Quantum Network Utility: A Framework for Benchmarking Quantum Networks

The absence of a common framework for benchmarking quantum networks is an obstacle to comparing the capabilities of different quantum networks. We propose a general framework for quantifying the performance of a quantum network, which is based on the value created by connecting users through quantum channels. In this framework, we define the quantum network utility metric $U_{QN}$ to capture the social and economic value of quantum networks. While the quantum network utility captures a variety of applications from secure communications to distributed sensing, we study the example of distributed quantum computing in detail. We hope that the adoption of the utility-based framework will serve as a foundation for guiding and assessing the development of new quantum network technologies and designs.