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IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking

Entanglement From Sky: Optimizing Satellite-Based Entanglement Distribution for Quantum Networks

Xinliang Wei, Lei Fan, Yuanxiong Guo, Zhu Han, Yu Wang

Published Sep 19, 2024• 16 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The advancement of satellite-based quantum networks shows promise in transforming global communication infrastructure by establishing a secure and reliable quantum Internet. These networks use optical signals from satellites to ground stations to distribute high-fidelity quantum entanglements over long distances, overcoming the limitations of traditional terrestrial systems. However, the complexity of satellite-based entanglement distribution and terrestrial quantum swapping in the integrated network requires joint optimization with satellite assignment, resource allocation, and path selection. To address this challenge, we introduce a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm to solve the optimization problem by leveraging the strengths of both quantum and classical computing. The original problem is decomposed into a master problem and several subproblems using Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition and linearization techniques. Through experiments, this study demonstrates the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed methods in optimizing large-scale networks and managing qubit usage compared to the classical optimization techniques. The findings provide valuable insights for designing and implementing satellite-based entanglement distribution in quantum networks, paving the way for a secure global quantum communication infrastructure.

DOI
10.1109/tnet.2024.3456789

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The advancement of satellite-based quantum networks shows promise in transforming global communication infrastructure by establishing a secure and reliable quantum Internet. These networks use optical signals from satellites to ground stations to distribute high-fidelity quantum entanglements over long distances, overcoming the limitations of traditional terrestrial systems. However, the complexity of satellite-based entanglement distribution and terrestrial quantum swapping in the integrated network requires joint optimization with satellite assignment, resource allocation, and path selection. To address this challenge, we introduce a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm to solve the optimization problem by leveraging the strengths of both quantum and classical computing. The original problem is decomposed into a master problem and several subproblems using Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition and linearization techniques. Through experiments, this study demonstrates the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed methods in optimizing large-scale networks and managing qubit usage compared to the classical optimization techniques. The findings provide valuable insights for designing and implementing satellite-based entanglement distribution in quantum networks, paving the way for a secure global quantum communication infrastructure.
Satellite-based quantum networks leverage the advantageous properties of optical signals from satellites to ground stations, to enable the distribution of high-fidelity quantum entanglements over vast distances, thus circumventing the limitations of traditional terrestrial-based systems. However, the satellite-based entanglement distribution coupled with terrestrial quantum swapping in the space-terrestrial integrated network becomes very complex when considering the joint optimization with satellite assignment, resource allocation, and path selections. To tackle this issue, we introduce a hybrid quantum-classical Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition technique by leveraging the strengths of both quantum and classical computing, to solve the joint optimization problem. Through a series of experiments, the paper demonstrates the efficiency and robustness of the proposed methods in addressing large-scale network optimization and balancing qubit usage. The insights generated by this work offer valuable guidance for the design and implementation of satellite-based entanglement distribution for quantum networks, thereby laying the groundwork for the realization of a secure quantum communication infrastructure on a global scale.
Satellite-based quantum networks are emerging as a promising solution for the development of a global quantum internet in the near future. The ability to leverage the advantageous lower attenuation of optical signals from satellites to ground presents an exciting opportunity to establish a robust and secure quantum communication infrastructure on a global scale. By utilizing a constellation of satellites, it becomes feasible to continuously distribute high-fidelity quantum entanglements among ground stations over long distances, overcoming the limitations of traditional terrestrial-based quantum communication systems. In this article, we first provide a brief survey of existing solutions for satellite-based entanglement distribution, highlighting the various approaches and technologies that have been employed in this rapidly evolving field. We then delve into a formulated optimal entanglement distribution problem, aiming to optimize the distribution of quantum entanglement resources across the satellite network to maximize efficiency and reliability. This problem is addressed through a detailed exploration of several different methodologies and algorithms, each tailored to specific operational settings and constraints. Our experimental results confirm the efficiency of these approaches and provide valuable insights into their practical implementation and performance. Finally, we identify several key directions for further study and development in the realm of satellite-based quantum networks.
