A new physical way of communication, communication by the inherent background noise, is proposed which does not need net energy transfer in the information channel. The communicator devices do dissipate energy however they do not emit net energy into the channel, instead of that, they modulate the parameters of inherent spontaneous fluctuations in the channel. The new method can use two different mechanisms, thermal noise (Johnson-Nyquist noise) for classical communication, and vacuum fluctuations/zero point energy (quantum uncertainty noise) for quantum communication. The strongest advantage of the method that this is apparently the most hidden (stealth) way of communication, because it is using the inherent background noise for communication, therefore it is extremely difficult or impossible to discover its presence. Moreover, with proper wave-based arrangements, the sender and the receiver can easily detect eavesdropper activities, so that the eavesdropper is detected as soon as she extracts a single bit of information, thus the security of the method is at least as good or better than the security of quantum communication/quantum key distribution schemes. Finally, concerning practical applications, environmental noise, out of the fundamental/inherent fluctuations, can also be used for this kind of communication provided that is sufficiently stationary.
A new physical way of communication, communication by the inherent background noise, is proposed which does not need net energy transfer in the information channel. The communicator devices do dissipate energy however they do not emit net energy into the channel, instead of that, they modulate the parameters of inherent spontaneous fluctuations in the channel. The new method can use two different mechanisms, thermal noise (Johnson-Nyquist noise) for classical communication, and vacuum fluctuations/zero point energy (quantum uncertainty noise) for quantum communication. The strongest advantage of the method that this is apparently the most hidden (stealth) way of communication, because it is using the inherent background noise for communication, therefore it is extremely difficult or impossible to discover its presence. Moreover, with proper wave-based arrangements, the sender and the receiver can easily detect eavesdropper activities, so that the eavesdropper is detected as soon as she extracts a single bit of information, thus the security of the method is at least as good or better than the security of quantum communication/quantum key distribution schemes. Finally, concerning practical applications, environmental noise, out of the fundamental/inherent fluctuations, can also be used for this kind of communication provided that is sufficiently stationary.
An alternative physical way of communication, communication by the inherent background noise, is proposed which does not need net energy transfer in the information channel. The communicator devices do dissipate energy; however, they do not emit net energy into the channel, instead of that, they modulate the parameters of inherent spontaneous fluctuations in the channel. The method can use two different mechanisms, thermal noise (Johnson–Nyquist noise) for classical communication, and vacuum fluctuations/zero-point energy (quantum uncertainty noise) for quantum communication. The strongest advantage of the method is that it is apparently the most hidden (stealth) way of communication, because it is using the inherent background noise for communication. Therefore, it is extremely difficult or impossible to discover its presence. With proper wave-based arrangements and specific conditions, the sender and the receiver can easily detect eavesdropper activities, so that the eavesdropper is detected as soon as she extracts a single bit of information, thus the security of the method is comparable to the security of quantum communication/quantum key distribution schemes. Finally, concerning practical applications, environmental noise, out of the fundamental/inherent fluctuations, can also be used for this kind of communication provided that is sufficiently stationary.
Very recently, it has been shown that Gaussian thermal noise and its artificial versions (Johnson-like noises) can be utilized as an information carrier with peculiar properties therefore it may be proper to call this topic Thermal Noise Informatics. Zero Power (Stealth) Communication, Thermal Noise Driven Computing, and Totally Secure Classical Communication are relevant examples. In this paper, while we will briefly describe the first and the second subjects, we shall focus on the third subject, the secure classical communication via wire. This way of secure telecommunication utilizes the properties of Johnson(-like) noise and those of a simple Kirchhoff's loop. The communicator is unconditionally secure at the conceptual (circuit theoretical) level and this property is (so far) unique in communication systems based on classical physics. The communicator is superior to quantum alternatives in all known aspects, except the need of using a wire. In the idealized system, the eavesdropper can extract zero bit of information without getting uncovered. The scheme is naturally protected against the man-in-the-middle attack. The communication can take place also via currently used power lines or phone (wire) lines and it is not only a point-to-point communication like quantum channels but network-ready. We report that a pair of Kirchhoff-Loop-Johnson(-like)-Noise communicators, which is able to work over variable ranges, was designed and built. Tests have been carried out on a model-line with ranges beyond the ranges of any known direct quantum communication channel and they indicate unrivalled signal fidelity and security performance. This simple device has single-wire secure key generation/sharing rates of 0.1, 1, 10, and 100 bit/second for copper wires with diameters/ranges of 21 mm / 2000 km, 7 mm / 200 km, 2.3 mm / 20 km, and 0.7 mm / 2 km, respectively and it performs with 0.02% raw-bit error rate (99.98 % fidelity). The raw-bit security of this practical system significantly outperforms raw-bit quantum security. Current injection breaking tests show zero bit eavesdropping ability without setting on the alarm signal, therefore no multiple measurements are needed to build an error statistics to detect the eavesdropping as in quantum communication. Wire resistance based breaking tests of Bergou-Scheuer-Yariv type give an upper limit of eavesdropped raw bit ratio is 0.19 % and this limit is inversely proportional to the sixth power of cable diameter. Hao's breaking method yields zero (below measurement resolution) eavesdropping information.
