Quantum Entanglement Swapping between Two Multipartite Entangled States

Constraints on Gaussian Error Channels and Measurements for Quantum Communication

Joint Gaussian measurements of two quantum systems are important for quantum communication between remote parties and are often used in continuous-variable teleportation or entanglement-swapping protocols. Many of the errors in real-world implementations can be modeled by independent Gaussian error channels acting prior to measurement. In this work we study independent single-mode Gaussian error channels on two modes A and B that take place prior to a joint Gaussian measurement. We determine the set of pairs of such channels that render all Gaussian measurements separable, and therefore unsuitable for entanglement swapping or teleportation of arbitrary input states. For example, if the error channels are loss with parameters l A , l B followed by added noise with parameters n A , n B then all Gaussian measurements are separable if and only if l A + l B + n A + n B ≥ 1 .

Scalable Generation of Multiphoton Entangled States by Active Feed-Forward and Multiplexing

Multiphoton entangled quantum states are key to advancing quantum technologies such as multiparty quantum communications, quantum sensing, or quantum computation. Their scalable generation, however, remains an experimental challenge. Current methods for generating these states rely on stitching together photons from probabilistic sources, and state generation rates drop exponentially in the number of photons. Here, we implement a system based on active feed-forward and multiplexing that addresses this challenge. We demonstrate the scalable generation of four-photon and six-photon Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states, increasing generation rates by factors of 9 and 35, respectively. This is consistent with the exponential enhancement compared to the standard nonmultiplexed approach that is predicted by our theory. These results facilitate the realization of practical multiphoton protocols for photonic quantum technologies.

Remote preparation and manipulation of squeezed light

Remote state preparation enables one to create and manipulate a quantum state based on the shared entanglement between distant nodes. Here, we experimentally demonstrate remote preparation and manipulation of squeezed light. By performing a homodyne projective measurement on one mode of the continuous variable entangled state at Alice's station, a squeezed state is created at Bob's station. Moreover, rotation and displacement operations are applied on the prepared squeezed state by changing the projective parameters on Alice's state. We also show that the remotely prepared squeezed state is robust against loss and N - 1 squeezed states can be remotely prepared based on an N-mode continuous variable Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger-like state. Our results verify the entanglement-based model used in security analysis of quantum key distribution with continuous variables and have potential application in remote quantum information processing.

Bell nonlocality in networks

Bell's theorem proves that quantum theory is inconsistent with local physical models. It has propelled research in the foundations of quantum theory and quantum information science. As a fundamental feature of quantum theory, it impacts predictions far beyond the traditional scenario of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox. In the last decade, the investigation of nonlocality has moved beyond Bell's theorem to consider more sophisticated experiments that involve several independent sources which distribute shares of physical systems among many parties in a network. Network scenarios, and the nonlocal correlations that they give rise to, lead to phenomena that have no counterpart in traditional Bell experiments, thus presenting a formidable conceptual and practical challenge. This review discusses the main concepts, methods, results and future challenges in the emerging topic of Bell nonlocality in networks.

All-Optical Entanglement Swapping

Entanglement swapping, which is a core component of quantum network and an important platform for testing the foundation of quantum mechanics, can enable the entangling of two independent particles without direct interaction both in discrete variable and continuous variable systems. Conventionally, the realization of entanglement swapping relies on the Bell-state measurement. In particular, for entanglement swapping in continuous variable regime, such Bell-state measurement involves the optic-electro and electro-optic conversion, which limits the applications of the entanglement swapping for constructing broadband quantum network. In this Letter, we propose and demonstrate a measurement-free all-optical entanglement swapping. In our scheme, a high-gain parametric amplifier based on the four-wave mixing process is exploited to realize the function of Bell-state measurement without detection, which avoids the introduction of the optic-electro and electro-optic conversion. Our results provide an all-optical paradigm for implementing entanglement swapping and pave the way to construct a measurement-free all-optical broadband quantum network.

Experimental demonstration of the conversion of local and correlated Gaussian quantum coherence

Quantum coherence plays an important role in quantum information processing. In this Letter, we experimentally demonstrate the conversion of local and correlated Gaussian quantum coherence in the process of converting two squeezed states into an entangled state. We also investigate the relationship among total, local, and correlated coherence and show that the total coherence of a two-mode Gaussian state is the sum of local quantum coherence of each mode and the correlated quantum coherence between two modes. Our results highlight the connection of different quantum coherence in a two-mode Gaussian system and provide references for potential application.

