arXiv subjects

Soon Xin Ng

Publications and source records attributed to Soon Xin Ng.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Technical Report OFDM-Assisted Simultaneous Quantum and Classical THz Communications

The feasibility of cost-effective simultaneous quantum and classical communication (SQCC) transmitting both the quantum key and classical information via a superimposed coherent state is investigated both in optical and Terahertz (THz) bands. Since the existing THz SQCC schemes assume single-carrier (SC) transmission over flat fading channels, we embark on investigating SQCC in realistic frequency-selective multipath THz fading channels. We then propose an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) based SQCC system for time-invariant frequency-selective THz scenarios, supported by low-density parity-check coded (LDPC) multidimensional QKD reconciliation schemes. Our simulation results demonstrate that the OFDM-based SQCC scheme is capable of achieving a practical secret key rate (SKR) over a wide range of power sharing scenarios between the classical and quantum signals. By contrast its single-carrier counterpart requires the classical signal to be at least 100 times stronger than the quantum signal in THz SQCC.

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arXiv2024

The Evolution of Quantum Secure Direct Communication: On the Road to the Qinternet

Communication security has to evolve to a higher plane in the face of the threat from the massive computing power of the emerging quantum computers. Quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) constitutes a promising branch of quantum communication, which is provably secure and overcomes the threat of quantum computing, whilst conveying secret messages directly via the quantum channel. In this survey, we highlight the motivation and the status of QSDC research with special emphasis on its theoretical basis and experimental verification. We will detail the associated point-to-point communication protocols and show how information is protected and transmitted. Finally, we discuss the open challenges as well as the future trends of QSDC networks, emphasizing again that QSDC is not a pure quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol, but a fully-fledged secure communication scheme.

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arXiv2024

Quantum Information Processing, Sensing and Communications: Their Myths, Realities and Futures

The recent advances in quantum information processing, sensing and communications are surveyed with the objective of identifying the associated knowledge gaps and formulating a roadmap for their future evolution. Since the operation of quantum systems is prone to the deleterious effects of decoherence, which manifests itself in terms of bit-flips, phase-flips or both, the pivotal subject of quantum error mitigation is reviewed both in the presence and absence of quantum coding. The state-of-the-art, knowledge gaps and future evolution of quantum machine learning are also discussed, followed by a discourse on quantum radar systems and briefly hypothesizing about the feasibility of integrated sensing and communications in the quantum domain. Finally, we conclude with a set of promising future research ideas in the field of ultimately secure quantum communications with the objective of harnessing ideas from the classical communications field.

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arXiv2024

The Road to Near-Capacity CV-QKD Reconciliation: An FEC-Agnostic Design

New near-capacity continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) reconciliation schemes are proposed, where both the authenticated classical channel (ClC) and the quantum channel (QuC) for QKD are protected by separate forward error correction (FEC) coding schemes. More explicitly, a new codeword-based - rather than syndrome-based - QKD reconciliation scheme is proposed, where Alice sends an FEC-protected codeword to Bob through a ClC, while Bob sends a separate FEC protected codeword to Alice through a QuC. Upon decoding the codeword received from the other side, the final key is obtained by applying a simple modulo-2 operation to the local codeword and the decoded remote codeword. As a result, first of all, the proposed codeword-based QKD reconciliation system ensures protection of both the QuC and of the ClC. Secondly, the proposed system has a similar complexity at both sides, where both Alice and Bob have an FEC encoder and an FEC decoder. Thirdly, the proposed system makes QKD reconciliation compatible with a wide range of FEC schemes, including polar codes, CCs and irregular convolutional codes (IRCCs), where a near-capacity performance can be achieved for both the QuC and for the ClC.Our simulation results demonstrate that thanks to the proposed regime, the performance improvements of the QuC and of the ClC benefit each other, hence leading to an improved secret key rate (SKR) that inches closer to both the Pirandola-Laurenza-Ottaviani-Banchi (PLOB) bound and to the maximum achieveable rate bound.

