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 (2024) Finite-resource performance of small-satellite-based quantum-key-distribution missions. PRX Quantum, 5 (3). 030101. ISSN 2691-3399 (https://doi.org/10.1103/prxquantum.5.030101)
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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, a higher QBER increases the minimum raw key length necessary for nonzero secret-key-length extraction due to less efficient reconciliation and postprocessing overheads. We show that recent developments in finite-key analysis allow three different small-satellite-based QKD projects, CQT-Sat, the United Kingdom QUARC-ROKS, and QEYSSat, to produce secret keys even under conditions of very high loss, improving on estimates based on previous finite-key bounds. This suggests that satellites in low Earth orbit can satisfy finite-size security requirements but that this remains challenging for satellites further from Earth. We analyze the performance of each mission to provide an informed route toward improving the performance of small-satellite QKD missions. We highlight the short- and long-term perspectives on the challenges and potential future developments in small-satellite-based QKD and quantum networks. In particular, we discuss some of the experimental and theoretical bottlenecks and the improvements necessary to achieve QKD and wider quantum networking capabilities in daylight and at different altitudes. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
ORCID iDs
Islam, Tanvirul, Sidhu, Jasminder S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6167-8224, Higgins, Brendon L., Brougham, Thomas, Vergoossen, Tom, Oi, Daniel K.L. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0965-9509, Jennewein, Thomas and Ling, Alexander;-
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Item type: Article ID code: 89971 Dates: DateEvent11 July 2024Published1 July 2024Accepted1 July 2022SubmittedSubjects: Science > Physics Department: Faculty of Science > Physics
University of Strathclyde > University of Strathclyde
Strategic Research Themes > Ocean, Air and SpaceDepositing user: Pure Administrator Date deposited: 22 Jul 2024 09:18 Last modified: 13 Oct 2024 00:53 URI: https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/89971