Impact of transmitter imbalances on the security of continuous variables quantum key distribution

EPJ Quantum Technology

Research

Nuno A. Silva¹  Armando N. Pinto²  Daniel Pereira²  Margarida Almeida² 

[1] Instituto de Telecomunicações, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal;Instituto de Telecomunicações, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal;Department of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal;

关键词: Continuous variables;    Quantum key distribution;    Device imperfections;    Excess noise;    Discrete modulated;    Probabilistic constellation shaping;   

DOI  :  10.1140/epjqt/s40507-023-00176-z

 received in 2022-12-13, accepted in 2023-06-04,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

Continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) provides a theoretical unconditionally secure solution to distribute symmetric keys among users in a communication network. However, the practical devices used to implement these systems are intrinsically imperfect, and, as a result, open the door to eavesdropper attacks. In this work, we study the impact of transmitter stage imperfections on the performance and security of a Discrete Modulated (DM) CV-QKD system using M-symbol Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (M-QAM) and Amplitude and Phase Shift Keying (M-APSK) coupled with Probabilistic Constellation Shaping (PCS). Assuming two different modulation stage topologies, we first deform the constellations and then evaluate the secure key rate achievable with the deformed constellation. The presented results show that, due to the erroneously estimated channel parameters, non-monitored imbalances greatly reduce the system’s performance, with situations where Bob and Alice estimate that no secure bits can be obtained while the real value of the key rate is still positive. Our results show the importance of monitoring these constellation imbalances and show that the optimal constellation may vary depending on the degree of device imperfection.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

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