arXiv subjects

Vatshal Srivastav

Publications and source records attributed to Vatshal Srivastav.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Robust One-Sided Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution via High-Dimensional Steering

Quantum key distribution (QKD) brings the promise of communication with information-theoretic security but is limited in practice due to its susceptibility to noise, losses, and device imperfections. To address these challenges, we propose a robust high-dimensional (HD) one-sided device-independent QKD (1sDI-QKD) protocol and present a proof-of-principle experimental implementation using photons entangled in the transverse-spatial degree-of-freedom. We develop a systematic security analysis of HD 1sDI-QKD protocols, leveraging quantum steering to certify security, and evaluate achievable secret key rates for different measurement configurations and system dimensions using reverse reconciliation. Our analysis shows that increasing the dimension enhances robustness against both noise and loss. We then demonstrate the key experimental building blocks required for implementing the protocol: (a) a high-quality source of high-dimensional photonic entanglement, and (b) a fully programmable, high-dimensional multi-outcome measurement device operating in up to dimension 11. Using these components, we obtain positive key rates for all investigated dimensions under the fair-sampling assumption, with the highest key rates achieved for dimension d=7. Finally, we discuss the steps required for a practical, loophole-free implementation of 1sDI-QKD in realistic regimes of loss and noise.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Programming Quantum Measurements of Time inside a Complex Medium

The temporal degree-of-freedom of light is incredibly powerful for modern quantum technologies, enabling large-scale quantum computing architectures and record key-rates in quantum key distribution. However, the generalized measurement of large and complex quantum superpositions of the time-of-arrival of a photon remains a unique experimental challenge. Conventional methods based on unbalanced Franson-type interferometers scale poorly with dimension, requiring multiple cascaded devices and active phase stabilization. In addition, these are limited by construction to a restricted set of phase-only superposition measurements. Here we show how the coupling of spatial and temporal information inside a single multi-mode fiber can be harnessed to program completely generalized measurements for high-dimensional superpositions of photonic time-bin. Using the multi-spectral transmission matrix of the fiber, we find special sets of spatial modes that experience distinct dispersive delays through the fiber. By exciting coherent superpositions of these spatial modes, we engineer the equivalent of large, unbalanced multi-mode interferometers inside the fiber and use them to perform high-quality measurements of arbitrary time-bin superpositions in up to dimension 11. The single fiber functions as a scalable, common-path interferometer for time-bin qudits that significantly eases the experimental overheads of standard approaches based on unbalanced Franson-type interferometers, serving as an essential tool for quantum technologies that harness the temporal properties of light.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Certifying high-dimensional quantum channels

The use of high-dimensional systems for quantum communication opens interesting perspectives, such as increased information capacity and noise resilience. In this context, it is crucial to certify that a given quantum channel can reliably transmit high-dimensional quantum information. Here we develop efficient methods for the characterization of high-dimensional quantum channels. We first present a notion of dimensionality of quantum channels, and develop efficient certification methods for this quantity. We consider a simple prepare-and-measure setup, and provide witnesses for both a fully and a partially trusted scenario. In turn we apply these methods to a photonic experiment and certify dimensionalities up to 59 for a commercial graded-index multi-mode optical fiber. Moreover, we present extensive numerical simulations of the experiment, providing an accurate noise model for the fiber and exploring the potential of more sophisticated witnesses. Our work demonstrates the efficient characterization of high-dimensional quantum channels, a key ingredient for future quantum communication technologies.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Unveiling the non-Abelian statistics of $D(S_3)$ anyons via photonic simulation

Simulators can realise novel phenomena by separating them from the complexities of a full physical implementation. Here we put forward a scheme that can simulate the exotic statistics of $D(S_3)$ non-Abelian anyons with minimal resources. The qudit lattice representation of this planar code supports local encoding of $D(S_3)$ anyons. As a proof-of-principle demonstration we employ a photonic simulator to encode a single qutrit and manipulate it to perform the fusion and braiding properties of non-Abelian $D(S_3)$ anyons. The photonic technology allows us to perform the required non-unitary operations with much higher fidelity than what can be achieved with current quantum computers. Our approach can be directly generalised to larger systems or to different anyonic models, thus enabling advances in the exploration of quantum error correction and fundamental physics alike.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Noise-Robust and Loss-Tolerant Quantum Steering with Qudits

A primary requirement for a robust and unconditionally secure quantum network is the establishment of quantum nonlocal correlations over a realistic channel. While loophole-free tests of Bell nonlocality allow for entanglement certification in such a device-independent setting, they are extremely sensitive to loss and noise, which naturally arise in any practical communication scenario. Quantum steering relaxes the strict technological constraints of Bell nonlocality by re-framing it in an asymmetric manner, thus providing the basis for one-sided device-independent quantum networks that can operate under realistic conditions. Here we introduce a noise-robust and loss-tolerant test of quantum steering designed for single detector measurements that harnesses the advantages of high-dimensional entanglement. We showcase the improvements over qubit-based systems by experimentally demonstrating detection loophole-free quantum steering in 53 dimensions through simultaneous loss and noise conditions corresponding to 14.2 dB loss equivalent to 79 km of telecommunication fibre, and 36% of white noise. We go on to show how the use of high dimensions counter-intuitively leads to a dramatic reduction in total measurement time, enabling a quantum steering violation almost two orders of magnitude faster obtained by simply doubling the Hilbert space dimension. By surpassing the constraints imposed upon the device-independent distribution of entanglement, our loss-tolerant, noise-robust, and resource-efficient demonstration of quantum steering proves itself a critical ingredient for making device-independent quantum communication over long distances a reality.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Characterising and Tailoring Spatial Correlations in Multi-Mode Parametric Downconversion

