Entanglement of Orbital Angular Momentum States as Resource for Quantum Networks

Zhi-Kun Su, Wang Fa-Qiang, Rui‐Bo Jin +2 more

Robert Fickler, Radek Łapkiewicz, Christoph Schaeff +4 more

Rajni Bala, Sooryansh Asthana

Quantum key distribution protocols have been designed for layered networks employing multidimensional entangled and separable orbital angular momentum states [Phys. Rev. A 97, 032312 (2018), Int. J. Theor. Phys. 62, 104 (2023)]. This paper seeks an answer to the overarching question -- in the context of secure quantum communication tasks, do orbital angular momentum states act merely as an alternative or do they act as an indispensable resource? We start by showing that the task of quantum key distribution in layered networks can also be accomplished with several copies of lower-dimensional states such as polarization qubits. For this reason, orbital angular momentum states do not offer any intrinsic advantage in layered quantum key distribution. The potential of OAM states unveils itself in the enhancement of key generation rates and integrated quantum communication tasks, which we present in this paper. These tasks can be implemented exclusively with high-dimensional OAM entangled states. In fact, we show that the employment of orbital angular momentum states eliminates the need for entangled state measurements, whose implementation is resource-intensive. We believe that this study opens up a possibility for designing several quantum information processing tasks in which multidimensional OAM states act as an indispensable resource.

Chuan Xu, Lintao Xiao, Jianlang He +5 more

High-dimensional maximally entangled orbital angular momentum (OAM) states are a promising resource for enhancing information capacity and robustness in quantum communication. However, it still lacks an effective method to increase the state dimensionality. Here, we theoretically propose an efficient scheme to generate maximally entangled OAM states of ultrahigh dimensionality by manipulating the radial components of a Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) pump beam. By optimizing the complex amplitudes of multiple radial modes of the LG pump light, one can feasibly achieve 101-dimensional OAM-based maximally entangled states. Our scheme has potential applications in high capacity quantum communication networks.

Sonja Franke‐Arnold, Stephen Mark Barnett, Miles J. Padgett +1 more

Zhi‐Yuan Zhou, Shi-Long Liu, Yan Li +6 more

Entanglement is a vital resource for realizing many tasks such as teleportation, secure key distribution, metrology, and quantum computations. To effectively build entanglement between different quantum systems and share information between them, a frequency transducer to convert between quantum states of different wavelengths while retaining its quantum features is indispensable. Information encoded in the photon's orbital angular momentum (OAM) degrees of freedom is preferred in harnessing the information-carrying capacity of a single photon because of its unlimited dimensions. A quantum transducer, which operates at wavelengths from 1558.3 to 525 nm for OAM qubits, OAM-polarization hybrid-entangled states, and OAM-entangled states, is reported for the first time. Nonclassical properties and entanglements are demonstrated following the conversion process by performing quantum tomography, interference, and Bell inequality measurements. Our results demonstrate the capability to create an entanglement link between different quantum systems operating in a photon's OAM degrees of freedom, which will be of great importance in building a high-capacity OAM quantum network.