Showing papers on "Quantum channel published in 2011"

Quantum repeaters based on atomic ensembles and linear optics

Abstract: The distribution of quantum states over long distances is limited by photon loss. Straightforward amplification as in classical telecommunications is not an option in quantum communication because of the no-cloning theorem. This problem could be overcome by implementing quantum repeater protocols, which create long-distance entanglement from shorter-distance entanglement via entanglement swapping. Such protocols require the capacity to create entanglement in a heralded fashion, to store it in quantum memories, and to swap it. One attractive general strategy for realizing quantum repeaters is based on the use of atomic ensembles as quantum memories, in combination with linear optical techniques and photon counting to perform all required operations. Here the theoretical and experimental status quo of this very active field are reviewed. The potentials of different approaches are compared quantitatively, with a focus on the most immediate goal of outperforming the direct transmission of photons.

High-fidelity projective read-out of a solid-state spin quantum register

Abstract: Initialization and read-out of coupled quantum systems are essential ingredients for the implementation of quantum algorithms. Single-shot read-out of the state of a multi-quantum-bit (multi-qubit) register would allow direct investigation of quantum correlations (entanglement), and would give access to further key resources such as quantum error correction and deterministic quantum teleportation. Although spins in solids are attractive candidates for scalable quantum information processing, their single-shot detection has been achieved only for isolated qubits. Here we demonstrate the preparation and measurement of a multi-spin quantum register in a low-temperature solid-state system by implementing resonant optical excitation techniques originally developed in atomic physics. We achieve high-fidelity read-out of the electronic spin associated with a single nitrogen-vacancy centre in diamond, and use this read-out to project up to three nearby nuclear spin qubits onto a well-defined state. Conversely, we can distinguish the state of the nuclear spins in a single shot by mapping it onto, and subsequently measuring, the electronic spin. Finally, we show compatibility with qubit control: we demonstrate initialization, coherent manipulation and single-shot read-out in a single experiment on a two-qubit register, using techniques suitable for extension to larger registers. These results pave the way for a test of Bell's inequalities on solid-state spins and the implementation of measurement-based quantum information protocols.

Broadband waveguide quantum memory for entangled photons

Abstract: We report the reversible transfer of photon-photon entanglement, generated by means of spontaneous parametric down-conversion, into entanglement between a photon and a collective atomic excitation in a thulium-doped lithium niobate waveguide cooled to 3 K.

From Classical to Quantum Shannon Theory

Abstract: The aim of this book is to develop "from the ground up" many of the major, exciting, pre- and post-millenium developments in the general area of study known as quantum Shannon theory. As such, we spend a significant amount of time on quantum mechanics for quantum information theory (Part II), we give a careful study of the important unit protocols of teleportation, super-dense coding, and entanglement distribution (Part III), and we develop many of the tools necessary for understanding information transmission or compression (Part IV). Parts V and VI are the culmination of this book, where all of the tools developed come into play for understanding many of the important results in quantum Shannon theory.

The thermodynamic meaning of negative entropy

Abstract: The heat generated by computations is not only an obstacle to circuit miniaturization but also a fundamental aspect of the relationship between information theory and thermodynamics. In principle, reversible operations may be performed at no energy cost; given that irreversible computations can always be decomposed into reversible operations followed by the erasure of data, the problem of calculating their energy cost is reduced to the study of erasure. Landauer's principle states that the erasure of data stored in a system has an inherent work cost and therefore dissipates heat. However, this consideration assumes that the information about the system to be erased is classical, and does not extend to the general case where an observer may have quantum information about the system to be erased, for instance by means of a quantum memory entangled with the system. Here we show that the standard formulation and implications of Landauer's principle are no longer valid in the presence of quantum information. Our main result is that the work cost of erasure is determined by the entropy of the system, conditioned on the quantum information an observer has about it. In other words, the more an observer knows about the system, the less it costs to erase it. This result gives a direct thermodynamic significance to conditional entropies, originally introduced in information theory. Furthermore, it provides new bounds on the heat generation of computations: because conditional entropies can become negative in the quantum case, an observer who is strongly correlated with a system may gain work while erasing it, thereby cooling the environment.