Recent technological advancements in satellite based quantum communication has made it a promising technology for realizing global scale quantum networks. Due to better loss distance scaling compared to ground based fiber communication, satellite quantum communication can distribute high quality quantum entanglements among ground stations that are geographically separated at very long distances. This work focuses on optimal distribution of bipartite entanglements to a set of pair of ground stations using a constellation of orbiting satellites. In particular, we characterize the optimal satellite-to-ground station transmission scheduling policy with respect to the aggregate entanglement distribution rate subject to various resource constraints at the satellites and ground stations. We cast the optimal transmission scheduling problem as an integer linear programming problem and solve it efficiently for some specific scenarios. Our framework can also be used as a benchmark tool to measure the performance of other potential transmission scheduling policies.
In the era of 6G and beyond, space-aerial-terrestrial quantum networks (SATQNs) are poised to advance the development of a global-scale quantum Internet. These networks leverage free space optical satellite and aerial quantum networks to complement optical fiber-based terrestrial quantum networks to enable the distribution of high-fidelity quantum entanglement over long distances. However, establishing multi-hop end-to-end quantum entanglement remains highly challenging, not only due to time-varying link conditions and structural heterogeneity inherent in SATQNs, but also because noise in quantum channels and imperfections in quantum operations can degrade the quality of entanglement. To address this challenge, we formulate an optimization problem that maximizes SATQN throughput by jointly optimizing routing path selection and entanglement generation rates (PS-EGR) while ensuring high entanglement fidelity. The resulting problem is a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulation, which is NP-hard. We propose a Benders’ decomposition (BD)-based approach to solve this problem efficiently. Specifically, the MILP is decomposed into a master problem for binary routing path selection and a subproblem for continuous entanglement generation rate optimization. Numerical results validate the effectiveness of the proposed PS-EGR scheme, offering critical insights into the optimization and deployment of SATQNs.
A large scale quantum network requires the distribution of high-fidelity end-to-end entanglement. To overcome the range limitations inherent to terrestrial fiber, a leading architecture has emerged: satellite-based sources transmitting entanglement to quantum repeaters on the ground. By bridging the gap between abstract analytical frameworks and computationally heavy numerical simulations, this paper provides the first quantitative answer to the question of such a network's achievable performance with current and near-term space technology, while accounting for entanglement swapping and purification. This is achieved by integrating a detailed physical model of a satellite-to-ground link into an analytical entanglement resource estimation framework for quantum repeaters, enabling an optimization of the end-to-end entanglement rate. Our analysis, performed across leading quantum hardware platforms, shows that Low Earth Orbit satellite constellations combined with quantum repeaters employing Neutral Atom or Nitrogen and Silicon Vacancy qubits, could enable a global quantum network, distributing entanglement over distances up to 20,000 km, sufficient for connecting any two points on Earth. This work highlights the major bottlenecks in space and quantum hardware technologies, which need to be addressed, thereby guiding informed investments necessary for enabling a large scale quantum network.
The development of a future, global quantum communication network (or quantum internet) will enable high rate private communication and entanglement distribution over very long distances. However, the large-scale performance of ground-based quantum networks (which employ photons as information carriers through optical-fibres) is fundamentally limited by the fibre quality and link length. While these fundamental limits are well established for arbitrary network architectures, the question of how to best design these global architectures remains open. In this work, we take a step forward in addressing this problem by modelling global quantum networks with weakly-regular architectures. Such networks are capable of idealising end-to-end performance whilst remaining sufficiently realistic. In this way, we may investigate the effectiveness of large-scale networks with consistent connective properties, and unveil the global conditions under which end-to-end rates remain analytically computable. Furthermore, by comparing the performance of ideal, ground-based quantum networks with satellite quantum communication protocols, we can establish conditions for which satellites can be used to outperform fibre-based quantum infrastructure.