Potentialities of continuous variables and of heralded operations for quantum communications ?

Nathan Walk

In this thesis we consider quantum communication as realised in the continuous variable quantum optical regime. The work presented includes results concerning quantum communication applications, such as entanglement distillation and quantum key distributions, as well as fundamental questions regarding measurement uncertainty and the boundary between classical and quantum correlations. In the first part of the thesis we investigate various protocols in which one engages in a trade-off between determinism and the quality of quantum correlations. In discrete variable quantum optics non-determinism is ubiquitous, with photon sources, detectors and various gates commonly operating probabilistically. In the continuous variable regime one has access to many quantum states and operations, including exotic effects such as entanglement, in a fully deterministic fashion and one might regard giving up this feature as highly undesirable. However it has been discovered that certain vital tasks such as entanglement distillation, indispensable for large scale quantum information networks, cannot be realised deterministically. We address precisely these limitations, firstly by conducting the most general analysis to date of a non-deterministic but heralded quantum amplifier that can circumvent the standard quantum limits, and distill Gaussian entanglement. We then analyse the security of long standing technique in continuous variable quantum key distribution, known as post-selection, which again allows the distillation of higher quality correlations. We provide a complete security proof in the asymptotic limit and show that there is in fact an relationship between this method and the noiseless amplifier. Furthermore, the protocol allows secure key to be generated for channel parameters where all previous CVQKD protocols fail. Thirdly we consider this equivalence between post-selection and heralded operations more generally, and conduct a detailed analysis of the post-selection based emulation of the noiseless amplifier. Turning to more fundamental issues, we consider links between several recently proposed entropic measures of quantum correlations and their potential operational links to continuous variable quantum key distribution. Finally we consider entropic uncertainty relations for continuous variables on infinite dimensional Hilbert spaces and apply these to one-sided device independent continuous variable quantum key distribution protocols.n

Eleni Diamanti

Philippe Grangier

Nedasadat Hosseinidehaj, Zunaira Babar, Robert Malaney +2 more

The recent launch of the Micius quantum-enabled satellite heralds a major step forward for long-range quantum communication. Using single-photon discrete-variable quantum states, this exciting new development proves beyond any doubt that all of the quantum protocols previously deployed over limited ranges in terrestrial experiments can in fact be translated to global distances via the use of low-orbit satellites. In this paper we survey the imminent extension of space-based quantum communication to the continuous-variable regime-the quantum regime perhaps most closely related to classical wireless communications. The continuous variable regime offers the potential for increased communication performance, and represents the next major step forward for quantum communications and the development of the global quantum Internet.

Andersen, Dong, Jezek +4 more

Jun–ichi Yoshikawa, Yosuke Hashimoto, Hisashi Ogawa +4 more

Continuous-variable quantum information processing with optical field quadrature amplitudes is advantageous in deterministic creation of Gaussian entanglement. On the other hand, non-Gaussian state preparation and operation are currently limited, but heralding schemes potentially overcome this difficulty. Here, we summarize our recent progress in continuous-variable quantum optical experiments. In particular, we have recently succeeded in creation of ultra-large-scale cluster-type entanglement with full inseparability, multiplexed in the time domain; storage and on-demand release of heralded single-photon states, which is applied to synchronization of two heralded single-photon states; real-time quadrature measurements regarding non-Gaussian single-photon states with exponentially rising wavepackets; squeezing with relatively broader bandwidth by using triangle optical parametric oscillator.