Biomedical subjects

Nicolas J Cerf

Publications and source records attributed to Nicolas J Cerf.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Unconditional optimality of Gaussian attacks against continuous-variable quantum key distribution.

A fully general approach to the security analysis of continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) is presented. Provided that the quantum channel is estimated via the covariance matrix of the quadratures, Gaussian attacks are shown to be optimal against all collective eavesdropping strategies. The proof is made strikingly simple by combining a physical model of measurement, an entanglement-based description of CV-QKD, and a recent powerful result on the extremality of Gaussian states [M. M. Wolf, Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 080502 (2006)10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.080502].

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PubMed2006

Universal optical amplification without nonlinearity.

We propose and experimentally realize a new scheme for universal phase-insensitive optical amplification. The presented scheme relies only on linear optics and homodyne detection, thus circumventing the need for nonlinear interaction between a pump field and the signal field. The amplifier demonstrates near optimal quantum noise limited performance for a wide range of amplification factors.

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PubMed2004

Quantum cloning of a coherent light state into an atomic quantum memory.

A scheme for the optimal Gaussian cloning of coherent light states at the interface between light and atoms is proposed. The distinct feature of this proposal is that the clones are stored in an atomic quantum memory, which is important for applications in quantum communication. The atomic quantum cloning machine requires only a single passage of the light pulse through the atomic ensembles followed by the measurement of a light quadrature and an appropriate feedback, which renders the protocol experimentally feasible. An alternative protocol, where one of the clones is carried by the outgoing light pulse, is discussed in connection with eavesdropping on quantum key distribution.

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PubMed2004

How to measure squeezing and entanglement of Gaussian states without homodyning.

We propose a scheme for measuring the squeezing, purity, and entanglement of Gaussian states of light that does not require homodyne detection. The suggested setup needs only beam splitters and single-photon detectors. Two-mode entanglement can be detected from coincidences between photodetectors placed on the two beams.

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PubMed2004

Continuous-variable quantum cryptography is secure against non-Gaussian attacks.

A general study of arbitrary finite-size coherent attacks against continuous-variable quantum cryptographic schemes is presented. It is shown that, if the size of the blocks that can be coherently attacked by an eavesdropper is fixed and much smaller than the key size, then the optimal attack for a given signal-to-noise ratio in the transmission line is an individual Gaussian attack. Consequently, non-Gaussian coherent attacks do not need to be considered in the security analysis of such quantum cryptosystems.

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PubMed2003

Quantum key distribution using gaussian-modulated coherent states.

Quantum continuous variables are being explored as an alternative means to implement quantum key distribution, which is usually based on single photon counting. The former approach is potentially advantageous because it should enable higher key distribution rates. Here we propose and experimentally demonstrate a quantum key distribution protocol based on the transmission of gaussian-modulated coherent states (consisting of laser pulses containing a few hundred photons) and shot-noise-limited homodyne detection; squeezed or entangled beams are not required. Complete secret key extraction is achieved using a reverse reconciliation technique followed by privacy amplification. The reverse reconciliation technique is in principle secure for any value of the line transmission, against gaussian individual attacks based on entanglement and quantum memories. Our table-top experiment yields a net key transmission rate of about 1.7 megabits per second for a loss-free line, and 75 kilobits per second for a line with losses of 3.1 dB. We anticipate that the scheme should remain effective for lines with higher losses, particularly because the present limitations are essentially technical, so that significant margin for improvement is available on both the hardware and software.

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PubMed2002

Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger paradoxes for many qudits.

We construct Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) contradictions for three or more parties sharing an entangled state, the dimension of each subsystem being an even integer d. The simplest example that goes beyond the standard GHZ paradox (three qubits) involves five ququats (d=4). We then examine the criteria that a GHZ paradox must satisfy in order to be genuinely M partite and d dimensional.

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PubMed2002

Security of quantum key distribution using d-level systems.

We consider two quantum cryptographic schemes relying on encoding the key into qudits, i.e., quantum states in a d-dimensional Hilbert space. The first cryptosystem uses two mutually unbiased bases (thereby extending the BB84 scheme), while the second exploits all d+1 available such bases (extending the six-state protocol for qubits). We derive the information gained by a potential eavesdropper applying a cloning-based individual attack, along with an upper bound on the error rate that ensures unconditional security against coherent attacks.

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