Practical Quantum Clock Synchronization Using Weak Coherent Pulses
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866909818006011904 |
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| author | Crum, Noah Hassan, Md Mehdi Siopsis, George |
| author_facet | Crum, Noah Hassan, Md Mehdi Siopsis, George |
| contents | Establishing and maintaining a common time reference across spatially separated devices is a prerequisite for networked quantum experiments and secure communications. Classical two-way timing protocols such as Network Time Protocol (NTP) or Precision Time Protocol (PTP) are vulnerable to asymmetric channel delays and cannot provide the picosecond-level precision demanded by quantum repeater networks. We propose and numerically evaluate a quantum-enhanced clock synchronization protocol based on attenuated weak coherent pulses (WCPs) and bidirectional Hong--Ou--Mandel (HOM) interferometry. Our simulations assume telecom-band photons ($1550\,\mathrm{nm}$) with a temporal width of $10.0\,\mathrm{ns}$, a repetition rate of $f = 10\,\mathrm{MHz}$, effective mean photon number $μ= 1.0$, detector efficiency $η= 85\%$, detector timing jitter of $150\,\mathrm{ps}$, and channel loss of $0.2\,\mathrm{dB/km}$. We simulate that sub-nanosecond clock-offset accuracy and precision can be achieved under these operating conditions. This work demonstrates that high-repetition-rate WCPs combined with HOM interference can provide flexible and secure quantum clock synchronization at sub-nanosecond precision. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_00199 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Practical Quantum Clock Synchronization Using Weak Coherent Pulses Crum, Noah Hassan, Md Mehdi Siopsis, George Quantum Physics Establishing and maintaining a common time reference across spatially separated devices is a prerequisite for networked quantum experiments and secure communications. Classical two-way timing protocols such as Network Time Protocol (NTP) or Precision Time Protocol (PTP) are vulnerable to asymmetric channel delays and cannot provide the picosecond-level precision demanded by quantum repeater networks. We propose and numerically evaluate a quantum-enhanced clock synchronization protocol based on attenuated weak coherent pulses (WCPs) and bidirectional Hong--Ou--Mandel (HOM) interferometry. Our simulations assume telecom-band photons ($1550\,\mathrm{nm}$) with a temporal width of $10.0\,\mathrm{ns}$, a repetition rate of $f = 10\,\mathrm{MHz}$, effective mean photon number $μ= 1.0$, detector efficiency $η= 85\%$, detector timing jitter of $150\,\mathrm{ps}$, and channel loss of $0.2\,\mathrm{dB/km}$. We simulate that sub-nanosecond clock-offset accuracy and precision can be achieved under these operating conditions. This work demonstrates that high-repetition-rate WCPs combined with HOM interference can provide flexible and secure quantum clock synchronization at sub-nanosecond precision. |
| title | Practical Quantum Clock Synchronization Using Weak Coherent Pulses |
| topic | Quantum Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.00199 |