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IEEE International Conference on Communications workshops

Satellite-Based Entanglement Distribution using Orbital Angular Momentum of Light

Ziqing Wang, Robert Malaney, Jonathan Green

Published Jun 1, 2020• 11 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light has been considered as a useful degree of freedom for high-capacity quantum communications. However, the practical usage of OAM within the atmospheric channel is known to be limited by turbulence-induced decoherence effects. In this work, we study the feasibility of utilizing the OAM of light in satellite-based entanglement distribution. In order to determine whether OAM entanglement could be distributed within the context of satellite-based quantum communications, we study the quantum state evolution of a pair of OAM-entangled photons that traverse independent and identically distributed satellite-to-ground atmospheric channels. Our calculations indicate the performance levels that any post-selection, or distillation, scheme must have in order to achieve useful OAM entanglement distribution via a low-Earth-orbit satellite.

DOI
10.1109/iccworkshops49005.2020.9145186

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Orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light has been considered as a useful degree of freedom for high-capacity quantum communications. However, the practical usage of OAM within the atmospheric channel is known to be limited by turbulence-induced decoherence effects. In this work, we study the feasibility of utilizing the OAM of light in satellite-based entanglement distribution. In order to determine whether OAM entanglement could be distributed within the context of satellite-based quantum communications, we study the quantum state evolution of a pair of OAM-entangled photons that traverse independent and identically distributed satellite-to-ground atmospheric channels. Our calculations indicate the performance levels that any post-selection, or distillation, scheme must have in order to achieve useful OAM entanglement distribution via a low-Earth-orbit satellite.
In this work, we explore the feasibility of performing satellite-to-earth quantum key distribution (QKD) using the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light. Because of the fragility of OAM states the conventional wisdom is that turbulence would render OAM QKD nonviable in a satellite-to-earth channel. However, based on detailed phase screen simulations of the anticipated atmospheric turbulence we find that OAM QKD is viable in some system configurations, especially if quantum channel information is utilized in the processing of postselected states. More specifically, using classically entangled light as a probe of the quantum channel, and reasonably sized transmitter-receiver apertures, we find that nonzero QKD key rates are achievable on sea-level ground stations. We also determine the turbulence conditions under which the QKD key rate becomes effectively zero. Without using classical light probes, OAM QKD is relegated to high-altitude ground stations with large receiver apertures. Our work uses a quantitative assessment of the performance of OAM QKD from satellites to determine under what circumstances the much-touted higher dimensionality of OAM can be utilized in the context of secure communications.
Satellite-based quantum communications enable a bright future for global-scale information security. However, the spin angular momentum of light, currently used in many mainstream quantum communication systems, only allows for quantum encoding in a two-dimensional Hilbert space. The orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light, on the other hand, enables quantum encoding in higher-dimensional Hilbert spaces, opening up new opportunities for high-capacity quantum communications. Due to its turbulence-induced decoherence effects, however, the atmospheric channel may limit the practical usage of OAM. In order to determine whether OAM is useful for satellite-based quantum communications, we numerically investigate the detection likelihoods for OAM states that traverse satellite-to-ground channels. We show that the use of OAM through such channels is in fact feasible. We use our new results to then investigate design specifications that could improve OAM detection - particularly the use of advanced adaptive optics techniques. Finally, we discuss how our work provides new insights into future implementations of space-based OAM systems within the context of quantum communications.
Quantum information transfer via high-dimensional encoding offers many potential advantages relative to the widely adopted two-dimensional encoding scenario. In this work, we investigate the feasibility of performing satellite-to-ground quantum entanglement distribution using photonic high-dimensional encoding. Specifically, we consider pairs of photons entangled in the Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM) discrete-variable bases. Through detailed simulations of the anticipated satellite-to-ground channel, we first investigate the performance of OAM entanglement distribution of varying dimensions. We then consider an application of such OAM distributed entanglement, namely, high-dimensional OAM quantum teleportation. Our work outlines, for the first time, the range of channel conditions and system configurations under which high-dimensional quantum teleportation via OAM encoding in the satellite-to-ground channel is possible.
Orbital angular momentum (OAM) entangled bi-photons are a resource for the higher dimensional implementation of quantum cryptography, which allows secure communication over various channels. In the case where free-space is used as communication channel the initial OAM entangled bi-photon loses some or even all of its entanglement because of the scintillation that it experiences while propagating through the turbulence in the atmosphere. This decoherence of OAM entanglement has so far only been studied for the case of weak turbulence. Unfortunately, it is the more challenging strong turbulence scenario that is relevant for the practical implementation of free-space quantum communication through the atmosphere. Using an approach that differs from previous approaches, we derive a master equation for the evolution of an OAM entangled bi-photon during propagation through turbulence. However, in our approach the equation contains a derivative with respect to the propagation distance instead of time. The principle is to consider the propagation over an infinitesimal distance of OAM basis states through a random medium. This approach allows one to include, not only the effect of turbulence of arbitrary strength, but also the effect of the inner and outer scale of the turbulence, as represented by the Tartarskii and von Karman spectra. The resulting expression can predict the rates of decoherence for arbitrary initial OAM entangled states and can be used to calculate the concurrence, which measures the amount of entanglement, as a function of propagation distance for different initial entangled OAM states.
Orbital angular momentum (OAM) entanglement gives access to multiple qubit and high dimensional Hilbert spaces, but is unfortunately susceptible to disturbance, decaying in real-world noisy channels. Here, we show there is an underlying topology arising from OAM entanglement that is robust to such channels, which we demonstrate using atmospheric turbulence -- exemplary of stochastic or chaotic media. Using a quantum channel with various turbulence strengths, we find the OAM topological observable preserved even though the OAM itself is shown to be highly sensitive to the turbulence. We show this is true for mixed states too, with the OAM topology intact even as the purity of the state decreases due to decoherence. Our work offers a new perspective on OAM entanglement preservation, and may easily be extended to other spatial bases, degrees of freedom, as well as complex channels, whether static or dynamic.
The use of Higher-dimensional entangled systems have been proved to signi cantly improve many quantum in- formation tasks. For instance, it has been shown that the use of higher-dimensional entangled systems provides a higher information capacity and an increased security in quantum cryptography. The orbital angular momentum (OAM) state of light is a potential candidate for the implementation of higher-dimensional entangled systems and has thus been considered for free-space quantum communication. However, atmospheric turbulence severely affects the OAM state of photons. In this work, we study the evolution of the OAM entanglement between two qutrits (three-dimensional quantum systems) in atmospheric turbulence both numerically and experimentally. The qutrits are photons entangled in their orbital angular momentum (OAM) states generated by spontaneous parametric down conversion. We propagate one of the photons through turbulence while leaving the other undis- turbed. To compare our results with previous work, we simulate the turbulent atmosphere with a single phase screen based on the Kolmogorov theory of turbulence and we use the tangle to quantify the amount of entangle- ment between the two qutrits. We compare our results with the evolution of OAM entanglement between two qubits.