Random Number Generation with Cosmic Photons

Using nanoresonators with robust chaos as hardware random number generators

In this paper, we investigate theoretically the potential of a nanoelectromechanical suspended beam resonator excited by two-external frequencies as a hardware random number generator. This system exhibits robust chaos, which is usually required for practical applications of chaos. Taking advantage of the robust chaotic oscillations, we consider the beam position as a possible random variable and perform tests to check its randomness. The beam position collected at fixed time intervals is used to create a set of values that is a candidate for a random sequence of numbers. To determine how close to a random sequence this set is, we perform several known statistical tests of randomness. The performance of the random sequence in the simulation of two relevant physical problems, the random walk and the Ising model, is also investigated. An excellent overall performance of the system as a random number generator is obtained.

Experimental Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Steering and Randomness Generation Beyond Qubits

In a measurement-device-independent or quantum-refereed protocol, a referee can verify whether two parties share entanglement or Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering without the need to trust either of the parties or their devices. The need for trusting a party is substituted by a quantum channel between the referee and that party, through which the referee encodes the measurements to be performed on that party's subsystem in a set of nonorthogonal quantum states. In this Letter, an EPR-steering inequality is adapted as a quantum-refereed EPR-steering witness, and the trust-free experimental verification of higher dimensional quantum steering is reported via preparing a class of entangled photonic qutrits. Further, with two measurement settings, we extract 1.106±0.023 bits of private randomness per every photon pair from our observed data, which surpasses the one-bit limit for projective measurements performed on qubit systems. Our results advance research on quantum information processing tasks beyond qubits.

Test of Local Realism into the Past without Detection and Locality Loopholes

Inspired by the recent remarkable progress in the experimental test of local realism, we report here such a test that achieves an efficiency greater than (78%)^{2} for entangled photon pairs separated by 183 m. Further utilizing the randomness in cosmic photons from pairs of stars on the opposite sides of the sky for the measurement setting choices, we not only close the locality and detection loopholes simultaneously, but also test the null hypothesis against local hidden variable mechanisms for events that took place 11 years ago (13 orders of magnitude longer than previous experiments). After considering the bias in measurement setting choices, we obtain an upper bound on the p value of 7.87×10^{-4}, which clearly indicates the rejection with high confidence of potential local hidden variable models. One may further push the time constraint on local hidden variable mechanisms deep into the cosmic history by taking advantage of the randomness in photon emissions from quasars with large aperture telescopes.

Cosmic Bell Test Using Random Measurement Settings from High-Redshift Quasars

In this Letter, we present a cosmic Bell experiment with polarization-entangled photons, in which measurement settings were determined based on real-time measurements of the wavelength of photons from high-redshift quasars, whose light was emitted billions of years ago; the experiment simultaneously ensures locality. Assuming fair sampling for all detected photons and that the wavelength of the quasar photons had not been selectively altered or previewed between emission and detection, we observe statistically significant violation of Bell's inequality by 9.3 standard deviations, corresponding to an estimated p value of ≲7.4×10^{-21}. This experiment pushes back to at least ∼7.8  Gyr ago the most recent time by which any local-realist influences could have exploited the "freedom-of-choice" loophole to engineer the observed Bell violation, excluding any such mechanism from 96% of the space-time volume of the past light cone of our experiment, extending from the big bang to today.