A single-atom quantum memory

Abstract: Efficient, high-fidelity storage and exchange of quantum information between light and an optical quantum memory is essential for long-distance quantum communication, quantum networking and distributed quantum computing. Stephan Ritter and colleagues demonstrate the most fundamental implementation of such a quantum memory, mapping arbitrary polarization states of light into and out of single atoms trapped inside an optical cavity. The high fidelity (93%) and relatively long qubit coherence time of this atomic memory make it a versatile quantum node, with excellent prospects for applications in optical quantum gates and quantum repeaters. The faithful storage of a quantum bit (qubit) of light is essential for long-distance quantum communication, quantum networking and distributed quantum computing1. The required optical quantum memory must be able to receive and recreate the photonic qubit; additionally, it must store an unknown quantum state of light better than any classical device. So far, these two requirements have been met only by ensembles of material particles that store the information in collective excitations2,3,4,5,6,7. Recent developments, however, have paved the way for an approach in which the information exchange occurs between single quanta of light and matter8,9,10,11,12,13. This single-particle approach allows the material qubit to be addressed, which has fundamental advantages for realistic implementations. First, it enables a heralding mechanism that signals the successful storage of a photon by means of state detection14,15,16; this can be used to combat inevitable losses and finite efficiencies. Second, it allows for individual qubit manipulations, opening up avenues for in situ processing of the stored quantum information. Here we demonstrate the most fundamental implementation of such a quantum memory, by mapping arbitrary polarization states of light into and out of a single atom trapped inside an optical cavity. The memory performance is tested with weak coherent pulses and analysed using full quantum process tomography. The average fidelity is measured to be 93%, and low decoherence rates result in qubit coherence times exceeding 180 microseconds. This makes our system a versatile quantum node with excellent prospects for applications in optical quantum gates17 and quantum repeaters18.

Waveguide superconducting single-photon detectors for integrated quantum photonic circuits

Abstract: The monolithic integration of single-photon sources, passive optical circuits, and single-photon detectors enables complex and scalable quantum photonic integrated circuits, for application in linear-optics quantum computing and quantum communications. Here, we demonstrate a key component of such a circuit, a waveguide single-photon detector. Our detectors, based on superconducting nanowires on GaAs ridge waveguides, provide high efficiency (∼20%) at telecom wavelengths, high timing accuracy (∼60 ps), and response time in the ns range and are fully compatible with the integration of single-photon sources, passive networks, and modulators.

Electrons surfing on a sound wave as a platform for quantum optics with flying electrons

Abstract: Electrons strongly interact with other electrons and their environment, making it extremely difficult to isolate and detect a single moving electron in a similar way to single photons in quantum optics experiments. But now, in two unrelated reports, Hermelin et al. and McNeil et al. demonstrate that it is possible to emit a single electron from one quantum dot and detect it again with high efficiency after longevity propagation over several micrometres to another quantum dot. The single electron is isolated from other electrons as it is sent into a one-dimensional channel, where it is carried along on a surface acoustic wave induced by microwave excitation. McNeil et al. also show that the same electron can be transferred back and forth up to 60 times, a total distance of 0.25 millimetres. This work demonstrates a new way of transporting a single quantum particle over a long distance in nanostructures, and could pave the way for a range of quantum optics experiments and for quantum information circuits based on single electrons. Electrons in a metal are indistinguishable particles that interact strongly with other electrons and their environment. Isolating and detecting a single flying electron after propagation, in a similar manner to quantum optics experiments with single photons1,2, is therefore a challenging task. So far only a few experiments have been performed in a high-mobility two-dimensional electron gas in which the electron propagates almost ballistically3,4,5. In these previous works, flying electrons were detected by means of the current generated by an ensemble of electrons, and electron correlations were encrypted in the current noise. Here we demonstrate the experimental realization of high-efficiency single-electron source and detector for a single electron propagating isolated from the other electrons through a one-dimensional channel. The moving potential is excited by a surface acoustic wave, which carries the single electron along the one-dimensional channel at a speed of 3 μm ns−1. When this quantum channel is placed between two quantum dots several micrometres apart, a single electron can be transported from one quantum dot to the other with quantum efficiencies of emission and detection of 96% and 92%, respectively. Furthermore, the transfer of the electron can be triggered on a timescale shorter than the coherence time T2* of GaAs spin qubits6. Our work opens new avenues with which to study the teleportation of a single electron spin and the distant interaction between spatially separated qubits in a condensed-matter system.

Implementing the Quantum von Neumann Architecture with Superconducting Circuits

Abstract: The von Neumann architecture for a classical computer comprises a central processing unit and a memory holding instructions and data. We demonstrate a quantum central processing unit that exchanges data with a quantum random-access memory integrated on a chip, with instructions stored on a classical computer. We test our quantum machine by executing codes that involve seven quantum elements: Two superconducting qubits coupled through a quantum bus, two quantum memories, and two zeroing registers. Two vital algorithms for quantum computing are demonstrated, the quantum Fourier transform, with 66% process fidelity, and the three-qubit Toffoli-class OR phase gate, with 98% phase fidelity. Our results, in combination especially with longer qubit coherence, illustrate a potentially viable approach to factoring numbers and implementing simple quantum error correction codes.

