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arXiv · 1710.03525

Continuous-variable quantum key distribution in fast fading channels

Panagiotis Papanastasiou·Christian Weedbrook·Stefano Pirandola
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Abstract

We investigate the performance of several continuous-variable quantum key distribution protocols in the presence of fading channels. These are lossy channels whose transmissivity changes according to a probability distribution. This is typical in communication scenarios where remote parties are connected by free-space links subject to atmospheric turbulence. In this work, we assume the worst-case scenario where an eavesdropper has full control of a fast fading process, so that she chooses the instantaneous transmissivity of a channel, while the remote parties can only detect the mean statistical process. In our study, we consider coherent-state protocols run in various configurations, including the one-way switching protocol in reverse reconciliation, the measurement-device-independent protocol in the symmetric configuration and a three-party measurement-device-independent network. We show that, regardless of the advantage given to the eavesdropper (full control of fading), these protocols can still achieve high rates.

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Panagiotis Papanastasiou, Christian Weedbrook, Stefano Pirandola. 2017-10-10. Continuous-variable quantum key distribution in fast fading channels. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.97.032311

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