A Bipartite Quantum Key Distribution Protocol Based on Indefinite Causal Order
Quantum Physics
2026-03-10 v1 Cryptography and Security
Abstract
We propose a bipartite quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol based on causal nonseparability: the presence of a resource -- a process matrix -- that does not correspond to any definite causal order between two parties. In our protocol, Alice and Bob perform local operations arranged in a ``causal-order guessing game,'' whereby each round yields an 85.35\% probability of matching bits when the communication is undisturbed. This raw matching probability (or equivalently, a error rate) is amenable to standard forward error-correction strategies. We further discuss the practical construction of the QKD protocol using indefinite causal order, where several different scenarios are deeply analyzed.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2603.08204,
title = {A Bipartite Quantum Key Distribution Protocol Based on Indefinite Causal Order},
author = {Mateusz Leśniak and Ryszard Kukulski and Paulina Lewandowska and Grzegorz Rajchel-Mieldzioć and Michał Wroński},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.08204},
year = {2026}
}