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Measurement-device-independent continuous variable semi-quantum key distribution protocol

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Abstract

Aiming at the high cost of quantum equipment and the difficulty of preparing discrete variable quantum states, a measurement-device-independent continuous variable semi-quantum key distribution (MDI-CV-SQKD) protocol is proposed. We, respectively, give the prepared-measure model and the entanglement-based (EB) model of the MDI-CV-SQKD protocol. Based on the EB model, we analyze the secret key rate and other performance of the protocol and perform numerical simulations. Then we analyze the amount of information transmitted by the channel under different attacks. As long as the channel parameters meet certain conditions, secure communication can be carried out. Through parameter adjustment, the solution can achieve the maximum secret key rate. The protocol has the advantages of easy preparation of continuous variables quantum states, low cost of semi-quantum user equipment, and high utilization of full quantum users. It also has characteristics such as the unconditional security of the full quantum protocol, the resistance to the detector side-channel attack of the measurement-device-independent protocol, and the extension of the transmission distance. Therefore, this protocol has important practical value.

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All data and models generated or used during the study appear in the submitted article.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 62071015) and Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission (Project No. Z191100007119004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Information Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China

    Yi-Hua Zhou, Shu-Fen Qin, Wei-Min Shi & Yu-Guang Yang

  2. Beijing Key Laboratory of Trusted Computing, Beijing, 100124, China

    Yi-Hua Zhou, Shu-Fen Qin, Wei-Min Shi & Yu-Guang Yang

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  1. Yi-Hua Zhou
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Y-HZ,·S-FQ,·W-MS, and Y-GY. The first draft of the manuscript was written by SFQ, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Shu-Fen Qin.

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Zhou, YH., Qin, SF., Shi, WM. et al. Measurement-device-independent continuous variable semi-quantum key distribution protocol. Quantum Inf Process 21, 303 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11128-022-03626-2

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