In this work, we present a reliable, efficient, and tight numerical method for calculating key rates for finite-dimensional quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols. We illustrate our approach by finding higher key rates than those previously reported in the literature for several interesting scenarios (e.g., the Trojan-horse attack and the phase-coherent BB84 protocol). Our method will ultimately improve our ability to automate key rate calculations and, hence, to develop a user-friendly software package that could be used widely by QKD researchers.
@article{arxiv.1710.05511,
title = {Reliable numerical key rates for quantum key distribution},
author = {Adam Winick and Norbert Lütkenhaus and Patrick J. Coles},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1710.05511},
year = {2018}
}