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arXiv2022

Circuit Symmetry Verification Mitigates Quantum-Domain Impairments

State-of-the-art noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers require low-complexity techniques for the mitigation of computational errors inflicted by quantum decoherence. Symmetry verification constitutes a class of quantum error mitigation (QEM) techniques, which distinguishes erroneous computational results from the correct ones by exploiting the intrinsic symmetry of the computational tasks themselves. Inspired by the benefits of quantum switch in the quantum communication theory, we propose beneficial techniques for circuit-oriented symmetry verification that are capable of verifying the commutativity of quantum circuits without the knowledge of the quantum state. In particular, we propose the spatio-temporal stabilizer (STS) technique, which generalizes the conventional quantum-domain stabilizer formalism to circuit-oriented stabilizers. The applicability and implementational strategies of the proposed techniques are demonstrated by using practical quantum algorithms, including the quantum Fourier transform (QFT) and the quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA).

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arXiv2022

Multiple-Objective Packet Routing Optimization for Aeronautical ad-hoc Networks

Providing Internet service above the clouds is of ever-increasing interest and in this context aeronautical {\it{ad-hoc}} networking (AANET) constitutes a promising solution. However, the optimization of packet routing in large ad hoc networks is quite challenging. In this paper, we develop a discrete $ε$ multi-objective genetic algorithm ($ε$-DMOGA) for jointly optimizing the end-to-end latency, the end-to-end spectral efficiency (SE), and the path expiration time (PET) that specifies how long the routing path can be relied on without re-optimizing the path. More specifically, a distance-based adaptive coding and modulation (ACM) scheme specifically designed for aeronautical communications is exploited for quantifying each link's achievable SE. Furthermore, the queueing delay at each node is also incorporated into the multiple-objective optimization metric. Our $ε$-DMOGA assisted multiple-objective routing optimization is validated by real historical flight data collected over the Australian airspace on two selected representative dates.

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arXiv2022

Dual-Frequency Quantum Phase Estimation Mitigates the Spectral Leakage of Quantum Algorithms

Quantum phase estimation is an important component in diverse quantum algorithms. However, it suffers from spectral leakage, when the reciprocal of the record length is not an integer multiple of the unknown phase, which incurs an accuracy degradation. For the existing single-sample estimation scheme, window-based methods have been proposed for spectral leakage mitigation. As a further advance, we propose a dual-frequency estimator, which asymptotically approaches the Cramer-Rao bound, when multiple samples are available. Numerical results show that the proposed estimator outperforms the existing window-based methods, when the number of samples is sufficiently high.

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arXiv2022

The Accuracy vs. Sampling Overhead Trade-off in Quantum Error Mitigation Using Monte Carlo-Based Channel Inversion

Quantum error mitigation (QEM) is a class of promising techniques for reducing the computational error of variational quantum algorithms. In general, the computational error reduction comes at the cost of a sampling overhead due to the variance-boosting effect caused by the channel inversion operation, which ultimately limits the applicability of QEM. Existing sampling overhead analysis of QEM typically assumes exact channel inversion, which is unrealistic in practical scenarios. In this treatise, we consider a practical channel inversion strategy based on Monte Carlo sampling, which introduces additional computational error that in turn may be eliminated at the cost of an extra sampling overhead. In particular, we show that when the computational error is small compared to the dynamic range of the error-free results, it scales with the square root of the number of gates. By contrast, the error exhibits a linear scaling with the number of gates in the absence of QEM under the same assumptions. Hence, the error scaling of QEM remains to be preferable even without the extra sampling overhead. Our analytical results are accompanied by numerical examples.

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arXiv2021

Experimental Characterization of Fault-Tolerant Circuits in Small-Scale Quantum Processors

Experiments conducted on open-access cloud-based IBM Quantum devices are presented for characterizing their fault tolerance using $[4,2,2]$-encoded gate sequences. Up to 100 logical gates are activated in the IBMQ Bogota and IBMQ Santiago devices and we found that a $[4,2,2]$ code's logical gate set may be deemed fault-tolerant for gate sequences larger than 10 gates. However, certain circuits did not satisfy the fault tolerance criterion. In some cases, the encoded-gate sequences show a high error rate that is lower bounded at $\approx 0.1$, whereby the error inherent in these circuits cannot be mitigated by classical post-selection. A comparison of the experimental results to a simple error model reveals that the dominant gate errors cannot be readily represented by the popular Pauli error model. Finally, it is most accurate to assess the fault tolerance criterion when the circuits tested are restricted to those that give rise to an output state with a low dimension.

