Finite resource performance of small satellite-based quantum key distribution missions

Islam, Tanvirul and Sidhu, Jasminder S. and Higgins, Brendon L. and Brougham, Thomas and Vergoossen, Tom and Oi, Daniel K. L. and Jennewein, Thomas and Ling, Alexander (2022) Finite resource performance of small satellite-based quantum key distribution missions. Other. arXiv.org, Ithaca, New York. (https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2204.12509)

[thumbnail of Islam-etal-arXiv-2022-Finite-resource-performance-of-small-satellite-based-quantum-key-distribution]
Preview
 Text. Filename: Islam_etal_arXiv_2022_Finite_resource_performance_of_small_satellite_based_quantum_key_distribution.pdf
Final Published Version
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 logo
Download (904kB)| Preview

Abstract

In satellite-based quantum key distribution (QKD), the number of secret bits that can be generated in a single satellite pass over the ground station is severely restricted by the pass duration and the free-space optical channel loss. High channel loss may decrease the signal-to-noise ratio due to background noise, reduce the number of generated raw key bits, and increase the quantum bit error rate (QBER), all of which have detrimental effects on the output secret key length. Under finite-size security analysis, higher QBER increases the minimum raw key length necessary for non-zero secret key length extraction due to less efficient reconciliation and post-processing overheads. We show that recent developments in finite key analysis allow three different small-satellite-based QKD projects CQT-Sat, UK-QUARC-ROKS, and QEYSSat to produce secret keys even under very high loss conditions, improving on estimates based on previous finite key bounds. This suggests that satellites in low Earth orbit can satisfy finite-size security requirements, but remains challenging for satellites further from Earth.

  • Item type:Monograph(Other)
    ID code:81406
    Dates:
    Date
    Event
    26 April 2022
    Published
    Subjects:Science > Physics
    Department:Faculty of Science > Physics
    Depositing user: Pure Administrator
    Date deposited:07 Jul 2022 14:48
    Last modified:17 Apr 2024 00:58
    URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/81406
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)