English

Finite-key security analysis of decoy-state QKD with source and detector imperfections

Quantum Physics 2026-06-29 v1

Abstract

Decoy-state quantum key distribution (QKD) is the most widely adopted approach for overcoming the limitations of imperfect single-photon sources. However, existing security proofs typically either neglect important device imperfections or rely on assumptions that are difficult to justify in realistic high-speed implementations, such as the independent and identically distributed nature of the emitted signals. In this work, we combine and extend several recent theoretical advances to provide a comprehensive analytical finite-key security proof for decoy-state QKD that simultaneously incorporates multiple practically relevant transmitter and receiver imperfections, including state-preparation flaws, bit and basis side-channel leakage and correlations, setting-independent intensity fluctuations, and detection-efficiency mismatches.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2606.29943,
  title  = {Finite-key security analysis of decoy-state QKD with source and detector imperfections},
  author = {Xoel Sixto and Guillermo Currás-Lorenzo and Margarida Pereira and Víctor Zapatero and Álvaro Navarrete and Marcos Curty},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2606.29943},
  year   = {2026}
}