This paper constitutes a technical and expansive analysis based on the main article "We've finally cracked how to make truly random numbers" (Brooks, 2025) and auxiliary materials. The objective is to dissect the historical and physical transition from pseudo-random number generation to certified quantum randomness, culminating in the development of the \textit{Colorado University Randomness Beacon} (CURBy). We explore the fundamental physics of loophole-free Bell tests, the mathematics of CHSH (Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt) inequalities as a metric for randomness certification, and the software engineering of the Twine protocol for public traceability. Additionally, we confront the premise of intrinsic randomness with superdeterminism objections and analyze human cognitive limitations in entropy generation. This work integrates recent experimental evidence (Kavuri et al., 2025) with theoretical debates on the foundations of quantum mechanics, offering a rigorous view on the "industrialization" of uncertainty.
This paper constitutes a technical and expansive analysis based on the main article "We've finally cracked how to make truly random numbers" (Brooks, 2025) and auxiliary materials. The objective is to dissect the historical and physical transition from pseudo-random number generation to certified quantum randomness, culminating in the development of the \textit{Colorado University Randomness Beacon} (CURBy). We explore the fundamental physics of loophole-free Bell tests, the mathematics of CHSH (Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt) inequalities as a metric for randomness certification, and the software engineering of the Twine protocol for public traceability. Additionally, we confront the premise of intrinsic randomness with superdeterminism objections and analyze human cognitive limitations in entropy generation. This work integrates recent experimental evidence (Kavuri et al., 2025) with theoretical debates on the foundations of quantum mechanics, offering a rigorous view on the "industrialization" of uncertainty.
Abstract From dice to modern electronic circuits, there have been many attempts to build better devices to generate random numbers. Randomness is fundamental to security and cryptographic systems and to safeguarding privacy. A key challenge with random-number generators is that it is hard to ensure that their outputs are unpredictable1–3. For a random-number generator based on a physical process, such as a noisy classical system or an elementary quantum measurement, a detailed model that describes the underlying physics is necessary to assert unpredictability. Imperfections in the model compromise the integrity of the device. However, it is possible to exploit the phenomenon of quantum non-locality with a loophole-free Bell test to build a random-number generator that can produce output that is unpredictable to any adversary that is limited only by general physical principles, such as special relativity1–11. With recent technological developments, it is now possible to carry out such a loophole-free Bell test12–14, 22. Here we present certified randomness obtained from a photonic Bell experiment and extract 1, 024 random bits that are uniformly distributed to within 10−12. These random bits could not have been predicted according to any physical theory that prohibits faster-than-light (superluminal) signalling and that allows independent measurement choices. To certify and quantify the randomness, we describe a protocol that is optimized for devices that are characterized by a low per-trial violation of Bell inequalities. Future random-number generators based on loophole-free Bell tests may have a role in increasing the security and trust of our cryptographic systems and infrastructure.
Abstract The intrinsic random nature of quantum physics offers novel tools for the generation of random numbers, a central challenge for a plethora of fields. Bell non-local correlations obtained by measurements on entangled states allow for the generation of bit strings whose randomness is guaranteed in a device-independent manner, i.e. without assumptions on the measurement and state-generation devices. Here, we generate this strong form of certified randomness on a new platform: the so-called instrumental scenario, which is central to the field of causal inference. First, we theoretically show that certified random bits, private against general quantum adversaries, can be extracted exploiting device-independent quantum instrumental-inequality violations. Then, we experimentally implement the corresponding randomness-generation protocol using entangled photons and active feed-forward of information. Moreover, we show that, for low levels of noise, our protocol offers an advantage over the simplest Bell-nonlocality protocol based on the Clauser-Horn-Shimony-Holt inequality.
