arXiv subjects

Jack Postlewaite

Publications and source records attributed to Jack Postlewaite.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Quantum-enhanced physical-layer threat detection in metropolitan-scale fiber networks

Network security is widely recognized as a key application of quantum technology. However, its large-scale deployment is hindered by the need for tight coordination between fundamentally different quantum and classical processing steps in conventional protocols. This requirement introduces strong cross-layer interdependencies that conflict with the modular, layered architectures enabling scalability in modern communication networks. Here, we present an alternative strategy that confines all quantum interventions to the physical layer and remains transparently compatible with existing network abstractions. This is achieved by directly embedding quantum features and classical information within the same optical field using bright squeezed light. Physical-layer signals are analyzed using a cumulative sum (CUSUM) method to enable quantum-enhanced threat detection. We validate the practicality of this approach through field deployment over a metropolitan-scale fiber network and further demonstrate network-level security functionalities enabled by physical-layer quantum-enhanced thread detection. These results establish a practical, scalable framework for seamlessly integrating quantum-enhanced security into large-scale communication infrastructure.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Zero-added-loss entanglement multiplexing using time-bin spectral shearing

High-quality quantum communications that enable important capabilities, such as distributed quantum computing and sensing, will require quantum repeaters for providing high-quality entanglement. To realize high-rate heralded entanglement for quantum repeaters, Chen et al. [Phys. Rev. Appl. 19, 054209 (2023)] proposed a scheme for heralded-multiplexed generation of quasi-deterministic entangled photon pairs, called zero-added-loss multiplexing (ZALM). Here, we propose a design of ZALM source using time-bin entanglement and spectral shearing. Additionally, we provide an analysis of experimentally relevant spectral-shearing parameters to optimize the spectral multiplexing. Moreover, we experimentally verify the compatibility of time-bin pulses and spectral shearing, as supported by observation of no appreciable phase shift when the same shearing is applied to both time bins. These results expand the benefits of applying a ZALM source to time-bin entanglement use cases. Moreover, more fully demonstrating time-bin and spectral shearing compatibility clears a path towards a broader use of spectral shearing that provides a deterministic frequency shift of high utility.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Hardware-Efficient Universal Linear Transformations for Optical Modes in the Synthetic Time Dimension

Recent progress in photonic information processing has spurred strong demand in scalable and reconfigurable photonic circuitry. Conventional spatially-meshed multi-port interferometers require a number of components growing quadratically with the system size, posing a fundamental scaling challenge ahead. Here, we introduce a hardware-efficient synthetic time-domain photonic processor that achieves at least an exponential reduction in hardware component count for implementing arbitrary linear transformations. The processor's dynamic connectivity allows systematic pruning, minimizing optical loss while preserving all-to-all connectivity. We benchmark our architecture on the task of boosted Bell state measurements -- a protocol essential for linear optical quantum computation, and show that it exceeds thresholds for universal cluster-state quantum computation under realistic hardware constraints. We link the device performance to the geometry of multi-photon transport, showing that localization effects from redundant, imperfect hardware may enhance robustness to coherent errors. Our design establishes a practical pathway toward near-term, scalable, and reconfigurable photonic processors in the synthetic time dimension.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Superadditive Communication with the Green Machine: A Practical Demonstration of Nonlocality without Entanglement

Achieving the ultimate Holevo limit of optical communication capacity requires a joint-detection receiver which makes a collective quantum measurement over multiple modulated symbols. Such superadditivity -- a higher communication rate than that achievable by symbol-by-symbol optical detection -- is a special case of the well-known nonlocality without entanglement and has yet to be demonstrated. In this article, we propose and demonstrate a design of joint-detection receivers, the Green Machine, that can achieve superadditivity. We build this receiver and show that its capacity surpasses any symbol-by-symbol receivers in the photon-starved regime with binary-phase-shift-keying (BPSK). Our Green Machine receiver can also significantly reduce the transmitter peak power requirement compared with the pulse-position modulation (the conventional modulation format used for deep space laser communication). We further show that the self-referenced phase makes it immune to phase noise, e.g., atmospheric turbulence or platform vibrations.

quant-ph↗