Deterministic Distribution of Multipartite Entanglement and Steering in a Quantum Network by Separable States

As two valuable quantum resources, Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entanglement and steering play important roles in quantum-enhanced communication protocols. Distributing such quantum resources among multiple remote users in a network is a crucial precondition underlying various quantum tasks. We experimentally demonstrate the deterministic distribution of two- and three-mode Gaussian entanglement and steering by transmitting separable states in a network consisting of a quantum server and multiple users. In our experiment, entangled states are not prepared solely by the quantum server, but are created among independent users during the distribution process. More specifically, the quantum server prepares separable squeezed states and applies classical displacements on them before spreading out, and users simply perform local beam-splitter operations and homodyne measurements after they receive separable states. We show that the distributed Gaussian entanglement and steerability are robust against channel loss. Furthermore, one-way Gaussian steering is achieved among users that is useful for further directional or highly asymmetric quantum information processing.

One-sided device-independent quantum key distribution for two independent parties

Remote distribution of secret keys is a challenging task in quantum cryptography. A significant step in this direction is the measurement-device independence quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD). For two remote (or independent) parties Alice and Bob who initially no share secret information, the MDI-QKD enables them to share a secret key by the measurement of an untrusted relay. Unfortunately, the MDI-QKD yields the assumption that the devices of both Alice and Bob have to be trusted. Here, we show that QKD between two independent parties can also be realized even if the device of either Alice or Bob is untrusted. We tackle the problem by resorting to the recently developed one-sided device-independent QKD protocol. We derive conditions on the extracted secret key to be unconditionally secure against arbitary attacks in the limit of asymptotic keys. In the presence of Gaussian states and measurements, we theoretically demonstrate our scheme is feasible, which could be an attractive candidate for long distance secret communication.

Enhancement of quantum correlations using correlation injection scheme in a cascaded four-wave mixing processes

Quantum correlations and entanglement shared among multiple quantum beams are important for both fundamental science and the development of quantum technologies. The enhancement for them is necessary and important to implement the specific quantum tasks and goals. Here, we report a correlation injection scheme (CIS) which is an effective method to enhance the quantum correlations and entanglement in the symmetrical cascaded four-wave mixing processes, and the properties of quantum correlations and entanglement can be characterized by the values of the degree of intensity-difference squeezing (DS) and the smallest symplectic eigenvalues, respectively. Our results show that the CIS can enhance the quantum correlations and entanglement under certain conditions, while for other conditions it can only decrease the values of the DS and the smallest symplectic eigenvalues to the level of standard quantum limit, respectively. We believe that our scheme is experimentally accessible and will contribute to a deeper understanding of the manipulations of the quantum correlations and entanglement in various quantum networks.

Multipartite Entanglement Generation in a Structured Environment

In this paper, we investigate the entanglement generation of n-qubit states in a model consisting of n independent qubits, each coupled to a harmonic oscillator which is in turn coupled to a bath of N additional harmonic oscillators with nearest-neighbor coupling. With analysis, we can find that the steady multipartite entanglement with different values can be generated after a long-time evolution for different sizes of the quantum system. Under weak coupling between the system and the harmonic oscillator, multipartite entanglement can monotonically increase from zero to a stable value. Under strong coupling, multipartite entanglement generation shows a speed-up increase accompanied by some oscillations as non-Markovian behavior. Our results imply that the strong coupling between the harmonic oscillator and the N additional harmonic oscillators, and the large size of the additional oscillators will enhance non-Markovian dynamics and make it take a very long time for the entanglement to reach a stable value. Meanwhile, the couplings between the additional harmonic oscillators and the decay rate of additional harmonic oscillators have almost no effect on the multipartite entanglement generation. Finally, the entanglement generation of the additional harmonic oscillators is also discussed.

Orbital-Angular-Momentum Multiplexed Continuous-Variable Entanglement from Four-Wave Mixing in Hot Atomic Vapor

Multiplexing is crucial for the data-carrying capacity of information communication systems. Orbital angular momentum (OAM) with a topological charge ℓ (ℓ integer) provides a degree of freedom to realize multiplexing. In this Letter, we report an experimental implementation of OAM multiplexed continuous variables (CV) entanglement based on a four-wave mixing (FWM) process, in which 13 pairs of entangled Laguerre-Gauss (LG) modes, LG_{ℓ,pr} and LG_{-ℓ,conj}, are simultaneously and deterministically generated, where ℓ (ℓ integer) is the topological charge corresponding to the OAM mode and pr (conj) indicates a probe (conjugate) beam. In the meanwhile, we experimentally show that there is no entanglement between the modes of LG_{ℓ,pr} and LG_{ℓ,conj} (ℓ≠0). These results clearly confirm the conservation of OAM in the FWM process from the viewpoint of a CV system. In addition, we investigate the entanglement properties of three types of coherent superposition of OAM modes. In the end, we also study the effect of the pump beam radius on the number of OAM multiplexing. Such OAM multiplexed CV entanglement provides a new perspective and platform to study CV quantum information protocols.

