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arXiv:2603.05178 · Quantum Science and Technology

Security bounds for unidimensional discrete-modulated CV-QKD: a Gaussian extremality approach

John A. Mora Rodríguez, Maron F. Anka, Leonardo J. Pereira, Micael A. Dias, Alexandre B. Tacla

quant-phSubmitted Mar 5, 2026• Announced Mar 6, 2026• 0 citations
v1 · Mar 5, 2026v2 · Oct 1, 2026
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Abstract

Unidimensional (1D) Gaussian-modulated continuous-variable quantum key distribution protocols have been proposed as a way to simplify implementation and reduce costs through single-quadrature modulation, requiring only one modulator while maintaining compatibility with standard optical infrastructure. Here, we determine security bounds for 1D discrete-modulated protocol under the Gaussian extremality assumption by extending the method of Ghorai et al. [Phys. Rev. X 9, 021059 (2019)]. We establish the appropriate symmetry arguments to extend the method to the 1D discrete-modulated case, define the physicality zone in which the protocol is allowed to operate, and prove security against collective attacks in the asymptotic regime via semidefinite programming. Our analysis for uniformly distributed coherent states reveals a fundamental limitation: the Gaussian extremality assumption systematically overestimates Eve's information with increasing constellation size, yielding bounds so conservative that secure key extraction becomes impossible for constellations larger than four states, even under ideal conditions. This overestimation worsens with excess noise and restricts viable modulation amplitudes to impractically small values. Unlike two-dimensional (2D) protocols, where Gaussian extremality improves with constellation size, 1D protocols lack the growing phase-space isotropy required for the approximation to remain tight as the constellation grows. Our results expose these limitations and highlight the necessity of alternative methods or optimized non-uniform constellation designs for this class of protocols.

