and entanglement fidelity of approximately

99\%

. Separately, we achieve 15 days of continuous distribution, with a network up-time of

99.84\%

. Our work paves the way for practical deployment of 24/7 entanglement-based networks with rates and fidelity adequate for many current and future use-cases.

Establishing entanglement between two remote systems by the method of entanglement swapping is an essential step for a long-distance quantum network. Here we report a field-test entanglement swapping experiment with two independent telecommunication band entangled photon-pair sources over an optical fiber network in Hefei. The two sources are located at two nodes that are

12.5\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\mathrm{km}

apart and the Bell-state measurement is performed at a third location which is connected to the two source nodes with 14.7-km and 10.6-km optical fibers, respectively. The observed average visibility is $79.9\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}4.8%$, which is sufficient for the violation of Bell inequalities. Furthermore, with the swapped entanglement, we demonstrate a source-independent quantum key distribution, which is also immune to any detection attacks at the measurement site.

Quantum networks exhibit enhanced performance compared to their classical counterparts, enabling secure communication and enhanced sensing protocols. Scalable quantum networks must transmit photons over distances ranging from kilometers to metropolitan scales while preserving entanglement. The objective of this thesis is to characterize the sources and switches of real-world deployed quantum networks, which require an intimate knowledge of nonlinear concepts and devices that drive these operating regimes. Importantly, quantum networks are deployed alongside existing classical communication infrastructure to ensure scalability and compatibility with established fiber-based systems. As a result, quantum and classical signals must coexist within the same telecommunication network. Because quantum infrastructure relies on optical fiber, these networks are susceptible to instabilities arising from fiber- induced effects. To fully realize a scalable quantum network, we investigated the quantum physical layer to optimize performance and identify limitations in our networking system. We characterized the performance of an entangled-photon source used to produce polarization-entangled photons. We then observe how well a high-speed, low-loss quantum switch preserves entanglement, demonstrating its utility for transmitting photons to different nodes in scalable quantum networks. We then analyze a 30 km deployed fiber located in the DC metropolitan area to examine how fiber-induced effects influence network performance. Quantum networks uniquely leverage quantum phenomena to enable fundamentally secure communication and distributed quantum computing beyond the capabilities of classical systems. To realize these advantages, careful characterization of the quantum physical layer and deployed fiber-based networks is essential, as it ensures the stability, reliability, and high-fidelity operation required for large-scale quantum network applications.

The generation of entangled photon pairs, which are compatible with quantum devices and standard telecommunication channels are critical for the development of long-range fiber quantum networks. Aside from wavelength, bandwidth matching, and high fidelity of produced pairs are necessary for high interfacing efficiency. High-rate, robust entanglement sources that satisfy all these conditions remain an outstanding experimental challenge. In this work, we study an entanglement source based on four-wave mixing in a diamond configuration in a warm rubidium vapor. We theoretically and experimentally investigate an alternative operating regime and demonstrate an entanglement source, which produces highly nondegenerate 795- and 1324-nm photon pairs. With this source we are able to achieve in-fiber pair-generation rates greater than

{10}^{7}/\mathrm{s}

, orders of magnitude higher than previously reported atomic entanglement sources. Additionally, given our source's native compatibility with telecom infrastructure and atomic systems, it is a step towards scalable quantum networks.

Photonic quantum networking relies on entanglement distribution between distant nodes, typically realized by swapping procedures. However, entanglement swapping is a demanding task in practice, mainly because of limited effectiveness of entangled photon sources and Bell-state measurements necessary to realize the process. Here we experimentally activate a remote distribution of two-photon polarization entanglement which supersedes the need for initial entangled pairs and traditional Bell-state measurements. This alternative procedure is accomplished thanks to the controlled spatial indistinguishability of four independent photons in three separated nodes of the network, which enables us to perform localized product-state measurements on the central node acting as a trigger. This experiment proves that the inherent indistinguishability of identical particles supplies new standards for feasible quantum communication in multinode photonic quantum networks.