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arXiv2021

Quantum Error Mitigation Relying on Permutation Filtering

Quantum error mitigation (QEM) is a class of promising techniques capable of reducing the computational error of variational quantum algorithms tailored for current noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers. The recently proposed permutation-based methods are practically attractive, since they do not rely on any a priori information concerning the quantum channels. In this treatise, we propose a general framework termed as permutation filters, which includes the existing permutation-based methods as special cases. In particular, we show that the proposed filter design algorithm always converge to the global optimum, and that the optimal filters can provide substantial improvements over the existing permutation-based methods in the presence of narrowband quantum noise, corresponding to large-depth, high-error-rate quantum circuits.

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arXiv2021

Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm Based Maximum Likelihood Detection

Recent advances in quantum technologies pave the way for noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices, where quantum approximation optimization algorithms (QAOAs) constitute promising candidates for demonstrating tangible quantum advantages based on NISQ devices. In this paper, we consider the maximum likelihood (ML) detection problem of binary symbols transmitted over a multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) channel, where finding the optimal solution is exponentially hard using classical computers. Here, we apply the QAOA for the ML detection by encoding the problem of interest into a level-p QAOA circuit having 2p variational parameters, which can be optimized by classical optimizers. This level-p QAOA circuit is constructed by applying the prepared Hamiltonian to our problem and the initial Hamiltonian alternately in p consecutive rounds. More explicitly, we first encode the optimal solution of the ML detection problem into the ground state of a problem Hamiltonian. Using the quantum adiabatic evolution technique, we provide both analytical and numerical results for characterizing the evolution of the eigenvalues of the quantum system used for ML detection. Then, for level-1 QAOA circuits, we derive the analytical expressions of the expectation values of the QAOA and discuss the complexity of the QAOA based ML detector. Explicitly, we evaluate the computational complexity of the classical optimizer used and the storage requirement of simulating the QAOA. Finally, we evaluate the bit error rate (BER) of the QAOA based ML detector and compare it both to the classical ML detector and to the classical MMSE detector, demonstrating that the QAOA based ML detector is capable of approaching the performance of the classical ML detector. This paves the way for a host of large-scale classical optimization problems to be solved by NISQ computers.

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arXiv2020

Sampling Overhead Analysis of Quantum Error Mitigation: Uncoded vs. Coded Systems

Quantum error mitigation (QEM) is a promising technique of protecting hybrid quantum-classical computation from decoherence, but it suffers from sampling overhead which erodes the computational speed. In this treatise, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the sampling overhead imposed by QEM. In particular, we show that Pauli errors incur the lowest sampling overhead among a large class of realistic quantum channels having the same average fidelity. Furthermore, we show that depolarizing errors incur the lowest sampling overhead among all kinds of Pauli errors. Additionally, we conceive a scheme amalgamating QEM with quantum channel coding, and analyse its sampling overhead reduction compared to pure QEM. Especially, we observe that there exist a critical number of gates contained in quantum circuits, beyond which their amalgamation is preferable to pure QEM.

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arXiv2020

Minimum-Delay Routing for Integrated Aeronautical Ad Hoc Networks Relying on Passenger-Planes in the North-Atlantic Region

Relying on multi-hop communication techniques, aeronautical ad hoc networks (AANETs) seamlessly integrate ground base stations (BSs) and satellites into aircraft communications for enhancing the on-demand connectivity of planes in the air. In this integrated AANET context we investigate the shortest-path routing problem with the objective of minimizing the total delay of the in-flight connection from the ground BS subject to certain minimum-rate constraints for all selected links in support of low-latency and high-speed services. Inspired by the best-first search and priority queue concepts, we model the problem formulated by a weighted digraph and find the optimal route based on the shortest-path algorithm. Our simulation results demonstrate that aircraft-aided multi-hop communications are capable of reducing the total delay of satellite communications, when relying on real historical flight data.

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arXiv2020

Hybrid Transceiver Optimization for Multi-Hop Communications

Multi-hop communication with the aid of large-scale antenna arrays will play a vital role in future emergence communication systems. In this paper, we investigate amplify-and-forward based and multiple-input multiple-output assisted multi-hop communication, in which all nodes employ hybrid transceivers. Moreover, channel errors are taken into account in our hybrid transceiver design. Based on the matrix-monotonic optimization framework, the optimal structures of the robust hybrid transceivers are derived. By utilizing these optimal structures, the optimizations of analog transceivers and digital transceivers can be separated without loss of optimality. This fact greatly simplifies the joint optimization of analog and digital transceivers. Since the optimization of analog transceivers under unit-modulus constraints is non-convex, a projection type algorithm is proposed for analog transceiver optimization to overcome this difficulty. Based on the derived analog transceivers, the optimal digital transceivers can then be derived using matrix-monotonic optimization. Numeral results obtained demonstrate the performance advantages of the proposed hybrid transceiver designs over other existing solutions.

