Quantum key distribution (QKD) is the first quantum information task to reach the level of mature technology, already fit for commercialization. It aims at the creation of a secret key between authorized partners connected by a quantum channel and a classical authenticated channel. The security of the key can in principle be guaranteed without putting any restriction on an eavesdropper's power. This article provides a concise up-to-date review of QKD, biased toward the practical side. Essential theoretical tools that have been developed to assess the security of the main experimental platforms are presented (discrete-variable, continuous-variable, and distributed-phase-reference protocols).

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The security of practical quantum key distribution

"Quantum sensing" describes the use of a quantum system, quantum properties or quantum phenomena to perform a measurement of a physical quantity Historical examples of quantum sensors include magnetometers based on superconducting quantum interference devices and atomic vapors, or atomic clocks More recently, quantum sensing has become a distinct and rapidly growing branch of research within the area of quantum science and technology, with the most common platforms being spin qubits, trapped ions and flux qubits The field is expected to provide new opportunities - especially with regard to high sensitivity and precision - in applied physics and other areas of science In this review, we provide an introduction to the basic principles, methods and concepts of quantum sensing from the viewpoint of the interested experimentalist

Quantum sensing

There has been much interest in quantum key distribution. Experimentally, quantum key distribution over 150 km of commercial Telecom fibers has been successfully performed. The crucial issue in quantum key distribution is its security. Unfortunately, all recent experiments are, in principle, insecure due to real-life imperfections. Here, we propose a method that can for the first time make most of those experiments secure by using essentially the same hardware. Our method is to use decoy states to detect eavesdropping attacks. As a consequence, we have the best of both worlds--enjoying unconditional security guaranteed by the fundamental laws of physics and yet dramatically surpassing even some of the best experimental performances reported in the literature.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/quant-ph/0411004.pdf

Decoy State Quantum Key Distribution

Molecular dynamics (MD) allows the study of biological and chemical systems at the atomistic level on timescales from femtoseconds to milliseconds. It complements experiment while also offering a way to follow processes difficult to discern with experimental techniques. Numerous software packages exist for conducting MD simulations of which one of the widest used is termed Amber. Here, we outline the most recent developments, since version 9 was released in April 2006, of the Amber and AmberTools MD software packages, referred to here as simply the Amber package. The latest release represents six years of continued development, since version 9, by multiple research groups and the culmination of over 33 years of work beginning with the first version in 1979. The latest release of the Amber package, version 12 released in April 2012, includes a substantial number of important developments in both the scientific and computer science arenas. We present here a condensed vision of what Amber currently supports and where things are likely to head over the coming years. Figure 1 shows the performance in ns/day of the Amber package version 12 on a single-core AMD FX-8120 8-Core 3.6GHz CPU, the Cray XT5 system, and a single GPU GTX680. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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An overview of the Amber biomolecular simulation package

: The unpolarized absorption and circular dichroism spectra of the fundamental vibrational transitions of the chiral molecule, 4-methyl-2-oxetanone, are calculated ab initio. Harmonic force fields are obtained using Density Functional Theory (DFT), MP2, and SCF methodologies and a 5S4P2D/3S2P (TZ2P) basis set. DFT calculations use the Local Spin Density Approximation (LSDA), BLYP, and Becke3LYP (B3LYP) density functionals. Mid-IR spectra predicted using LSDA, BLYP, and B3LYP force fields are of significantly different quality, the B3LYP force field yielding spectra in clearly superior, and overall excellent, agreement with experiment. The MP2 force field yields spectra in slightly worse agreement with experiment than the B3LYP force field. The SCF force field yields spectra in poor agreement with experiment.The basis set dependence of B3LYP force fields is also explored: the 6-31G* and TZ2P basis sets give very similar results while the 3-21G basis set yields spectra in substantially worse agreements with experiment. jg

Ab initio calculation of vibrational absorption and circular dichroism spectra using density functional force fields

