arXiv subjects

Yanbao Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Yanbao Zhang.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

An efficient method for spot-checking quantum properties with sequential trials

In practical situations, the reliability of quantum resources can be compromised due to complex generation processes or adversarial manipulations during transmission. Consequently, the trials generated sequentially in an experiment may exhibit non-independent and non-identically distributed (non-i.i.d.) behavior. This non-i.i.d. behavior can introduce security concerns and result in faulty estimates when performing information tasks such as quantum key distribution, self-testing, verifiable quantum computation, and resource allocation in quantum networks. To certify the performance of such tasks, one can make a random decision in each trial, either spot-checking some desired property or utilizing the quantum resource for the given task. However, a general method for certification with a sequence of non-i.i.d. spot-checking trials is still missing. Here, we develop such a method. This method not only works efficiently with a finite number of trials but also yields asymptotically tight certificates of performance. Our analysis shows that even as the total number of trials approaches infinity, only a constant number of trials needs to be spot-checked on average to certify the average performance of the remaining trials at a specified confidence level.

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arXiv2026

Quantum Position Verification with Remote Untrusted Devices

Position information underpins many modern technologies, from navigation and timing to authentication and critical infrastructure. However, classical methods of proving that information originates from a particular position are vulnerable to spoofing. This limitation can be overcome with quantum technologies but current protocols rely on trust in quantum hardware that can be undermined, or require quantum computers and bounds on adversarial computation. Nevertheless, there has been significant interest in experimental demonstrations, and aspects of these protocols have been implemented. Here we introduce and experimentally demonstrate the Bell-test quantum position verification protocol for device-independent quantum position verification that guarantees security with only observed correlations from a loophole-free Bell test across a quantum network. We experimentally implement a version of this device-independent protocol against adversaries who, before each trial, are weakly entangled. Our demonstration achieves a one-dimensional localization 2.47(2) times smaller than the best, necessarily non-remote, classical localization protocol. Compared to classical protocols with identical latencies, the localization volume is 4.53(5) times smaller, and represents a certifiable quantum advantage. The general Bell-test protocol is loss tolerant and secure against adversaries with significant quantum resources. This work allows digital security to be anchored to physically trusted locations, enabling new position-based authentication protocols for applications such as financial transactions, legal agreements, and securing critical infrastructure.

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arXiv2025

Real-time heralded non-Gaussian teleportation resource-state generator

Quantum teleportation is a fundamental quantum communications primitive that requires an entangled resource state. In the continuous-variable regime, non-Gaussian entangled resources have been shown theoretically to improve teleportation fidelity compared to Gaussian squeezed vacuum. We experimentally demonstrate a heralded two-mode resource state for non-Gaussian teleportation capable of real-time use. We characterize this state with two-mode homodyne tomography showing it has fidelity $F=0.973\pm 0.005$ with the expected resource state. Real-time use is enabled by a photon-subtraction orchestrator system performing live coincidence detection and outputting low-jitter and low-latency heralding signals. Live collection of real-time quadrature measurements of photon-subtracted states is enabled by the development of a synchronized homodyne detection server, where the orchestrator system queries the server to collect the real-time quadrature samples corresponding to the heralded state. These results demonstrate significant advancement in enabling the use of heralded non-Gaussian states in quantum networking protocols, especially in the context of quantum repeaters, non-Gaussian quantum sensing, and measurement-based quantum computing.

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arXiv2024

Traceable random numbers from a nonlocal quantum advantage

The unpredictability of random numbers is fundamental to both digital security and applications that fairly distribute resources. However, existing random number generators have limitations-the generation processes cannot be fully traced, audited, and certified to be unpredictable. The algorithmic steps used in pseudorandom number generators are auditable, but they cannot guarantee that their outputs were a priori unpredictable given knowledge of the initial seed. Device-independent quantum random number generators can ensure that the source of randomness was unknown beforehand, but the steps used to extract the randomness are vulnerable to tampering. Here, for the first time, we demonstrate a fully traceable random number generation protocol based on device-independent techniques. Our protocol extracts randomness from unpredictable non-local quantum correlations, and uses distributed intertwined hash chains to cryptographically trace and verify the extraction process. This protocol is at the heart of a public traceable and certifiable quantum randomness beacon that we have launched. Over the first 40 days of operation, we completed the protocol 7434 out of 7454 attempts -- a success rate of 99.7%. Each time the protocol succeeded, the beacon emitted a pulse of 512 bits of traceable randomness. The bits are certified to be uniform with error times actual success probability bounded by $2^{-64}$. The generation of certifiable and traceable randomness represents one of the first public services that operates with an entanglement-derived advantage over comparable classical approaches.

