On conclusive eavesdropping and measures of mutual information in quantum key distribution

We address the question of quantifying eavesdropper’s information gain in an individual attack on systems of quantum key distribution. It is connected with the concept of conclusive eavesdropping introduced by Brandt. Using the BB84 protocol, we examine the problem of estimating a performance of conclusive entangling probe. The question of interest depends on the choice of a quantitative measure of eavesdropper’s information about the error-free sifted bits. The Fuchs–Peres–Brandt probe realizes a very powerful individual attack on the BB84 scheme. In the usual formulation, Eve utilizes the Helstrom scheme in distinguishing between the two output probe states. In conclusive eavesdropping, the unambiguous discrimination is used. Comparing these two versions allows to demonstrate serious distinctions between widely used quantifiers of mutual information. In particular, the so-called Rényi mutual information does not seem to be a completely legitimate measure of an amount of mutual information. It is brightly emphasized with the example of conclusive eavesdropping.     

Fundamental finite key limits for one-way information reconciliation in quantum key distribution

The security of quantum key distribution protocols is guaranteed by the laws of quantum mechanics. However, a precise analysis of the security properties requires tools from both classical cryptography and information theory. Here, we employ recent results in non-asymptotic classical information theory to show that one-way information reconciliation imposes fundamental limitations on the amount of secret key that can be extracted in the finite key regime. In particular, we find that an often used approximation for the information leakage during information reconciliation is not generally valid. We propose an improved approximation that takes into account finite key effects and numerically test it against codes for two probability distributions, that we call binary–binary and binary–Gaussian, that typically appear in quantum key distribution protocols.     

An enhanced proposal on decoy-state measurement device-independent quantum key distribution

By employing pulses involving three-intensity, we propose a scheme for the measurement device-independent quantum key distribution with heralded single-photon sources. We make a comparative study of this scheme with the standard three-intensity decoy-state scheme using weak coherent sources or heralded single-photon sources. The advantage of this scheme is illustrated through numerical simulations: It can approach very closely the asymptotic case of using an infinite number of decoy-states and exhibits excellent behavior in both the secure transmission distance and the final key generation rate.     

Practical performance of real-time shot-noise measurement in continuous-variable quantum key distribution

In a practical continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CVQKD) system, real-time shot-noise measurement (RTSNM) is an essential procedure for preventing the eavesdropper exploiting the practical security loopholes. However, the performance of this procedure itself is not analyzed under the real-world condition. Therefore, we indicate the RTSNM practical performance and investigate its effects on the CVQKD system. In particular, due to the finite-size effect, the shot-noise measurement at the receiver’s side may decrease the precision of parameter estimation and consequently result in a tight security bound. To mitigate that, we optimize the block size for RTSNM under the ensemble size limitation to maximize the secure key rate. Moreover, the effect of finite dynamics of amplitude modulator in this scheme is studied and its mitigation method is also proposed. Our work indicates the practical performance of RTSNM and provides the real secret key rate under it.     

基于归一化模糊联合互信息最大的特征选择

特征选择就是从特征集合中选择出与分类类别相关性强而特征之间冗余性最小的特征子集,这样一方面可以提高分类器的计算效率,另一方面可以提高分类器的泛化能力,进而提高分类精度。基于互信息的特征相关性和冗余性的评价准则,在实际应用中存在以下的问题：（1）变量的概率计算困难,进而影响特征的信息熵计算困难;（2）互信息倾向于选择值较多的特征;（3）基于累积加和的候选特征与特征子集之间冗余性度量准则在特征维数较高的情况下容易失效。为了解决上述问题,提出了基于归一化模糊互信息最大的特征评价准则,基于模糊等价关系计算变量的信息熵、条件熵、联合熵;利用联合互信息最大替换累积加和的度量方法;基于归一化联合互信息对特征重要性进行评价;基于该准则建立了基于前向贪婪搜索的特征选择算法。在UCI机器学习标准数据集上的多组实验,证明算法能够有效地选择出对分类类别有效的特征子集,能够明显提高分类精度。     

Upconversion-based receivers for quantum hacking-resistant quantum key distribution

We propose a novel upconversion (sum frequency generation)-based quantum-optical system design that can be employed as a receiver (Bob) in practical quantum key distribution systems. The pump governing the upconversion process is produced and utilized inside the physical receiver, making its access or control unrealistic for an external adversary (Eve). This pump facilitates several properties which permit Bob to define and control the modes that can participate in the quantum measurement. Furthermore, by manipulating and monitoring the characteristics of the pump pulses, Bob can detect a wide range of quantum hacking attacks launched by Eve.     

