Finite resource performance of small satellite-based quantum key distribution missions

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Islam, Tanvirul, Sidhu, Jasminder S., Higgins, Brendon L., Brougham, Thomas, Vergoossen, Tom, Oi, Daniel K. L., Jennewein, Thomas, Ling, Alexander
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2022
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author Islam, Tanvirul
Sidhu, Jasminder S.
Higgins, Brendon L.
Brougham, Thomas
Vergoossen, Tom
Oi, Daniel K. L.
Jennewein, Thomas
Ling, Alexander
author_facet Islam, Tanvirul
Sidhu, Jasminder S.
Higgins, Brendon L.
Brougham, Thomas
Vergoossen, Tom
Oi, Daniel K. L.
Jennewein, Thomas
Ling, Alexander
contents In satellite-based quantum key distribution (QKD), the number of secret bits that can be generated in a single satellite pass over the ground station is severely restricted by the pass duration and the free-space optical channel loss. High channel loss may decrease the signal-to-noise ratio due to background noise, reduce the number of generated raw key bits, and increase the quantum bit error rate (QBER), all of which have detrimental effects on the output secret key length. Under finite-size security analysis, higher QBER increases the minimum raw key length necessary for non-zero secret key length extraction due to less efficient reconciliation and post-processing overheads. We show that recent developments in finite key analysis allow three different small-satellite-based QKD projects CQT-Sat, UK-QUARC-ROKS, and QEYSSat to produce secret keys even under very high loss conditions, improving on estimates based on previous finite key bounds. This suggests that satellites in low Earth orbit can satisfy finite-size security requirements, but remains challenging for satellites further from Earth. We analyse the performance of each mission to provide an informed route toward improving the performance of small-satellite QKD missions. We highlight the short and long-term perspectives on the challenges and potential future developments in small-satellite-based QKD and quantum networks. In particular, we discuss some of the experimental and theoretical bottlenecks, and improvements necessary to achieve QKD and wider quantum networking capabilities in daylight and at different altitudes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2204_12509
institution arXiv
publishDate 2022
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Finite resource performance of small satellite-based quantum key distribution missions
Islam, Tanvirul
Sidhu, Jasminder S.
Higgins, Brendon L.
Brougham, Thomas
Vergoossen, Tom
Oi, Daniel K. L.
Jennewein, Thomas
Ling, Alexander
Quantum Physics
In satellite-based quantum key distribution (QKD), the number of secret bits that can be generated in a single satellite pass over the ground station is severely restricted by the pass duration and the free-space optical channel loss. High channel loss may decrease the signal-to-noise ratio due to background noise, reduce the number of generated raw key bits, and increase the quantum bit error rate (QBER), all of which have detrimental effects on the output secret key length. Under finite-size security analysis, higher QBER increases the minimum raw key length necessary for non-zero secret key length extraction due to less efficient reconciliation and post-processing overheads. We show that recent developments in finite key analysis allow three different small-satellite-based QKD projects CQT-Sat, UK-QUARC-ROKS, and QEYSSat to produce secret keys even under very high loss conditions, improving on estimates based on previous finite key bounds. This suggests that satellites in low Earth orbit can satisfy finite-size security requirements, but remains challenging for satellites further from Earth. We analyse the performance of each mission to provide an informed route toward improving the performance of small-satellite QKD missions. We highlight the short and long-term perspectives on the challenges and potential future developments in small-satellite-based QKD and quantum networks. In particular, we discuss some of the experimental and theoretical bottlenecks, and improvements necessary to achieve QKD and wider quantum networking capabilities in daylight and at different altitudes.
title Finite resource performance of small satellite-based quantum key distribution missions
topic Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.12509