Distributing Secret Keys with Quantum Continuous Variables: Principle, Security and Implementations

Entropy

Eleni Diamanti²  Anthony Leverrier¹ 

[1] Inria, EPI SECRET, B.P. 105, Le Chesnay Cedex 78153, France; E-Mail:;Laboratoire Traitement et Communication de l’Information, CNRS, Telecom ParisTech, 23 avenue d’Italie, Paris 75013, France

关键词: quantum key distribution;    quantum information;    quantum cryptography;    quantum optics;    security;   

DOI  :  10.3390/e17096072

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The ability to distribute secret keys between two parties with information-theoretic security, that is regardless of the capacities of a malevolent eavesdropper, is one of the most celebrated results in the field of quantum information processing and communication. Indeed, quantum key distribution illustrates the power of encoding information on the quantum properties of light and has far-reaching implications in high-security applications. Today, quantum key distribution systems operate in real-world conditions and are commercially available. As with most quantum information protocols, quantum key distribution was first designed for qubits, the individual quanta of information. However, the use of quantum continuous variables for this task presents important advantages with respect to qubit-based protocols, in particular from a practical point of view, since it allows for simple implementations that require only standard telecommunication technology. In this review article, we describe the principle of continuous-variable quantum key distribution, focusing in particular on protocols based on coherent states. We discuss the security of these protocols and report on the state-of-the-art in experimental implementations, including the issue of side-channel attacks. We conclude with promising perspectives in this research field.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.