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Related papers: On the Optimality of a Quantum Key Distribution

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Quantum key distribution (QKD) offers the promise of absolutely secure communications. However, proofs of absolute security often assume perfect implementation from theory to experiment. Thus, existing systems may be prone to insidious…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2014-06-23 Samuel L. Braunstein , Stefano Pirandola

Semi-quantum key distribution protocols are designed to allow two parties to establish a shared secret key, secure against an all-powerful adversary, even when one of the users is restricted to measuring and preparing quantum states in one…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2019-11-15 Omar Amer , Walter O. Krawec

A realistic Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) protocol necessarily deals with finite resources, such as the number of signals exchanged by the two parties. We derive a bound on the secret key rate which is expressed as an optimization problem…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2011-10-13 Silvestre Abruzzo , Hermann Kampermann , Markus Mertz , Dagmar Bruß

In principle, quantum key distribution (QKD) offers information-theoretic security based on the laws of physics. In practice, however, the imperfections of realistic devices might introduce deviations from the idealized models used in…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2020-06-01 Feihu Xu , Xiongfeng Ma , Qiang Zhang , Hoi-Kwong Lo , Jian-Wei Pan

Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) supports the negotiation and sharing of private keys with unconditional security between authorized parties. Over the years, theoretical advances and experimental demonstrations have successfully transitioned…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2025-11-17 Haoran Zhang , Haotao Zhu , Ruihua He , Yan Zhang , Chao Ding , Lajos Hanzo , Weibo Gao

Quantum key distribution is among the foremost applications of quantum mechanics, both in terms of fundamental physics and as a technology on the brink of commercial deployment. Starting from principal schemes and initial proofs of…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2008-01-29 Wolfgang Mauerer , Wolfram Helwig , Christine Silberhorn

Quantum key distribution (QKD) allows for communication with security guaranteed by quantum theory. The main theoretical problem in QKD is to calculate the secret key rate for a given protocol. Analytical formulas are known for protocols…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2016-05-24 Patrick J. Coles , Eric M. Metodiev , Norbert Lütkenhaus

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a cornerstone of the secure quantum encryption. Building on the quantum irreversibility, we develop a technique reborning the existing QKDs into protocols that are unrestricted in distance and have…

Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is revolutionizing cryptography by promising information-theoretic security through the immutable laws of quantum mechanics. Yet, the challenge of transforming these idealized security models into practical,…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-02-24 Nitin Jha , Abhishek Parakh , Mahadevan Subramaniam

Quantum key distribution (QKD) could be the most significant application of quantum information theory. In nearly four decades, although substantial QKD protocols are developed, the BB84 protocol and its variants are still the most…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2023-08-22 Hao Shu

Quantum key distribution (QKD) promises secure key agreement by using quantum mechanical systems. We argue that QKD will be an important part of future cryptographic infrastructures. It can provide long-term confidentiality for encrypted…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2010-01-25 Douglas Stebila , Michele Mosca , Norbert Lütkenhaus

With the growing complexity of quantum key distribution (QKD) network structures, aforehand topology design is of great significance to support a large-number of nodes over a large-spatial area. However, the exclusivity of quantum channels,…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2023-07-19 Ya-Xing Wang , Qiong Li , Hao-Kun Mao , Qi Han , Fu-Rong Huang , Hong-Wei Xu

Quantum key distribution (QKD) has been developed within the last decade that is provably secure against arbitrary computing power, and even against quantum computer attacks. Now there is a strong need of research to exploit this technology…

Cryptography and Security · Computer Science 2009-01-30 Muhammad Mubashir Khan , Salahuddin Hyder , Mahmood K Pathan , Kashif H Sheikh

There is a big gap between theory and practice in quantum key distribution (QKD) because real devices do not satisfy the assumptions required by the security proofs. Here, we close this gap by introducing a simple and practical…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2021-03-31 Álvaro Navarrete , Margarida Pereira , Marcos Curty , Kiyoshi Tamaki

Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) protocols rely on authenticated classical communication. Typical QKD security proofs are carried out in an idealized setting where authentication is assumed to behave honestly: it never aborts, and all…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-01-27 Devashish Tupkary , Shlok Nahar , Ernest Y. -Z. Tan

Quantum key distribution (QKD) provides secure keys resistant to code-breaking quantum computers. As headed towards commercial application, it is crucial to guarantee the practical security of QKD systems. However, the difficulty of…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2018-05-14 Zhengyu Li , Yi-Chen Zhang , Hong Guo

Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is a means of generating keys between a pair of computing hosts that is theoretically secure against cryptanalysis, even by a quantum computer. Although there is much active research into improving the QKD…

Cryptography and Security · Computer Science 2017-12-08 Piotr K. Tysowski , Xinhua Ling , Norbert Lütkenhaus , Michele Mosca

While Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) has been proven in lab environments, large-scale implementation requires integration with existing infrastructure. This paper proposes an opportunistic QKD framework that takes advantage of idle spectral…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-04-15 Sumit Chaudhary , Pere Munar Vallespir , Alonso Viladomat Jasso , Janis Nötzel

In recent years, quantum computing technologies have steadily matured and have begun to find practical applications across various domains. One important area is network communication security, where Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) enables…

Cryptography and Security · Computer Science 2026-02-03 Abel C. H. Chen

Quantum key distribution (QKD) promises information-theoretic security based on quantum mechanics and idealized device models. Practical implementations, however, deviate from these models due to unavoidable device imperfections, and…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-05-14 Álvaro Navarrete , Guillermo Currás-Lorenzo , Margarida Pereira , Marcos Curty