One of the striking properties of quantum mechanics is the occurrence of the Bell-type non-locality. They are a fundamental feature of the theory that allows two parties that share an entangled quantum system to observe correlations stronger than possible in classical physics. In addition to their theoretical significance, non-local correlations have practical applications, such as device-independent randomness generation, providing private unpredictable numbers even when obtained using devices delivered by an untrusted vendor. Thus, determining the quantity of certifiable randomness that can be produced using a specific set of non-local correlations is of significant interest. First, we present an experimental realization of recent Bell-type operators designed to provide private random numbers that are secure against adversaries with quantum resources. We use semi-definite programming to give lower bounds on the generated randomness in terms of both min-entropy and von Neumann entropy in a device-independent scenario. Our results demonstrate the first experiment that certifies nearly two bits of randomness from binary measurements of two parties [1], [2]. Apart from single-round certification, we provide an analysis of finite-key protocol for quantum randomness expansion using the Entropy Accumulation Theorem. Second, we present an efficient and practical method for certifying quantum randomness using generalized measurements. Indeed, we have derived a method for self-testing the presence of POVMs. We present the certification of more than one bit of min-entropy from a single POVM on one of the qubits of an entangled state using a variant of the elegant Bell inequality. We also obtain more than one bit of randomness in a prepare and measure scenario of a similar structure with a POVM on a single qubit [3]. We provide numerical simulations to demonstrate the effectiveness of our randomness certification and expansion.
One of the distinguishing features of quantum theory is that its measurement outcomes are usually unpredictable or, equivalently, random. Moreover, this randomness is certifiable with minimal assumptions in the so-called device-independent (DI) paradigm, where a device's behavior does not need to be presupposed but can be verified through the statistics it produces. In this work, we explore various forms of randomness that are certifiable in this setting, where two users can perform two binary-outcome measurements on their shared entangled state. In this case, even though the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) Bell-inequality violation is a pre-requisite for the generation of DI certifiable randomness, the CHSH value alone does not generally give a tight bound on the certifiable randomness. Here, we determine the certifiable randomness when zero-probability constraints are incorporated into the task of DI randomness expansion for the standard local and global randomness and the so-called "blind" randomness. Asymptotically, we observe consistent improvements in the amount of DI certifiable randomness (of all kinds) as we increase the number zero constraints for a wide range of given CHSH Bell violations. However, if we further optimize over the allowed CHSH values, then benefits of these additional constraints over the standard CHSH-based protocol are only found in the case of global and blind randomness. In contrast, in the regimes of finite data, these zero constraints only give a slight improvement in the local randomness rate when compared with all existing protocols.
Random numbers are an important resource for applications such as numerical simulation and secure communication. However, it is difficult to certify whether a physical random number generator is truly unpredictable. Here, we exploit the phenomenon of quantum nonlocality in a loophole-free photonic Bell test experiment for the generation of randomness that cannot be predicted within any physical theory that allows one to make independent measurement choices and prohibits superluminal signaling. To certify and quantify the randomness, we describe a new protocol that performs well in an experimental regime characterized by low violation of Bell inequalities. Applying an extractor function to our data, we obtained 256 new random bits, uniform to within 0.001.
The generation of certifiable randomness is the most fundamental information-theoretic task that meaningfully separates quantum devices from their classical counterparts. We propose a protocol for exponential certified randomness expansion using a single quantum device. The protocol calls for the device to implement a simple quantum circuit of constant depth on a 2D lattice of qubits. The output of the circuit can be verified classically in linear time, and is guaranteed to contain a polynomial number of certified random bits assuming that the device used to generate the output operated using a (classical or quantum) circuit of sub-logarithmic depth. This assumption contrasts with the locality assumption used for randomness certification based on Bell inequality violation and more recent proposals for randomness certification based on computational assumptions. Furthermore, to demonstrate randomness generation it is sufficient for a device to sample from the ideal output distribution within constant statistical distance. Our procedure is inspired by recent work of Bravyi et al. (Science 362(6412):308-311, 2018), who introduced a relational problem that can be solved by a constant-depth quantum circuit, but provably cannot be solved by any classical circuit of sub-logarithmic depth. We develop the discovery of Bravyi et al. into a framework for robust randomness expansion. Our results lead to a new proposal for a demonstrated quantum advantage that has some advantages compared to existing proposals. First, our proposal does not rest on any complexity-theoretic conjectures, but relies on the physical assumption that the adversarial device being tested implements a circuit of sub-logarithmic depth. Second, success on our task can be easily verified in classical linear time. Finally, our task is more noise-tolerant than most other existing proposals that can only tolerate multiplicative error, or require additional conjectures from complexity theory; in contrast, we are able to allow a small constant additive error in total variation distance between the sampled and ideal distributions.