This tutorial reviews the Holevo capacity limit as a universal tool to analyze the ultimate transmission rates in a variety of optical communication scenarios, ranging from conventional optically amplified fiber links to free-space communication with power-limited optical signals. The canonical additive white Gaussian noise model is used to describe the propagation of the optical signal. The Holevo limit exceeds substantially the standard Shannon limit when the power spectral density of noise acquired in the course of propagation is small compared to the energy of a single photon at the carrier frequency per unit time-bandwidth area. General results are illustrated with a discussion of efficient communication strategies in the photon-starved regime.
Non-classical states of light find applications in enhancing the performance of optical interferometric experiments, with notable example of gravitational wave-detectors. Still, the presence of decoherence hinders significantly the performance of quantum-enhanced protocols. In this review, we summarize the developments of quantum metrology with particular focus on optical interferometry and derive fundamental bounds on achievable quantum-enhanced precision in optical interferometry taking into account the most relevant decoherence processes including: phase diffusion, losses and imperfect interferometric visibility. We introduce all the necessary tools of quantum optics as well as quantum estimation theory required to derive the bounds. We also discuss the practical attainability of the bounds derived and stress in particular that the techniques of quantum-enhanced interferometry which are being implemented in modern gravitational wave detectors are close to the optimal ones.
We consider a quantum relay which is used by two parties to perform several continuous-variable protocols of quantum communication, from entanglement distribution (swapping and distillation), to quantum teleportation, and quantum key distribution. The theory of these protocols is suitably extended to a non-Markovian model of decoherence characterized by correlated Gaussian noise in the bosonic environment. In the worst case scenario where bipartite entanglement is completely lost at the relay, we show that the various protocols can be reactivated by the assistance of classical (separable) correlations in the environment. In fact, above a critical amount, these correlations are able to guarantee the distribution of a weaker form of entanglement (quadripartite), which can be localized by the relay into a stronger form (bipartite) that is exploitable by the parties. Our findings are confirmed by a proof-of-principle experiment where we show, for the first time, that memory effects in the environment can drastically enhance the performance of a quantum relay, well beyond the single-repeater bound for quantum and private communications.
The study of free-space quantum communications requires tools from quantum information theory, optics and turbulence theory. Here we combine these tools to bound the ultimate rates for key and entanglement distribution through a free-space link, where the propagation of quantum systems is generally affected by diffraction, atmospheric extinction, turbulence, pointing errors, and background noise. Besides establishing ultimate limits, we also show that the composable secret-key rate achievable by a suitable (pilot-guided and post-selected) coherent-state protocol is sufficiently close to these limits, therefore showing the suitability of free-space channels for high-rate quantum key distribution. Our work provides analytical tools for assessing the composable finite-size security of coherent-state protocols in general conditions, from the standard assumption of a stable communication channel (as is typical in fiber-based connections) to the more challenging scenario of a fading channel (as is typical in free-space links).
In Quantum Illumination (QI), a signal beam initially entangled with an idler beam held at the receiver interrogates a target region bathed in thermal background light. The returned beam is measured jointly with the idler in order to determine whether a weakly reflecting target is present. Using tools from quantum information theory, we derive lower bounds on the average error probability of detecting both specular and fading targets and on the mean squared error of estimating the reflectance of a detected target, which are obeyed by any QI transmitter satisfying a signal energy constraint. For bright thermal backgrounds, we show that the QI system using multiple copies of low-brightness two-mode squeezed vacuum states is nearly optimal. More generally, our results place limits on the best possible performance achievable using QI systems at all wavelengths, and at all signal and background noise levels.
Satellite-based quantum communications enable a bright future for global-scale information security. However, the spin orbital momentum of light, currently used in many mainstream quantum communication systems, only allows for quantum encoding in a two-dimensional Hilbert space. The orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light, on the other hand, enables quantum encoding in higher-dimensional Hilbert spaces, opening up new opportunities for high-capacity quantum communications. Due to its turbulence-induced decoherence effects, however, the atmospheric channel may limit the practical usage of OAM. In order to determine whether OAM is useful for satellite-based quantum communications, we numerically investigate the detection likelihoods for OAM states that traverse satellite-to-ground channels. We show that the use of OAM through such channels is in fact feasible. We use our new results to then investigate design specifications that could improve OAM detection - particularly the use of advanced adaptive optics techniques. Finally, we discuss how our work provides new insights into future implementations of space-based OAM systems within the context of quantum communications.