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Journal of the Optical Society of America B

Passive blind quantum computation with heralded single-photon sources

Gen-Le Piao, Hua-Wei Yuan, Chunhui Zhang, Xiao Ma, Hua-Jian Ding, Xingyu Zhou, Jian Li, Qin Wang

Published Jun 17, 2022• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Blind quantum computation (BQC) is one of the most promising alternatives to solve the shortage of quantum resources in the implementation of quantum computations. However, in most reported studies on decoy-state BQCs, the source intensities are actively modulated, which, unfortunately, results in side-channel leakage and undermines system security. In this paper, we present a passive decoy-state BQC scheme with a heralded single-photon source that circumvents this problem skillfully, improving system security. Moreover, simulation results show that our passive scheme can even outperform other active schemes in the generation efficiency of blind states when using state-of-the-art equipment.

DOI
10.1364/josab.449003

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Blind quantum computation (BQC) is one of the most promising alternatives to solve the shortage of quantum resources in the implementation of quantum computations. However, in most reported studies on decoy-state BQCs, the source intensities are actively modulated, which, unfortunately, results in side-channel leakage and undermines system security. In this paper, we present a passive decoy-state BQC scheme with a heralded single-photon source that circumvents this problem skillfully, improving system security. Moreover, simulation results show that our passive scheme can even outperform other active schemes in the generation efficiency of blind states when using state-of-the-art equipment.
Blind quantum computation is a scheme that adds unconditional security to cloud quantum computation. In the protocol proposed by Broadbent, Fitzsimons, and Kashefi, the ability to prepare and transmit a single qubit is required for a user (client) who uses a quantum computer remotely. In case a weak coherent pulse is used as a pseudo-single-photon source, however, we must introduce decoy states, owing to the inherent risk of transmitting multiple photons. In this paper, we demonstrate that by using a heralded single-photon source and a probabilistic photon number resolving detector we can gain a higher blind state generation efficiency and longer access distance, owing to noise reduction on account of the heralding signal.
Quantum computation has seen rapid progress in the past years. Due to implementation complexity and cost, cloud-based quantum computing is strongly believed to be the most feasible framework for individual users. Universal blind quantum computing (UBQC) provides the protocol for secure delegation of arbitrary quantum computations and has received significant attention. However, one of the major challenges in UBQC is a secure and reliable transmission of a quantum state over a long distance. Herein, we improve the efficiency of UBQC using alternative photon sources. Our analysis shows that a heralded single-photon source can significantly improve the transmitted distance of UBQC and a modified coherent source can reduce the required transmitted number of pulses. Furthermore, we study the finite-data-size effect, which is a crucial for real-world applications. Our proposed scheme can be a promising alternative for the future development of UBQC.
Quantum secure direct communications (QSDC) can directly transmit secret messages through a quantum channel without keys. The imperfect photon source is a major obstacle for QSDC's practical implementation. The unwanted vacuum state and multiphoton components emitted from imperfect photon source largely reduce QSDC's secrecy message capacity and even threaten its security. In the paper, we propose a high-efficient passive decoy-state QSDC protocol with the heralded single-photon source (HSPS). We adopt a spontaneous parametric down-conversion source to emit entangled photon pairs in two spatial modes. By detecting the photons in one of the two correlated spatial modes, we can infer the photon-number distribution of the other spatial mode. Meanwhile, our protocol allows a simple passive preparation of the signal states and decoy state. The HSPS can effectively reduce the probability of vacuum state and increase QSDC's secrecy message capacity. Meanwhile, the passive decoy-state method can simplify the experimental operations and enhance QSDC's robustness against the third-party side-channel attacks. Under the communication distance of 10 km, the secrecy message capacity of our QSDC protocol can achieve 81.85 times with average photon number of 0.1 and 12.79 times with average photon number of 0.01 of that in the original single-photon-based QSDC protocol without the HSPS. Our QSDC protocol has longer maximal communication distance about 17.975 km with average photon number of 0.01. Our work serves as a major step toward the further development of practical passive decoy-state QSDC systems.
Quantum secure direct communications (QSDC) can directly transmit secret messages through a quantum channel without keys. The imperfect photon source is a major obstacle for QSDC's practical implementation. The unwanted vacuum state and multiphoton components emitted from imperfect photon source largely reduce QSDC's secrecy message capacity and even threaten its security. In the paper, we propose a high-efficient passive decoy-state QSDC protocol with the heralded single-photon source (HSPS). We adopt a spontaneous parametric down-conversion source to emit entangled photon pairs in two spatial modes. By detecting the photons in one of the two correlated spatial modes, we can infer the photon-number distribution of the other spatial mode. Meanwhile, our protocol allows a simple passive preparation of the signal states and decoy state. The HSPS can effectively reduce the probability of vacuum state and increase QSDC's secrecy message capacity. Meanwhile, the passive decoy-state method can simplify the experimental operations and enhance QSDC's robustness against the third-party side-channel attacks. Under the communication distance of 10 km, the secrecy message capacity of our QSDC protocol can achieve 81.85 times with average photon number of 0.1 and 12.79 times with average photon number of 0.01 of that in the original single-photon-based QSDC protocol without the HSPS. Our QSDC protocol has longer maximal communication distance about 17.975 km with average photon number of 0.01. Our work serves as a major step toward the further development of practical passive decoy-state QSDC systems.
To date, only active-decoy-state methods have been adopted in current measurement-device-independent (MDI) quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols, causing security loopholes when modulating multiple light intensities with practical devices. To solve this problem, the passive-decoy-state method will be a good choice. Until today practical passive-decoy-state MDI QKD is still missing. In this paper, based on a recently discussed structure of heralded single-photon sources, we propose a passive-decoy-state MDI QKD protocol. In present work, one does not need to modulate light sources into different intensities, but utilizes the built-in local detection events to passively generate different decoy states. Furthermore, through carrying out an appropriate mathematical method, we are able to give very precise estimations for single-photon-pair contributions. As a result, our protocol can exhibit distinct advantages compared with state-of-the-art MDI QKD schemes even when the finite-key-size effect is taken into account. Therefore, our protocol seems a promising candidate to enhance both the security and performance of MDI QKD in practical implementation.
In this paper, we describe a robust quantum cryptography scheme with a heralded single photon source based on the decoy-state method, which has been shown by numerical simulations to be advantageous compared with many other practical schemes not only with respect to the secure key generation rate but also to secure transmission distance. We have experimentally tested this scheme, and the results support the conclusions from numerical simulations well. Although there still exist many deficiencies in our present systems, it's still sufficient to demonstrate the advantages of the scheme. Besides, even when cost and technological feasibility are taken into account, our scheme is still quite promising in the implementation of tomorrow's quantum cryptography.