Connecting two Gaussian cluster states by quantum entanglement swapping

Cluster state is an important resource for one-way quantum computation and quantum network. In this paper, we present a scheme for connecting two Gaussian cluster states by entanglement swapping, which can be used to connect two local quantum networks composed by cluster states. The connection schemes between different types of four-mode cluster states are analyzed and we show that the structure of the output states after entanglement swapping may be not the same as that of the input states. The entanglement of the obtained new cluster states are presented when suitable feedforward schemes are applied in the entanglement swapping process. By using optimal gains in the classical channel and inseparability criteria, the requirement of squeezing parameters for obtaining entanglement of output states are reduced. The presented scheme provides a concrete reference for constructing quantum networks with cluster states.

Quantum Secret Sharing Among Four Players Using Multipartite Bound Entanglement of an Optical Field

Secret sharing is a conventional technique for realizing secure communications in information networks, where a dealer distributes to n players a secret, which can only be decoded through the cooperation of k (n/2<k≤n) players. In recent years, quantum resources have been employed to enhance security of secret sharing, which has been named quantum secret sharing (QSS). A multipartite bound entanglement (BE) state of an optical field, due to its special entanglement features, can be used in quantum networks to improve security and flexibility of communication. We design and experimentally demonstrate a QSS protocol, where the dealer modulates a secret on a four-partite BE state and then distributes the submodes of the BE state to four spatially separated players. The presented QSS scheme has the capability to protect secrets from eavesdropping and dishonest players, because a nonlocal and deterministic BE state is shared among four authorized players.

Deterministic quantum teleportation through fiber channels

Quantum teleportation, which is the transfer of an unknown quantum state from one station to another over a certain distance with the help of nonlocal entanglement shared by a sender and a receiver, has been widely used as a fundamental element in quantum communication and quantum computation. Optical fibers are crucial information channels, but teleportation of continuous variable optical modes through fibers has not been realized so far. Here, we experimentally demonstrate deterministic quantum teleportation of an optical coherent state through fiber channels. Two sub-modes of an Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entangled state are distributed to a sender and a receiver through a 3.0-km fiber, which acts as a quantum resource. The deterministic teleportation of optical modes over a fiber channel of 6.0 km is realized. A fidelity of 0.62 ± 0.03 is achieved for the retrieved quantum state, which breaks through the classical limit of ¹/₂. Our work provides a feasible scheme to implement deterministic quantum teleportation in communication networks.

Quantum entanglement of a harmonic oscillator with an electromagnetic field

At present, there are many methods for obtaining quantum entanglement of particles with an electromagnetic field. Most methods have a low probability of quantum entanglement and not an exact theoretical apparatus based on an approximate solution of the Schrodinger equation. There is a need for new methods for obtaining quantum-entangled particles and mathematically accurate studies of such methods. In this paper, a quantum harmonic oscillator (for example, an electron in a magnetic field) interacting with a quantized electromagnetic field is considered. Based on the exact solution of the Schrodinger equation for this system, it is shown that for certain parameters there can be a large quantum entanglement between the electron and the electromagnetic field. Quantum entanglement is analyzed on the basis of a mathematically exact expression for the Schmidt modes and the Von Neumann entropy.

High-power stable continuous-wave single-longitudinal-mode Nd:YVO4 laser at 1342 nm

A universal model about the sufficient condition of stable single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) operation is established and applied to the theoretical analysis of a high power unidirectional ring Nd:YVO₄ laser at 1342 nm with energy transfer upconversion and excited stimulated absorption taken into account. A stable continuous-wave SLM laser with 1342 nm power of 11.3 W and 671 nm power of 0.3 W is fabricated by optimizing the transmission of output coupler and the temperature of LiB3O5 crystal. Mode-hopping-free laser operation with a power stability better than ± 0.5% and a frequency fluctuation less than ± 88 MHz is achieved during a given three hours.

Driving many distant atoms into high-fidelity steady state entanglement via Lyapunov control

Based on Lyapunov control theory in closed and open systems, we propose a scheme to generate W state of many distant atoms in the cavity-fiber-cavity system. In the closed system, the W state is generated successfully even when the coupling strength between the cavity and fiber is extremely weak. In the presence of atomic spontaneous emission or cavity and fiber decay, the photon-measurement and quantum feedback approaches are proposed to improve the fidelity, which enable efficient generation of high-fidelity W state in the case of large dissipation. Furthermore, the time-optimal Lyapunov control is investigated to shorten the evolution time and improve the fidelity in open systems.