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arXiv2019

Polar Codes and Their Quantum-Domain Counterparts

Arikan's polar codes are capable of achieving the Shannon's capacity at a low encoding and decoding complexity, while inherently supporting rate adaptation. By virtue of these attractive features, polar codes have provided fierce competition to both the turbo as well as the Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes, making its way into the 5G New Radio (NR). Realizing the significance of polar codes, in this paper we provide a comprehensive survey of polar codes, highlighting the major milestones achieved in the last decade. Furthermore, we also provide tutorial insights into the polar encoder, decoders as well as the code construction methods. We also extend our discussions to quantum polar codes with an emphasis on the underlying quantum-to-classical isomorphism and the syndrome-based quantum polar codes.

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arXiv2019

Near-Hashing-Bound Multiple-Rate Quantum Turbo Short-Block Codes

Quantum stabilizer codes (QSCs) suffer from a low quantum coding rate, since they have to recover the quantum bits (qubits) in the face of both bit-flip and phase-flip errors. In this treatise, we conceive a low-complexity concatenated quantum turbo code (QTC) design exhibiting a high quantum coding rate. The high quantum coding rate is achieved by combining the quantum-domain version of short-block codes (SBCs) also known as single parity check (SPC) codes as the outer codes and quantum unity-rate codes (QURCs) as the inner codes. Despite its design simplicity, the proposed QTC yields a near-hashing-bound error correction performance. For instance, compared to the best half-rate QTC known in the literature, namely the QIrCC-QURC scheme, which operates at the distance of $D = 0.037$ from the quantum hashing bound, our novel QSBC-QURC scheme can operate at the distance of $D = 0.029$. It is worth also mentioning that this is the first instantiation of QTCs capable of adjusting the quantum encoders according to the quantum coding rate required for mitigating the Pauli errors given the different depolarizing probabilities of the quantum channel.

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arXiv2018

Unified Framework of KKT Conditions Based Matrix Optimizations for MIMO Communications

For multi-input multi-output (MIMO) communication systems, many transceiver design problems involve the optimization of the covariance matrices of the transmitted signals. The derivation of the optimal solutions based on Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions is a most popular method, and many results have been reported for different scenarios of MIMO systems. In this overview paper, we propose a unified framework in formulating the KKT conditions for general MIMO systems. Based on this framework, the optimal water-filling structures of the transmission covariance matrices are derived rigorously, which are applicable to a wide range of MIMO systems. Our results show that for seemingly different MIMO systems with various power constraints and objective functions, the derivations and water-filling structures for the optimal covariance matrix solutions are fundamentally the same. Thus, our unified framework and solution reveal the underlying relationships among the different water-filling structures of the covariance matrices. Furthermore, our results provide new solutions to the covariance matrix optimization of many complicated MIMO systems with multiple users and imperfect channel state information which were unknown before.

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arXiv2018

Quantum-aided Multi-Objective Routing Optimization Using Back-Tracing-Aided Dynamic Programming

Pareto optimality is capable of striking the optimal trade-off amongst the diverse conflicting QoS requirements of routing in wireless multihop networks. However, this comes at the cost of increased complexity owing to searching through the extended multi-objective search-space. We will demonstrate that the powerful quantum-assisted dynamic programming optimization framework is capable of circumventing this problem. In this context, the so-called Evolutionary Quantum Pareto Optimization (EQPO) algorithm has been proposed, which is capable of identifying most of the optimal routes at a near-polynomial complexity versus the number of nodes. As a benefit, we improve both the the EQPO algorithm by introducing a back-tracing process. We also demonstrate that the improved algorithm, namely the Back-Tracing-Aided EQPO (BTA-EQPO) algorithm, imposes a negligible complexity overhead, while substantially improving our performance metrics, namely the relative frequency of finding all Pareto-optimal solutions and the probability that the Pareto-optimal solutions are indeed part of the optimal Pareto front

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