This paper is concerned with the problem of finding the structure and performance of the receiver that yields the best performance in the reception of signals that are described quantum-mechanically. The principles of statistical detection and estimation theory are discussed, with the laws of quantum mechanics taken into account. Several specific communication systems of practical interest are studied as examples of applying these principles. Basic concepts in quantum mechanics that are needed in these discussions are briefly reviewed.
This paper is concerned with the problem of finding the structure and performance of the receiver that yields the best performance in the reception of signals that are described quantum-mechanically. The principles of statistical detection and estimation theory are discussed, with the laws of quantum mechanics taken into account. Several specific communication systems of practical interest are studied as examples of applying these principles. Basic concepts in quantum mechanics that are needed in these discussions are briefly reviewed.
Born about a century ago, Quantum Mechanics has revolutionized the description and the interpretation of Physics at sub-microscopic level. In the last decades, due to the influence of mathematical and engineering research fields, Quantum Mechanics has given birth to related research areas like Quantum Computation, Quantum Information and Quantum Communication. With the discovery of the laser, and later the development of fiber optics and satellite networks, Quantum Communication and Quantum Optics seems to have a natural field of application in Communication Systems. Despite this, the interest in this technology and studies for communication purpose has been overshadowed by the great results in communication networks achieved in the last decades with classical paradigms. However, due to the increasing demand of communication data rate, system designers are now looking at Quantum Mechanics for new and more performanting solutions in communication purposes. Early theoretical studies on Quantum Discrimination Theory and Quantum Information predict better performance for Communication Systems that take advantage of the quantum laws. In addition, Quantum Mechanics provides the deepest description of the physical phenomena, and there are scenarios where a quantum model fits best, as in in deep space communications, where the received signal is really weak, or in a satellite networks, where we are interested in strongly reducing the power of transmitted signals, possibly without sacrificing performance significantly. However, if on one side Quantum Communication Theory promises great gains in the performance of communication systems, on the other hand it fails to describe how to implement physical devices that reach these ultimate limits. So far, only a few architectures achieving these performances are known, and only for simple modulation formats. We are interested in the scenario of optical communications, where the message transmitted is encoded in a sequence of coherent states. Transmitter devices for coherent modulation are well known and consist in laser pulse generators. Instead, receiver implementations working at the quantum limit performance limit are yet to be found. In this Thesis I deal with different topics in the quantum transmission scenario. First, I review existing classical (suboptimal) and quantum (suboptimal and optimal) receiver schemes for the binary coherent modulation. I present a new formulation of the optimal scheme known as Dolinar Receiver with the multiple copies problem, focusing on the information gained during the measurement. Second, I analyze the binary communication in a noisy environment, studying the error probability and the capacity of the binary channel induced. Given the description of the quantum channel, I optimize both the transmitted quantum states and the measurement operators employed in the communication. Third, I consider the Pulse Position Modulation, that is particularly suitable for space and satellite communication due to its simplicity of implementation and high capacity. I review some known suboptimal receivers, and I propose a receiver scheme which approaches the limit performance predicted with quantum theory outperforming the existing schemes. To sum up the results of this Thesis, in order to approach the limit performance predicted by Quantum Mechanics, an optimization is always necessary to exceed the classical effects and trigger the quantum phenomena. In particular, the information gained during the measurement plays an important role, for example in the definition of adaptive receivers. In this Thesis both these aspects have been deeply investigated.
Communication theory problems incorporating quantum effects for optical-frequency applications are discussed. Under suitable conditions, a unique quantum channel model corresponding to a given classical space-time varying linear random channel is established. A procedure is described by which a proper density-operator representation applicable to any receiver configuration can be constructed directly from the channel output field. Some examples illustrating the application of our methods to the development of optical quantum channel representations are given. Optimizations of communication system performance under different criteria are considered. In particular, certain necessary and sufficient conditions on the optimal detector in M-ary quantum signal detection are derived. Some examples are presented. Parameter estimation and channel capacity are discussed briefly.
The rapid development of the digital era and the increasing demands of information technologies create a need to create more reliable, secure and efficient communication systems. In this context, quantum signals represent a technology of the future that responds to the challenges that classical signal systems can no longer cope with — for example, the highest level of information security, accuracy and transmission speed. The use of quantum entanglement, superposition and correlations makes it possible to protect and process information at the highest level. Accordingly, the implementation of quantum signals is critically important for areas such as quantum communication, secure cyberinfrastructure, high-tech sensors and quantum computing systems. The paper reviews the role of quantum signals in modern technologies and their potential in the near future. Quantum signal theory combines the principles of quantum physics, information theory and signal processing. These features provide the highest accuracy in information transmission and processing, which is especially important in the development of quantum communication, quantum radars, and quantum sensors. This paper reviews the theoretical foundations of quantum signals, basic models, and their potential applications in modern technologies.
The fundamental performance limits of optical communications over the freespace channel are developed using quantum theory, and presented in terms of concepts familiar to communications engineers. The compact Dirac notation generally employed in quantum mechanics is defined, and key concepts necessary for understanding quantum projection measurements are reviewed. A derivation that provides significant insights into the quantum measurement performed by the optimum receiver is developed by interpreting the familiar technique of photon counting in terms of quantum projection operators. The performance of the optimum quantum receiver for on–off keying and optical binary phase-shift-keying (BPSK) modulation is treated first as a noise-free (or pure-state) problem, then extended to include the effects of background radiation. The performance of the optimum quantum receiver is compared to that of classical optical receivers employing photon-counting and coherent detection techniques, and it is shown to be exponentially better in most cases.
The purpose of this article is to outline a framework of concepts and principles to combine quantum mechanics and general relativity so that time and measurement (reduction) are present as integral parts of the basic foundations. First, the problem of time in quantum gravity and the measurement problem in quantum mechanics are briefly reviewed and the popular proposals to tackle these two problems are briefly discussed. Next, on the already known foundations of quantum mechanics, a framework of principles of dynamics is built: 1) Self-Time Evolution - Newtons first law is reinterpreted to define time, 2) Local Measurement by Local Reduction - Quantum diffusion theory is adapted, and 3) Global Evolution by Global Reduction. Ideas on how to apply the framework to study quantum general relativistic physics are discussed. Further, more general and modified forms of some of these principles are also discussed. The theoretical elements in the framework to be made concrete by further theoretical and experimental investigations are listed.
Recent developments in the mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics have brought the theory closer to that of classical probability and statistics. On the other hand, the unique character of quantum physics sets many of the questions addressed apart from those met classically in stochastics. Furthermore, concurrent advances in experimental techniques and in the theory of quantum computation have led to a strong interest in questions of quantum information, in particular in the sense of the amount of information about unknown parameters in given observational data or accessible through various possible types of measurements. This scenery is outlined (with an audience of statisticians and probabilists in mind).