DOI
10.1088/2058-9565/aeadc7

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Unidimensional (1D) Gaussian-modulated continuous-variable quantum key distribution protocols have been proposed as a way to simplify implementation and reduce costs through single-quadrature modulation, requiring only one modulator while maintaining compatibility with standard optical infrastructure. Here, we determine security bounds for 1D discrete-modulated protocol under the Gaussian extremality assumption by extending the method of Ghorai et al. [Phys. Rev. X 9, 021059 (2019)]. We establish the appropriate symmetry arguments to extend the method to the 1D discrete-modulated case, define the physicality zone in which the protocol is allowed to operate, and prove security against collective attacks in the asymptotic regime via semidefinite programming. Our analysis for uniformly distributed coherent states reveals a fundamental limitation: the Gaussian extremality assumption systematically overestimates Eve's information with increasing constellation size, yielding bounds so conservative that secure key extraction becomes impossible for constellations larger than four states, even under ideal conditions. This overestimation worsens with excess noise and restricts viable modulation amplitudes to impractically small values. Unlike two-dimensional (2D) protocols, where Gaussian extremality improves with constellation size, 1D protocols lack the growing phase-space isotropy required for the approximation to remain tight as the constellation grows. Our results expose these limitations and highlight the necessity of alternative methods or optimized non-uniform constellation designs for this class of protocols.
Continuous-variable quantum key distribution is a compelling framework for scalable quantum networks due to its seamless integration with existing optical communication infrastructure. However, a fundamental gap persists between theoretical protocols requiring ideal Gaussian modulation and the constrained, discrete-modulated signals dictated by practical high-speed hardware. Current security proofs for discrete modulation rely on semidefinite programming, which suffers from prohibitive computational overhead for high-order constellations and lacks direct physical insight into non-Gaussian modulation.In this Letter, we overcome this limitation by developing a security framework that obviates semidefinite programming in favor of an approach grounded fundamentally in the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. By introducing a multi-mode entanglement-source model to characterize non-Gaussian state preparation, we establish an explicit mapping between constellation geometry and the secret key rate. This framework effectively quantifies the security implications of hardware-limited, finite state preparation, enabling both numerical and analytical security analysis under high-order constellations. We experimentally validate our method on both discrete-component and integrated photonic platforms, demonstrating that a quadrature amplitude modulation format with 256 constellation points can asymptotically approach the Gaussian capacity limit. Beyond quantum key distribution, the principle of tightening uncertainty-constrained bounds via source-mode expansion offers a paradigm for exploring the information-theoretic properties of complex non-Gaussian systems.
We consider discrete-modulation protocols for continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) that employ a modulation constellation consisting of a finite number of coherent states and that use a homodyne- or a heterodyne-detection receiver. We establish a security proof for collective attacks in the asymptotic regime, and we provide a formula for an achievable secret-key rate. Previous works established security proofs for discrete-modulation CV-QKD protocols that use two or three coherent states. The main constituents of our approach include approximating a complex, isotropic Gaussian probability distribution by a finite-size Gauss-Hermite constellation, applying entropic continuity bounds, and leveraging previous security proofs for Gaussian-modulation protocols. As an application of our method, we calculate secret-key rates achievable over a lossy thermal bosonic channel. We show that the rates for discrete-modulation protocols approach the rates achieved by a Gaussian-modulation protocol as the constellation size is increased. For pure-loss channels, our results indicate that in the high-loss regime and for sufficiently large constellation size, the achievable key rates scale optimally, i.e., proportional to the channel's transmissivity.
Discrete-modulated (DM) continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) protocols are promising candidates for commercial implementations of quantum communication networks due to their experimental simplicity.While tight security analyses in the asymptotic limit exist, proofs in the finitesize regime are still subject to active research.We present a composable finite-size security proof against independently and identically distributed collective attacks for a general DM CV-QKD protocol.We introduce a new energy testing theorem to bound the effective dimension of Bob's system and rigorously prove security within Renner's -security framework and address the issue of acceptance sets in protocols and their security proof.We want to highlight that our method also allows for nonunique acceptance statistics, which is necessary in practise.Finally, we extend and apply a numerical security proof technique to calculate tight lower bounds on the secure key rate.To demonstrate our method, we apply it to a quadrature phase-shift keying protocol for both untrusted, ideal and trusted, nonideal detectors.The results show that our security proof method yields secure finite-size key rates under experimentally viable conditions up to at least 72 km transmission distance.
We propose the continuous-variable quantum key distribution protocol based on the Gaussian modulation of a single quadrature of the coherent states of light, which is aimed to provide simplified implementation compared to the symmetrically modulated Gaussian coherent-state protocols. The protocol waives the necessity in one of the quadrature modulations and the corresponding channel transmittance estimation. The security of the protocol against collective attacks in a generally phase-sensitive Gaussian channel is analyzed and is shown achievable upon certain conditions. Robustness of the protocol to channel imperfections is compared to that of the symmetrical coherent-state protocol. The simplified unidimensional protocol is shown possible at a reasonable quantitative cost in terms of key rate and of tolerable channel excess noise.
Most continuous-variable quantum key distribution schemes are based on the Gaussian modulation of coherent states followed by continuous quadrature detection using homodyne detectors. In all previous schemes, the Gaussian modulation has been carried out in conjugate quadratures thus requiring two independent modulators for their implementations. Here, we propose and experimentally test a largely simplified scheme in which the Gaussian modulation is performed in a single quadrature. The scheme is shown to be asymptotically secure against collective attacks, and considers a specific attack using asymmetric preparation and excess noise. We find that this protocol is considerably more sensitive to noise than other CVQKD schemes, as a consequence of the simplified implementation. A single-quadrature modulation approach renders the need for a costly amplitude modulator unnecessary, and thus facilitates commercialization of continuous-variable quantum key distribution, provided that the low noise requirement can be achieved.
Discrete-Modulated (DM) Continuous-Variable (CV) Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is an experimentally attractive approach to quantum cryptography, offering high key rates over metropolitan-scale distances while relying on state-of-the-art telecom infrastructure. However, a fundamental gap has remained between this experimental promise and rigorous security: for more than two decades, DM CV-QKD has lacked a complete composable finite-size security proof against coherent attacks. Existing works either restrict the adversary to collective attacks, impose additional finite-dimensional assumptions, apply only to specific modulation formats, or fail to recover the known asymptotic rates. Here, we resolve this longstanding problem by establishing the first complete composable finite-size security proof for DM CV-QKD protocols against coherent attacks, incorporating imperfect detectors and both fixed- and variable-length protocol variants. Our proof introduces two central results of broader interest: an infinite-dimensional marginal-constrained entropy accumulation theorem (iMEAT) and a rigorous dimension-reduction technique that makes the infinite-dimensional security bounds numerically tractable. The resulting key rates recover the known asymptotic rates and outperform established finite-size bounds based on collective attacks, while yielding positive key rates beyond 707070km for experimentally relevant block sizes and parameters. Thus, our work closes a longstanding gap and places an experimentally attractive class of CV-QKD protocols on a rigorous composable security footing and provides a pathway towards their practical deployment.