基于最大联合条件互信息的特征选择

在高维数据如图像数据、基因数据、文本数据等的分析过程中,当样本存在冗余特征时会大大增加问题分析复杂难度,因此在数据分析前从中剔除冗余特征尤为重要。基于互信息（MI）的特征选择方法能够有效地降低数据维数,提高分析结果精度,但是,现有方法在特征选择过程中评判特征是否冗余的标准单一,无法合理排除冗余特征,最终影响分析结果。为此,提出一种基于最大联合条件互信息的特征选择方法（MCJMI）。MCJMI选择特征时考虑整体联合互信息与条件互信息两个因素,两个因素融合增强特征选择约束。在平均预测精度方面,MCJMI与信息增益（IG）、最小冗余度最大相关性（mRMR）特征选择相比提升了6个百分点;与联合互信息（JMI）、最大化联合互信息（JMIM）相比提升了2个百分点;与LW向前搜索方法（SFS-LW）相比提升了1个百分点。在稳定性方面,MCJMI稳定性达到了0.92,优于JMI、JMIM、SFS-LW方法。实验结果表明MCJMI能够有效地提高特征选择的准确率与稳定性。     

基于最大加权区域互信息的声呐图像检索系统

针对声呐图像检索的实际需求,设计基于最大加权区域互信息的声呐图像检索系统。对声呐图像进行分割,产生n个子区域;计算例图与图像库中各个图像子区域之间的互信息,结合声呐图像目标物体的特点,对区域互信息进行加权;取加权区域互信息中的最大值作为图像互信息,并照其大小进行图像排序,经门限处理后,将排在前面的图像作为检索结果输出。仿真实验结果表明:基于最大加权区域互信息的检索方法更加适用于声呐图像检索,尤其是在处理两幅背景相同前景不同或者前景相同背景不同的图像时更有优势。     

New scheme for measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution

We propose a new scheme for measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) with a two-mode state source. In this scheme, the trigger state is split into different paths and detected at both senders; thus, four types of detection events can be obtained. Based on these events, the signal state is divided into four non-empty sets that can be used for parameter estimation and key extraction. Additionally, we carry out a performance analysis on the scheme with two-intensity (vacuum state and signal state) heralded single-photon sources. We also numerically study the statistical fluctuation in the actual system. Our simulations show that the error rate and the secure transmission distance of our two-intensity scheme are better than those of existing three- and four-intensity MDI-QKD schemes with different light sources. Considering statistical fluctuations, the maximum secure distance of our scheme can reach 344 km when the data length is 10¹³ and remains as long as 250 km when the data length is 10¹⁰. Moreover, our scheme improves the system performance and reduces the challenges of implementing the system.     

Differential phase encoded measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution

Quantum Information Processing - By employing Pauli measurements, we present some nonlinear steering criteria applicable for arbitrary two-qubit quantum systems and optimized ones for symmetric...     

基于纠缠的量子密钥分配协议仿真

由于受物理资源和实验条件的限制,在经典计算机上对量子密钥分配（QKD）仿真,为研究者提供一种手段以便更好地掌握这类抽象协议。对以纠缠态为基础的E91协议的量子密钥分配过程进行仿真,重点对比分析了理想环境、有噪环境以及窃听环境下的仿真结果,并验证该量子密钥分配协议的安全性。     

Composable security of unidimensional continuous-variable quantum key distribution

We investigate the composable security of unidimensional continuous-variable quantum key distribution (UCVQKD) protocol in generally phase-sensitive channel; the UCVQKD protocol is based on the Gaussian modulation of a single quadrature of the coherent state of light, aiming to provide a simple implementation of key distribution compared to the symmetrically modulated Gaussian coherent-state protocols. This protocol neglects the necessity in one of the quadrature modulations in coherent states and hence reduces the system complexity. To clarify the influence of finite-size effect and the cost of performance degeneration, we establish the relationship of the balanced parameters of the unmodulated quadrature and estimate the precise secure region. Subsequently, we illustrate the composable security of the UCVQKD protocol against collective attacks and achieve the tightest bound of the UCVQKD protocol. Numerical simulations show the asymptotic secret key rate of the UCVQKD protocol, together with the symmetrically modulated Gaussian coherent-state protocols.     

Trojan horse attack free fault-tolerant quantum key distribution protocols

This work proposes two quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols—each of which is robust under one kind of collective noises—collective-dephasing noise and collective-rotation noise. Due to the use of a new coding function which produces error-robust codewords allowing one-time transmission of quanta, the proposed QKD schemes are fault-tolerant and congenitally free from Trojan horse attacks without having to use any extra hardware. Moreover, by adopting two Bell state measurements instead of a 4-GHZ state joint measurement for decoding, the proposed protocols are practical in combating collective noises.     