A new quantum communication scheme is introduced which is the quantum realization of the classical Kish-Sethuraman (KS) cipher. First the message is bounced back with additional encryption by the Receiver and the original encryption is removed and the message is resent by the Sender. The mechanical analogy of this operation is using two padlocks; one by the Sender and one by the Receiver. We show that the rotation of the polarization is an operator which satisfies the conditions required for the KS encryption operators provided single photons are communicated. The new method is not only simple but has several advantages. The Evasdropper extracts zero information even if she executes a quantum measurement on the state. The communication can be done by two publicly agreed orthogonal states. Therefore, there is no inherent detection noise. No classical channel and no entangled states are required for the communication.
The argument of this thesis might be summed up as the exploitation of the noise to generate better noise. More specifically this work is about the possibility of exploiting classic noise to effectively transmit quantum information and measuring quantum noise to generate better quantum randomness. What do i mean by exploiting classical noise to transmit effectively quantum information? In this case I refer to the task of sending quantum bits through the atmosphere in order set up transmissions of quantum key distribution (QKD) and this will be the subject of Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. In the Quantum Communications framework, QKD represents a topic with challenging problems both theoretical and experimental. In principle QKD offers unconditional security, however practical realizations of it must face all the limitations of the real world. One of the main limitation are the losses introduced by real transmission channels. Losses cause errors and errors make the protocol less secure because an eavesdropper could try to hide his activity behind the losses. When this problem is addressed under a full theoretical point of view, one tries to model the effect of losses by means of unitary transforms which affect the qubits in average according a fixed level of link attenuation. However this approach is somehow limiting because if one has a high level of background noise and the losses are assumed in average constant, it could happen that the protocol might abort or not even start, being the predicted QBER to high. To address this problem and generate key when normally it would not be possible, we have proposed an adaptive real time selection (ARTS) scheme where transmissivity peaks are instantaneously detected. In fact, an additional resource may be introduced to estimate the link transmissivity in its intrinsic time scale with the use of an auxiliary classical laser beam co-propagating with the qubits but conveniently interleaved in time. In this way the link scintillation is monitored in real time and the selection of the time intervals of high channel transmissivity corresponding to a viable QBER for a positive key generation is made available. In Chapter 2 we present a demonstration of this protocol in conditions of losses equivalent to long distance and satellite links, and with a range of scintillation corresponding to moderate to severe weather. A useful criterion for the preselection of the low QBER interval is presented that employs a train of intense pulses propagating in the same path as the qubits, with parameters chosen such that its fluctuation in time reproduces that of the quantum communication. For what concern the content of Chapter 3 we describe a novel principle for true random number generator (TRNG) which is based on the observation that a coherent beam of light crossing a very long path with atmospheric turbulence may generate random and rapidly varying images. To implement our method in a proof of concept demonstrator, we have chosen a very long free space channel used in the last years for experiments in Quantum Communications at the Canary Islands. Here, after a propagation of 143 km at an altitude of the terminals of about 2400 m, the turbulence in the path is converted into a dynamical speckle at the receiver. The source of entropy is then the atmospheric turbulence. Indeed, for such a long path, a solution of the Navier-Stokes equations for the {atmospheric flow in which the beam propagates is out of reach. Several models are based on the Kolmogorov statistical theory, which parametrizes the repartition of kinetic energy as the interaction of decreasing size eddies. However, such models only provide a statistical description for the spot of the beam and its wandering and never an instantaneous prediction for the irradiance distribution. These are mainly ruled by temperature variations and by the wind and cause fluctuations in the air refractive index. For such reason, when a laser beam is sent across the atmosphere, this latter may be considered as a dynamic volumetric scatterer which distorts the beam wavefront. We will evaluate the experimental data to ensure that the images are uniform and independent. Moreover, we will assess that our method for the randomness extraction based on the combinatorial analysis is optimal in the context of Information Theory. In Chapter 5 we will present a new approach for what concerns the generation of random bits from quantum physical processes. Quantum Mechanics has been always regarded as a possible and valuable source of randomness, because of its intrinsic probabilistic Nature. However the typical paradigm is employed to extract random number from a quantum system it commonly assumes that the state of said system is pure. Such assumption, only in theory would lead