Photons entangled in their position-momentum degrees of freedom (DoFs) serve as an elegant manifestation of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox, while also enhancing quantum technologies for communication, imaging, and computation. The multi-mode nature of photons generated in parametric downconversion has inspired a new generation of experiments on high-dimensional entanglement, ranging from complete quantum state teleportation to exotic multi-partite entanglement. However, precise characterisation of the underlying position-momentum state is notoriously difficult due to limitations in detector technology, resulting in a slow and inaccurate reconstruction riddled with noise. Furthermore, theoretical models for the generated two-photon state often forgo the importance of the measurement system, resulting in a discrepancy between theory and experiment. Here we formalise a description of the two-photon wavefunction in the spatial domain, referred to as the collected joint-transverse-momentum-amplitude (JTMA), which incorporates both the generation and measurement system involved. We go on to propose and demonstrate a practical and efficient method to accurately reconstruct the collected JTMA using a simple phase-step scan known as the $2Dπ$-measurement. Finally, we discuss how precise knowledge of the collected JTMA enables us to generate tailored high-dimensional entangled states that maximise discrete-variable entanglement measures such as entanglement-of-formation or entanglement dimensionality, and optimise critical experimental parameters such as photon heralding efficiency. By accurately and efficiently characterising photonic position-momentum entanglement, our results unlock its full potential for discrete-variable quantum information science and lay the groundwork for future quantum technologies based on multi-mode entanglement.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Entangled ripples and twists of light: Radial and azimuthal Laguerre-Gaussian mode entanglement

It is well known that photons can carry a spatial structure akin to a "twisted" or "rippled" wavefront. Such structured light fields have sparked significant interest in both classical and quantum physics, with applications ranging from dense communications to light-matter interaction. Harnessing the full advantage of transverse spatial photonic encoding using the Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) basis in the quantum domain requires control over both the azimuthal (twisted) and radial (rippled) components of photons. However, precise measurement of the radial photonic degree-of-freedom has proven to be experimentally challenging primarily due to its transverse amplitude structure. Here we demonstrate the generation and certification of full-field Laguerre-Gaussian entanglement between photons pairs generated by spontaneous parametric down-conversion in the telecom regime. By precisely tuning the optical system parameters for state generation and collection, and adopting recently developed techniques for precise spatial mode measurement, we are able to certify fidelities up to 85% and entanglement dimensionalities up to 26 in a 43-dimensional radial and azimuthal LG mode space. Furthermore, we study two-photon quantum correlations between 9 LG mode groups, demonstrating a correlation structure related to mode group order and inter-modal cross-talk. In addition, we show how the noise-robustness of high-dimensional entanglement certification can be significantly increased by using measurements in multiple LG mutually unbiased bases. Our work demonstrates the potential offered by the full spatial structure of the two-photon field for enhancing technologies for quantum information processing and communication.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Genuine high-dimensional quantum steering

High-dimensional quantum entanglement can give rise to stronger forms of nonlocal correlations compared to qubit systems, offering significant advantages for quantum information processing. Certifying these stronger correlations, however, remains an important challenge, in particular in an experimental setting. Here we theoretically formalise and experimentally demonstrate a notion of genuine high-dimensional quantum steering. We show that high-dimensional entanglement, as quantified by the Schmidt number, can lead to a stronger form of steering, provably impossible to obtain via entanglement in lower dimensions. Exploiting the connection between steering and incompatibility of quantum measurements, we derive simple two-setting steering inequalities, the violation of which guarantees the presence of genuine high-dimensional steering, and hence certifies a lower bound on the Schmidt number in a one-sided device-independent setting. We report the experimental violation of these inequalities using macro-pixel photon-pair entanglement certifying genuine high-dimensional steering. In particular, using an entangled state in dimension $d=31$, our data certifies a minimum Schmidt number of $n=15$.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

High-Dimensional Pixel Entanglement: Efficient Generation and Certification

Photons offer the potential to carry large amounts of information in their spectral, spatial, and polarisation degrees of freedom. While state-of-the-art classical communication systems routinely aim to maximize this information-carrying capacity via wavelength and spatial-mode division multiplexing, quantum systems based on multi-mode entanglement usually suffer from low state quality, long measurement times, and limited encoding capacity. At the same time, entanglement certification methods often rely on assumptions that compromise security. Here we show the certification of photonic high-dimensional entanglement in the transverse position-momentum degree-of-freedom with a record quality, measurement speed, and entanglement dimensionality, without making any assumptions about the state or channels. Using a tailored macro-pixel basis, precise spatial-mode measurements, and a modified entanglement witness, we demonstrate state fidelities of up to 94.4% in a 19-dimensional state-space, entanglement in up to 55 local dimensions, and an entanglement-of-formation of up to 4 ebits. Furthermore, our measurement times show an improvement of more than two orders of magnitude over previous state-of-the-art demonstrations. Our results pave the way for noise-robust quantum networks that saturate the information-carrying capacity of single photons.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Dynamical Quantum Phase Transitions in Extended Toric-Code Models

We study the nonequilibrium dynamics of the extended toric code model (both ordered and disordered) to probe the existence of the dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs). We show that in the case of the ordered toric code model, the zeros of Loschmidt overlap (generalized partition function) occur at critical times when DQPTs occur, which is confirmed by the nonanalyticities in the dynamical counter-part of the free-energy density. Moreover, we show that DQPTs occur for any non-zero field strength if the initial state is the excited state of the toric code model. In the disordered case, we show that it is imperative to study the behavior of the first time derivative of the dynamical free-energy density averaged over all the possible configurations, to characterize the occurrence of a DQPTs in the disordered toric code model since the disorder parameter itself acts as a new artificial dimension. We also show that for the case where anyonic excitations are present in the initial state, the conditions for a DQPTs to occur are the same as what happens in the absence of any excitation.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