Improved statistical fluctuation analysis for measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) is a promising protocol for realizing long-distance secret keys sharing. However, its key rate is relatively low when the finite-size effect is taken into account. In this paper, we consider statistical fluctuation analysis for the three-intensity decoy-state MDI-QKD system based on the recent work (Zhang et al. in Phys Rev A 95:012333, 2017) and further compare its performance with that of applying the Gaussian approximation technique and the Chernoff bound method. The numerical simulations demonstrate that the new method has apparent enhancement both in key generation rate and transmission distance than using Chernoff bound method. Meanwhile, the present work still shows much higher security than Gaussian approximation analysis.     

Checking noise correlations for safer two-way quantum key distribution

We check for noise correlations between forward and backward paths in two-way quantum key distribution, which leads to reduced potentialities for an eavesdropper since she can only hide herself behind uncorrelated (natural) noise. The security enhancement is evaluated through the ratio of eavesdropper’s information and legitimate users’ information achievable against the most relevant individual attacks.     

量子密钥分发光源时序校准系统设计

针对量子密钥分发终端设备中八路量子态光信号在设备出口处存在固有时间偏差的问题,设计了一套以TDC-GPX为核心的量子密钥分发光源时序校准系统。系统对量子态光信号进行光电转换、信号调理,使用高精度时间间隔测量芯片TDC-GPX分时对调理后的脉冲电信号进行采集,并通过FPGA进行数据处理,调整八路光信号的发光时间,使其满足在时间上的不可分辨性。测试结果表明,系统测量精度小于80 ps,用于实际量子密钥分发待校准设备中的校准性能良好,满足校准要求。     

Round-robin differential-phase-shift quantum key distribution with heralded pair-coherent sources

Round-robin differential-phase-shift (RRDPS) quantum key distribution (QKD) scheme provides an effective way to overcome the signal disturbance from the transmission process. However, most RRDPS-QKD schemes use weak coherent pulses (WCPs) as the replacement of the perfect single-photon source. Considering the heralded pair-coherent source (HPCS) can efficiently remove the shortcomings of WCPs, we propose a RRDPS-QKD scheme with HPCS in this paper. Both infinite-intensity decoy-state method and practical three-intensity decoy-state method are adopted to discuss the tight bound of the key rate of the proposed scheme. The results show that HPCS is a better candidate for the replacement of the perfect single-photon source, and both the key rate and the transmission distance are greatly increased in comparison with those results with WCPs when the length of the pulse trains is small. Simultaneously, the performance of the proposed scheme using three-intensity decoy states is close to that result using infinite-intensity decoy states when the length of pulse trains is small.     

A practical protocol for three-party authenticated quantum key distribution

Recently, Hwang et al. proposed two three-party authenticated quantum key distribution protocols for two communicating parties to establish a session key via a trusted center. They also showed their protocols were secure by using random oracle model. However, their protocols were designed to run in an ideal world. In this paper, we present a more practical protocol by considering some issues, which have not been addressed in their protocols. These issues include (1) session key consistence, (2) online guessing attack, and (3) noise in quantum channels. To deal with these issues, we use error correction code and key evolution. We also give a formal proof for the security of our protocols by using standard reduction, instead of the random oracle model.     

Bipartite coherent-state quantum key distribution with strong reference pulse

We propose an optical scheme for quantum key distribution in which bits are encoded in relative phases of four bipartite weak coherent states ${|\alpha, \alpha\rangle, |-\alpha, -\alpha\rangle, |-\alpha, \alpha\rangle}$ and ${|\alpha, -\alpha \rangle}$ , with respect to a strong reference pulse. We discuss security of the scheme against eavesdropping strategies like, photon number splitting, photon beam splitting and intercept-resend attacks. It is found that present scheme is more sensitive against these eavesdropping strategies than the two-dimensional non-orthogonal state based protocol and BB84 protocol. Our scheme is very simple, requires only passive optical elements like beam splitters, phase shifters and photon detectors, hence is at the reach of presently available technology.     

基于BB84的多用户量子密钥分发协议

BB84协议是目前最接近实用化的量子密钥分发(QKD)协议。点对点的量子密钥分发系统已经可以商用,但现有的多用户量子密钥分发协议都是采用量子纠缠、量子存储等技术手段进行密钥分发,在现有的技术条件下只能停留在理论阶段,离工程应用还有较长的距离。该文提出了一种基于BB84的多用户量子密钥分发协议,将计算机通信技术应用到量子保密通信中,实现一对多的量子通信网络的量子密钥分发,并从理论和实验结果两方面分析其可行性。