Device Calibration Impacts Security of Quantum Key Distribution

Abstract: Characterizing the physical channel and calibrating the cryptosystem hardware are prerequisites for establishing a quantum channel for quantum key distribution (QKD). Moreover, an inappropriately implemented calibration routine can open a fatal security loophole. We propose and experimentally demonstrate a method to induce a large temporal detector efficiency mismatch in a commercial QKD system by deceiving a channel length calibration routine. We then devise an optimal and realistic strategy using faked states to break the security of the cryptosystem. A fix for this loophole is also suggested.

The Quantum Reverse Shannon Theorem Based on One-Shot Information Theory

Abstract: The Quantum Reverse Shannon Theorem states that any quantum channel can be simulated by an unlimited amount of shared entanglement and an amount of classical communication equal to the channel’s entanglement assisted classical capacity. In this paper, we provide a new proof of this theorem, which has previously been proved by Bennett, Devetak, Harrow, Shor, and Winter. Our proof has a clear structure being based on two recent information-theoretic results: one-shot Quantum State Merging and the Post-Selection Technique for quantum channels.

Parallel Generation of Quadripartite Cluster Entanglement in the Optical Frequency Comb

Abstract: Scalability and coherence are two essential requirements for the experimental implementation of quantum information and quantum computing. Here, we report a breakthrough toward scalability: the simultaneous generation of a record 15 quadripartite entangled cluster states over 60 consecutive cavity modes (Q modes), in the optical frequency comb of a single optical parametric oscillator. The amount of observed entanglement was constant over the 60 Q modes, thereby proving the intrinsic scalability of this system. The number of observable Q modes was restricted by technical limitations, and we conservatively estimate the actual number of similar clusters to be at least 3 times larger. This result paves the way to the realization of large entangled states for scalable quantum information and quantum computing.

Quantum eavesdropping without interception: an attack exploiting the dead time of single-photon detectors

Abstract: The security of quantum key distribution (QKD) can easily be obscured if the eavesdropper can utilize technical imperfections in the actual implementation. Here, we describe and experimentally demonstrate a very simple but highly effective attack that does not need to intercept the quantum channel at all. Only by exploiting the dead time effect of single-photon detectors is the eavesdropper able to gain (asymptotically) full information about the generated keys without being detected by state-of-the-art QKD protocols. In our experiment, the eavesdropper inferred up to 98.8% of the key correctly, without increasing the bit error rate between Alice and Bob significantly. However, we find an even simpler and more effective countermeasure to inhibit this and similar attacks.

Single-Shot Correlations and Two-Qubit Gate of Solid-State Spins

Abstract: Measurement of coupled quantum systems plays a central role in quantum information processing. We have realized independent single-shot read-out of two electron spins in a double quantum dot. The read-out method is all-electrical, cross-talk between the two measurements is negligible, and read-out fidelities are ~86% on average. This allows us to directly probe the anticorrelations between two spins prepared in a singlet state and to demonstrate the operation of the two-qubit exchange gate on a complete set of basis states. The results provide a possible route to the realization and efficient characterization of multiqubit quantum circuits based on single quantum dot spins.

Attacking a practical quantum-key-distribution system with wavelength-dependent beam-splitter and multiwavelength sources

Abstract: It is well known that the unconditional security of quantum-key distribution (QKD) can be guaranteed by quantum mechanics. However, practical QKD systems have some imperfections, which can be controlled by the eavesdropper to attack the secret key. With current experimental technology, a realistic beam splitter, made by fused biconical technology, has a wavelength-dependent property. Based on this fatal security loophole, we propose a wavelength-dependent attacking protocol, which can be applied to all practical QKD systems with passive state modulation. Moreover, we experimentally attack a practical polarization encoding QKD system to obtain all the secret key information at the cost of only increasing the quantum bit error rate from $1.3$ to $1.4%$.

Teleportation of Nonclassical Wave Packets of Light

Abstract: We report on the experimental quantum teleportation of strongly nonclassical wave packets of light. To perform this full quantum operation while preserving and retrieving the fragile nonclassicality of the input state, we have developed a broadband, zero-dispersion teleportation apparatus that works in conjunction with time-resolved state preparation equipment. Our approach brings within experimental reach a whole new set of hybrid protocols involving discrete- and continuous-variable techniques in quantum information processing for optical sciences.

