Optimization of Information Reconciliation for Decoy-State Quantum Key Distribution over a Satellite Downlink Channel
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866914142520082432 |
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| author | Scarinzi, Thomas Orsucci, Davide Ferrari, Marco Barletta, Luca |
| author_facet | Scarinzi, Thomas Orsucci, Davide Ferrari, Marco Barletta, Luca |
| contents | Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a cryptographic solution that leverages the properties of quantum mechanics to be resistant and secure even against an attacker with unlimited computational power. Satellite-based links are important in QKD because they can reach distances that the best fiber systems cannot. However, links between satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) and ground stations have a duration of only a few minutes, resulting in the generation of a small amount of secure keys. In this context, we investigate the optimization of the information reconciliation step of the QKD post-processing in order to generate as much secure key as possible. As a first step, we build an accurate model of the downlink signal and quantum bit error rate (QBER) during a complete satellite pass, which are time-varying due to three effects: (i) the varying link geometry over time, (ii) the scintillation effect, and (iii) the different signal intensities adopted in the Decoy-State protocol. Leveraging the a-priori information on the instantaneous QBER, we improve the efficiency of information reconciliation (IR) (i.e., the error correction phase) in the Decoy-State BB84 protocol, resulting in a secure key that is almost 3\% longer for realistic scenarios. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_05196 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Optimization of Information Reconciliation for Decoy-State Quantum Key Distribution over a Satellite Downlink Channel Scarinzi, Thomas Orsucci, Davide Ferrari, Marco Barletta, Luca Quantum Physics Cryptography and Security Information Theory Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a cryptographic solution that leverages the properties of quantum mechanics to be resistant and secure even against an attacker with unlimited computational power. Satellite-based links are important in QKD because they can reach distances that the best fiber systems cannot. However, links between satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) and ground stations have a duration of only a few minutes, resulting in the generation of a small amount of secure keys. In this context, we investigate the optimization of the information reconciliation step of the QKD post-processing in order to generate as much secure key as possible. As a first step, we build an accurate model of the downlink signal and quantum bit error rate (QBER) during a complete satellite pass, which are time-varying due to three effects: (i) the varying link geometry over time, (ii) the scintillation effect, and (iii) the different signal intensities adopted in the Decoy-State protocol. Leveraging the a-priori information on the instantaneous QBER, we improve the efficiency of information reconciliation (IR) (i.e., the error correction phase) in the Decoy-State BB84 protocol, resulting in a secure key that is almost 3\% longer for realistic scenarios. |
| title | Optimization of Information Reconciliation for Decoy-State Quantum Key Distribution over a Satellite Downlink Channel |
| topic | Quantum Physics Cryptography and Security Information Theory |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.05196 |