Challenging local realism with human choices

A Bell test is a randomized trial that compares experimental observations against the philosophical worldview of local realism ¹ , in which the properties of the physical world are independent of our observation of them and no signal travels faster than light. A Bell test requires spatially distributed entanglement, fast and high-efficiency detection and unpredictable measurement settings^2,3. Although technology can satisfy the first two of these requirements^4-7, the use of physical devices to choose settings in a Bell test involves making assumptions about the physics that one aims to test. Bell himself noted this weakness in using physical setting choices and argued that human 'free will' could be used rigorously to ensure unpredictability in Bell tests ⁸ . Here we report a set of local-realism tests using human choices, which avoids assumptions about predictability in physics. We recruited about 100,000 human participants to play an online video game that incentivizes fast, sustained input of unpredictable selections and illustrates Bell-test methodology ⁹ . The participants generated 97,347,490 binary choices, which were directed via a scalable web platform to 12 laboratories on five continents, where 13 experiments tested local realism using photons^5,6, single atoms ⁷ , atomic ensembles ¹⁰ and superconducting devices ¹¹ . Over a 12-hour period on 30 November 2016, participants worldwide provided a sustained data flow of over 1,000 bits per second to the experiments, which used different human-generated data to choose each measurement setting. The observed correlations strongly contradict local realism and other realistic positions in bipartite and tripartite ¹² scenarios. Project outcomes include closing the 'freedom-of-choice loophole' (the possibility that the setting choices are influenced by 'hidden variables' to correlate with the particle properties ¹³ ), the utilization of video-game methods ¹⁴ for rapid collection of human-generated randomness, and the use of networking techniques for global participation in experimental science.

Bell Test over Extremely High-Loss Channels: Towards Distributing Entangled Photon Pairs between Earth and the Moon

Quantum entanglement was termed "spooky action at a distance" in the well-known paper by Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen. Entanglement is expected to be distributed over longer and longer distances in both practical applications and fundamental research into the principles of nature. Here, we present a proposal for distributing entangled photon pairs between Earth and the Moon using a Lagrangian point at a distance of 1.28 light seconds. One of the most fascinating features in this long-distance distribution of entanglement is as follows. One can perform the Bell test with human supplying the random measurement settings and recording the results while still maintaining spacelike intervals. To realize a proof-of-principle experiment, we develop an entangled photon source with 1 GHz generation rate, about 2 orders of magnitude higher than previous results. Violation of Bell's inequality was observed under a total simulated loss of 103 dB with measurement settings chosen by two experimenters. This demonstrates the feasibility of such long-distance Bell test over extremely high-loss channels, paving the way for one of the ultimate tests of the foundations of quantum mechanics.

Polarization chaos and random bit generation in nonlinear fiber optics induced by a time-delayed counter-propagating feedback loop

In this manuscript, we experimentally and numerically investigate the chaotic dynamics of the state-of-polarization in a nonlinear optical fiber due to the cross-interaction between an incident signal and its intense backward replica generated at the fiber-end through an amplified reflective delayed loop. Thanks to the cross-polarization interaction between the two-delayed counter-propagating waves, the output polarization exhibits fast temporal chaotic dynamics, which enable a powerful scrambling process with moving speeds up to 600-krad/s. The performance of this all-optical scrambler was then evaluated on a 10-Gbit/s On/Off Keying telecom signal achieving an error-free transmission. We also describe how these temporal and chaotic polarization fluctuations can be exploited as an all-optical random number generator. To this aim, a billion-bit sequence was experimentally generated and successfully confronted to the dieharder benchmarking statistic tools. Our experimental analysis are supported by numerical simulations based on the resolution of counter-propagating coupled nonlinear propagation equations that confirm the observed behaviors.

High-Speed Device-Independent Quantum Random Number Generation without a Detection Loophole

Quantum mechanics provides the means of generating genuine randomness that is impossible with deterministic classical processes. Remarkably, the unpredictability of randomness can be certified in a manner that is independent of implementation devices. Here, we present an experimental study of device-independent quantum random number generation based on a detection-loophole-free Bell test with entangled photons. In the randomness analysis, without the independent identical distribution assumption, we consider the worst case scenario that the adversary launches the most powerful attacks against the quantum adversary. After considering statistical fluctuations and applying an 80  Gb×45.6  Mb Toeplitz matrix hashing, we achieve a final random bit rate of 114  bits/s, with a failure probability less than 10^{-5}. This marks a critical step towards realistic applications in cryptography and fundamental physics tests.

The cosmic microwave background radiation power spectrum as a random bit generator for symmetric- and asymmetric-key cryptography

In this note, the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) Radiation is shown to be capable of functioning as a Random Bit Generator, and constitutes an effectively infinite supply of truly random one-time pad values of arbitrary length. It is further argued that the CMB power spectrum potentially conforms to the FIPS 140-2 standard. Additionally, its applicability to the generation of a (n × n) random key matrix for a Vernam cipher is established.