On the Quantum Rényi Relative Entropies and Related Capacity Formulas

Abstract: Following Csiszar's approach in classical information theory, it is shown that the quantum α-relative entropies with parameter α ∈ (0,1) can be represented as generalized cutoff rates, and hence a direct operational interpretation of the quantum α-relative entropies are provided. It is also shown that various generalizations of the Holevo capacity, defined in terms of the α-relative entropies, coincide for the parameter range α ∈ (0,2], and an upper bound on the one-shot e-capacity of a classical-quantum channel in terms of these capacities is given.

Behavior of Quantum Correlations under Local Noise

Abstract: We characterize the behavior of quantum correlations under the influence of local noisy channels. Intuition suggests that such noise should be detrimental for quantumness. When considering qubit systems, we show for which channels this is indeed the case: The amount of quantum correlations can only decrease under the action of unital channels. However, nonunital channels (e.g., such as dissipation) can create quantum correlations for some initially classical states. Furthermore, for higher-dimensional systems even unital channels may increase the amount of quantum correlations. Thus, counterintuitively, local decoherence can generate quantum correlations.

Quantum Fisher information of the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state in decoherence channels

Abstract: Quantum Fisher information of a parameter characterizes the sensitivity of the state with respect to changes of the parameter. In this article, we study the quantum Fisher information of a state with respect to SU(2) rotations under three decoherence channels: the amplitude-damping, phase-damping, and depolarizing channels. The initial state is chosen to be a Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state of which the phase sensitivity can achieve the Heisenberg limit. By using the Kraus operator representation, the quantum Fisher information is obtained analytically. We observe the decay and sudden change of the quantum Fisher information in all three channels.

Markovian and non-Markovian dynamics in quantum and classical systems

Abstract: We discuss the conceptually different definitions used for the non-Markovianity of classical and quantum processes. The well-established definition for non-Markovianity of a classical stochastic process represents a condition on the Kolmogorov hierarchy of the n-point joint probability distributions. Since this definition cannot be transferred to the quantum regime, quantum non-Markovianity has recently been defined and quantified in terms of the underlying quantum dynamical map, using either its divisibility properties or the behavior of the trace distance between pairs of initial states. Here, we investigate and compare these definitions and their relations to the classical notion of non-Markovianity by employing a large class of non-Markovian processes, known as semi-Markov processes, which admit a natural extension to the quantum case. A number of specific physical examples is constructed which allow to study the basic features of the classical and the quantum definitions and to evaluate explicitly the measures for quantum non-Markovianity. Our results clearly demonstrate several fundamental distinctions between the classical and the quantum notion of non-Markovianity, as well as between the various quantum measures for non-Markovianity.

Entanglement in a solid-state spin ensemble

Abstract: Entanglement is the quintessential quantum phenomenon. It is a necessary ingredient in most emerging quantum technologies, including quantum repeaters, quantum information processing and the strongest forms of quantum cryptography. Spin ensembles, such as those used in liquid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, have been important for the development of quantum control methods. However, these demonstrations contain no entanglement and ultimately constitute classical simulations of quantum algorithms. Here we report the on-demand generation of entanglement between an ensemble of electron and nuclear spins in isotopically engineered, phosphorus-doped silicon. We combined high-field (3.4 T), low-temperature (2.9 K) electron spin resonance with hyperpolarization of the (31)P nuclear spin to obtain an initial state of sufficient purity to create a non-classical, inseparable state. The state was verified using density matrix tomography based on geometric phase gates, and had a fidelity of 98% relative to the ideal state at this field and temperature. The entanglement operation was performed simultaneously, with high fidelity, on 10(10) spin pairs; this fulfils one of the essential requirements for a silicon-based quantum information processor.

Quantum memory for entangled continuous-variable states

Abstract: Quantum information is often thought of in terms of manipulating discrete qubits. But continuous variables can also carry data. A method for storing continuous-variable states of light for up to a millisecond in room-temperature memories is now demonstrated.

Closed timelike curves via postselection: theory and experimental test of consistency

Abstract: Closed timelike curves (CTCs) are trajectories in spacetime that effectively travel backwards in time: a test particle following a CTC can interact with its former self in the past. A widely accepted quantum theory of CTCs was proposed by Deutsch. Here we analyze an alternative quantum formulation of CTCs based on teleportation and postselection, and show that it is inequivalent to Deutsch's. The predictions or retrodictions of our theory can be simulated experimentally: we report the results of an experiment illustrating how in our particular theory the "grandfather paradox" is resolved.