Decoy states have recently been proposed as a useful method for substantially improving the performance of quantum key distribution (QKD). Here, we present a general theory of the decoy state protocol based on only two decoy states and one signal state. We perform optimization on the choice of intensities of the two decoy states and the signal state. Our result shows that a decoy state protocol with only two types of decoy states---the vacuum and a weak decoy state---asymptotically approaches the theoretical limit of the most general type of decoy state protocol (with an infinite number of decoy states). We also present a one-decoy-state protocol. Moreover, we provide estimations on the effects of statistical fluctuations and suggest that, even for long-distance (larger than 100 km) QKD, our two-decoy-state protocol can be implemented with only a few hours of experimental data. In conclusion, decoy state quantum key distribution is highly practical.

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Practical Decoy State for Quantum Key Distribution

Cooperative diversity schemes significantly improve the performance of wireless networks by transmitting the same information through several nodes. The amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying method is one of the most attractive cooperative diversity schemes due to its low complexity. Selection AF relaying has recently been proven to achieve the same diversity order as and lower outage probability than all-participate relays. In this letter, we present an asymptotic analysis of the symbol error rates of a selection AF network, and compare it with the conventional all-participate scheme

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Symbol error rate of selection amplify-and-forward relay systems

Quantum-key-distribution (QKD) systems can send quantum signals over more than $100\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{km}$ standard optical fiber and are widely believed to be secure. Here, we show experimentally a technologically feasible attack---namely, the time-shift attack---against a commercial QKD system. Our result shows that, contrary to popular belief, an eavesdropper, Eve, has a non-negligible probability $(\ensuremath{\sim}4%)$ to break the security of the system. Eve's success is due to the well-known detection efficiency loophole in the experimental testing of Bell's inequalities. Therefore, the detection efficiency loophole plays a key role not only in fundamental physics, but also in technological applications such as QKD systems.

Quantum hacking: Experimental demonstration of time-shift attack against practical quantum-key-distribution systems

To increase dramatically the distance and the secure key generation rate of quantum key distribution (QKD), the idea of quantum decoys--signals of different intensities--has recently been proposed. Here, we present the first experimental implementation of decoy state QKD. By making simple modifications to a commercial quantum key distribution system, we show that a secure key generation rate of 165 bit/s, which is 1/4 of the theoretical limit, can be obtained over 15 km of a telecommunication fiber. We also show that with the same experimental parameters, not even a single bit of secure key can be extracted with a non-decoy-state protocol. Compared to building single photon sources, decoy state QKD is a much simpler method for increasing the distance and key generation rate of unconditionally secure QKD.

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Experimental quantum key distribution with decoy states

The mechanism of charge transport in organic materials is still controversial from both experimental and theoretical perspectives. At room temperature, molecular deformations interact strongly with the charge carrier both through intermolecular and intramolecular phonons, suggesting a thermally activated hopping mechanism as described by the Marcus electron transfer theory. However, several experimental measurements have indicated that the electronic transport behaves in a ``bandlike'' manner, as indicated by a decrease in mobility with increasing temperature, in contradiction to the Marcus description. Bandlike first-principles calculations based on the Holstein-Peierls model tend to overestimate the charge mobility by about 2 orders of magnitude. Here, a hopping model is derived that not only quantitatively describes the charge mobility but also explains the observed bandlike behavior. This model uses the quantum version of charge-transfer theory coupled with a random-walk simulation of charge diffusion. The results bridge the gap between the two extreme mechanisms. This first-principles method predicts the room-temperature hole mobilities to be 2.4, 2.0, and $0.67\text{ }{\text{cm}}^{2}/\text{V}\text{ }\text{s}$, for rubrene, pentacene, and tetracene, respectively, in good agreement with experiment.

Yi Zhao

Papers

Practical Decoy State for Quantum Key Distribution

Symbol error rate of selection amplify-and-forward relay systems

Quantum hacking: Experimental demonstration of time-shift attack against practical quantum-key-distribution systems

Experimental quantum key distribution with decoy states

Nuclear tunneling effects of charge transport in rubrene, tetracene, and pentacene