Xian-Min Jin | Search PubMed

PubMed2006

Experimental quantum communication without a shared reference frame.

We present an experimental realization of a robust quantum communication scheme [Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 220501 (2004)] using pairs of photons entangled in polarization and time. Our method overcomes errors due to collective rotation of the polarization modes (e.g., birefringence in optical fiber or misalignment), is insensitive to the phase's fluctuation of the interferometer, and does not require any shared reference frame including time reference, except the need to label different photons. The practical robustness of the scheme is further shown by implementing a variation of the Bennett-Brassard 1984 quantum key distribution protocol over 1 km optical fiber.

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PubMed2005

Experimental free-space distribution of entangled photon pairs over 13 km: towards satellite-based global quantum communication.

We report free-space distribution of entangled photon pairs over a noisy ground atmosphere of 13 km. It is shown that the desired entanglement can still survive after both entangled photons have passed through the noisy ground atmosphere with a distance beyond the effective thickness of the aerosphere. This is confirmed by observing a spacelike separated violation of Bell inequality of 2.45+/-0.09. On this basis, we exploit the distributed entangled photon source to demonstrate the Bennett-Brassard 1984 quantum cryptography scheme. The distribution distance of entangled photon pairs achieved in the experiment is for the first time well beyond the effective thickness of the aerosphere, hence presenting a significant step towards satellite-based global quantum communication.

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