to full and unpredictable randomness. The main issue however it is that in real implementations, such as in a laboratory or in some commercial device, it is hardly possible to forge a pure quantum state. One has then to deal with quantum state featuring some degree of mixedness. A mixed state however might be somehow correlated with some other system which is hold by an adversary, a quantum eavesdropper. In the extreme case of a full mixed state, practically one it is like if he is extracting random numbers from a classical state. In order to do that we will show how it is important to shift from a classical randomness estimator, such as the min-classical entropy H-min(Z) of a random variable Z to quantum ones such as the min-entropy conditioned on quantum side information E. We have devised an effective protocol based on the entropic uncertainty principle for the estimation of the min-conditional entropy. The entropic uncertainty principle lets one to take in account the information which is shared between multiple parties holding a multipartite quantum system and, more importantly, lets one to bound the information a party has on the system state after that it has been measured. We adapted such principle to the bipartite case where an user Alice, A, is supplied with a quantum system prepared by the provider Eve, E, who could be maliciously correlated to it. In principle then Eve might be able to predict all the outcomes of the measurements Alice performs on the basis Z in order to extract random numbers from the system. However we will show that if Alice randomly switches from the measurement basis to a basis X mutually unbiased to Z, she can lower bound the min entropy conditioned to the side information of Eve. In this way for Alice is possible to expand a small initial random seed in a much larger amount of trusted numbers. We present the results of an experimental demonstration of the protocol where random numbers passing the most rigorous classical tests of randomness were produced. In Chapter 6, we will provide a secure generation scheme for a continuos variable (CV) QRNG. Since random true random numbers are an invaluable resource for both the classical Information Technology and the uprising Quantum one, it is clear that to sustain the present and future even growing fluxes of data to encrypt it is necessary to devise quantum random number generators able to generate numbers in the rate of Gigabit or Terabit per second. In the Literature are given several examples of QRNG protocols which in theory could reach such limits. Typically, these are based on the exploitation of the quadratures of the electro-magnetic field, regarded as an infinite bosonic quantum system. The quadratures of the field can be measured with a well known measurement scheme, the so called homodyne detection scheme which, in principle, can yield an infinite band noise. Consequently the band of the random signal is limited only by the passband of the devices used to measure it. Photodiodes detectors work commonly in the GHz band, so if one sample the signal with an ADC enough fast, the Gigabit or Terabit rates can be easily reached. However, as in the case of discrete variable QRNG, the protocols that one can find in the Literature, do not properly consider the purity of the quantum state being measured. The idea has been to extend the discrete variable protocol of the previous Chapter, to the Continuous case. We will show how in the CV framework, not only the problem of the state purity is given but also the problem related to the precision of the measurements used to extract the randomness.
We discuss the speed-error-heat triangle and related problems with rapidly increasing energy dissipation and error rate during miniaturization. These and the independently growing need of unconditional data security have provoked non-conventional approaches in the physics of informatics. Noise-based informatics is a potentially promising possibility which is the way how biological brains process the information. Recently, it has been shown that thermal noise and its electronically enhanced versions (Johnson-like noises) can be utilized as information carrier with peculiar properties. Relevant examples are Zero power (stealth) communication, Unconditionally secure communication with Johnson(-like) noise and Kirchhoff loop and Noise-driven computing. The zero power communication utilizes the equilibrium background noise in the channel to transfer information. The unconditionally secure communication is based on the properties of Johnson(-like) noise and those of a simple Kirchhoff's loop. The scheme utilizes on the robustness of classical information and the second law of thermodynamics. It uncovers active eavesdropping within a single clock period (no error statistics is required) and it is naturally protected against the man-in-the-middle attack. Further advantages of the scheme is that the circuitry can easily be integrated on computer chips, unconditionally secure computer processors, memories and other hardware can be realized.
Abstract Secure communication based on message encryption might be performed by combining the message with controlled noise (called pseudo-noise) as performed in spread-spectrum communication used presently in Wi-Fi and smartphone telecommunication systems. Quantum communication based on entanglement is another route for securing communications as demonstrated by several important experiments described in this work. The central role played by the photon in unifying the description of classical and quantum noise as major ingredients of secure communication systems is highlighted and described on the basis of the classical and quantum fluctuation dissipation theorems.