Quantum Teleportation and Entanglement: A Hybrid Approach to Optical Quantum Information Processing

Abstract: Part I: Introductions and Basics 1. Introduction to Quantum Information Processing 2. Introduction to Optical Quantum Information Processing Part II: Fundamental Resources and Protocols 3. Entanglement 4. Quantum Teleportation 5. Quantum Error Correction Part III: Measurement-based and Hybrid Approaches 6. Quantum Teleportation of Gates 7. Cluster-based Quantum Information Processing 8. Hybrid Quantum Information Processing

Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Information and Computation and Its Applications to Nano- and Bio-systems

Abstract: This monograph provides a mathematical foundation to the theory of quantum information and computation, with applications to various open systems including nano and bio systems. It includes introductory material on algorithm, functional analysis, probability theory, information theory, quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. Apart from standard material on quantum information like quantum algorithm and teleportation, the authors discuss findings on the theory of entropy in C*-dynamical systems, space-time dependence of quantum entangled states, entangling operators, adaptive dynamics, relativistic quantum information, and a new paradigm for quantum computation beyond the usual quantum Turing machine. Also, some important applications of information theory to genetics and life sciences, as well as recent experimental and theoretical discoveries in quantum photosynthesis are described.

Structured optical receivers to attain superadditive capacity and the Holevo limit.

Abstract: Attaining the ultimate (Holevo) limit to the classical capacity of a quantum channel requires the receiver to make joint measurements over long code-word blocks. For a pure-state channel, we show that the Holevo limit can be attained by a receiver that uses a multisymbol unitary transformation on the quantum code word followed by separable projective measurements. We show a concatenated coding and joint-detection architecture to approach the Holevo limit. We then construct some of the first concrete examples of codes and structured joint-detection receivers for the lossy bosonic channel, which can achieve fundamentally higher (superadditive) capacity than conventional receivers that detect each modulation symbol individually. We thereby pave the way for research into codes and structured receivers for reliable communication data rates approaching the Holevo limit.

Quantum tagging: Authenticating location via quantum information and relativistic signaling constraints

Abstract: We define the task of quantum tagging, that is, authenticating the classical location of a classical tagging device by sending and receiving quantum signals from suitably located distant sites, in an environment controlled by an adversary whose quantum information processing and transmitting power is unbounded. We define simple security models for this task and briefly discuss alternatives. We illustrate the pitfalls of naive quantum cryptographic reasoning in this context by describing several protocols which at first sight appear unconditionally secure but which, as we show, can in fact be broken by teleportation-based attacks. We also describe some protocols which cannot be broken by these specific attacks, but do not prove they are unconditionally secure. We review the history of quantum tagging protocols, and show that protocols previously proposed by Malaney and Chandran et al. are provably insecure.

Quantum mechanics of time travel through post-selected teleportation

Abstract: This paper discusses the quantum mechanics of closed-timelike curves (CTCs) and of other potential methods for time travel. We analyze a specific proposal for such quantum time travel, the quantum description of CTCs based on post-selected teleportation (P-CTCs). We compare the theory of P-CTCs to previously proposed quantum theories of time travel: the theory is inequivalent to Deutsch's theory of CTCs, but it is consistent with path-integral approaches (which are the best suited for analyzing quantum-field theory in curved space-time). We derive the dynamical equations that a chronology-respecting system interacting with a CTC will experience. We discuss the possibility of time travel in the absence of general-relativistic closed-timelike curves, and investigate the implications of P-CTCs for enhancing the power of computation.

Optomechanical transducers for quantum-information processing

Abstract: We discuss the implementation of optical quantum networks where the interface between stationary and photonic qubits is realized by optomechanical transducers [K. Stannigel et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 220501 (2010)]. This approach does not rely on the optical properties of the qubit and thereby enables optical quantum communication applications for a wide range of solid-state spin- and charge-based systems. We present an effective description of such networks for many qubits and give a derivation of a state transfer protocol for long-distance quantum communication. We also describe how to mediate local on-chip interactions by means of the optomechanical transducers that can be used for entangling gates. We finally discuss experimental systems for the realization of our proposal.

Quantum Eavesdropping without Interception: An Attack Exploiting the Dead Time of Single Photon Detectors

Abstract: The security of quantum key distribution (QKD) can easily be obscured if the eavesdropper can utilize technical imperfections of the actual implementation. Here we describe and experimentally demonstrate a very simple but highly effective attack which even does not need to intercept the quantum channel at all. Only by exploiting the dead time effect of single photon detectors the eavesdropper is able to gain (asymptotically) full information about the generated keys without being detected by state-of-the-art QKD protocols. In our experiment, the eavesdropper inferred up to 98.8% of the key correctly, without increasing the bit error rate between Alice and Bob significantly. Yet, we find an evenly simple and effective countermeasure to inhibit this and similar attacks.