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arXiv2023

Quantum Probability Estimation for Randomness with Quantum Side Information

We develop a quantum version of the probability estimation framework [arXiv:1709.06159] for randomness generation with quantum side information. We show that most of the properties of probability estimation hold for quantum probability estimation (QPE). This includes asymptotic optimality at constant error and randomness expansion with logarithmic input entropy. QPE is implemented by constructing model-dependent quantum estimation factors (QEFs), which yield statistical confidence upper bounds on data-conditional normalized Rényi powers. This leads to conditional min-entropy estimates for randomness generation. The bounds are valid for relevant models of sequences of experimental trials without requiring independent and identical or stationary behavior. QEFs may be adapted to changing conditions during the sequence and trials can be stopped any time, such as when the results so far are satisfactory. QEFs can be constructed from entropy estimators to improve the bounds for conditional min-entropy of classical-quantum states from the entropy accumulation framework [Dupuis, Fawzi and Renner, arXiv:1607.01796]. QEFs are applicable to a larger class of models, including models permitting experimental devices with super-quantum but non-signaling behaviors and semi-device dependent models. The improved bounds are relevant for finite data or error bounds of the form $e^{-κs}$, where $s$ is the number of random bits produced. We give a general construction of entropy estimators based on maximum probability estimators, which exist for many configurations. For the class of $(k,2,2)$ Bell-test configurations we provide schemas for directly optimizing QEFs to overcome the limitations of entropy-estimator-based constructions. We obtain and apply QEFs for examples involving the $(2,2,2)$ Bell-test configuration to demonstrate substantial improvements in finite-data efficiency.

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arXiv2021

Device-independent Randomness Expansion with Entangled Photons

With the growing availability of experimental loophole-free Bell tests, it has become possible to implement a new class of device-independent random number generators whose output can be certified to be uniformly random without requiring a detailed model of the quantum devices used. However, all of these experiments require many input bits in order to certify a small number of output bits, and it is an outstanding challenge to develop a system that generates more randomness than is consumed. Here, we devise a device-independent spot-checking protocol that consumes only uniform bits without requiring any additional bits with a specific bias. Implemented with a photonic loophole-free Bell test, we can produce 24% more certified output bits (1,181,264,237) than consumed input bits (953,301,640). The experiment ran for 91.0 hours, creating randomness at an average rate of 3606 bits/s with a soundness error bounded by $5.7\times 10^{-7}$ in the presence of classical side information. Our system will allow for greater trust in public sources of randomness, such as randomness beacons, and may one day enable high-quality private sources of randomness as the device footprint shrinks.

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arXiv2021

Experimental Realization of Device-Independent Quantum Randomness Expansion

Randomness expansion where one generates a longer sequence of random numbers from a short one is viable in quantum mechanics but not allowed classically. Device-independent quantum randomness expansion provides a randomness resource of the highest security level. Here, we report the first experimental realization of device-independent quantum randomness expansion secure against quantum side information established through quantum probability estimation. We generate $5.47\times10^8$ quantum-proof random bits while consuming $4.39\times10^8$ bits of entropy, expanding our store of randomness by $1.08\times10^8$ bits at a latency of about $13.1$ h, with a total soundness error $4.6\times10^{-10}$. Device-independent quantum randomness expansion not only enriches our understanding of randomness but also sets a solid base to bring quantum-certifiable random bits into realistic applications.

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arXiv2021

Security proof of practical quantum key distribution with detection-efficiency mismatch

Quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols with threshold detectors are driving high-performance QKD demonstrations. The corresponding security proofs usually assume that all physical detectors have the same detection efficiency. However, the efficiencies of the detectors used in practice might show a mismatch depending on the manufacturing and setup of these detectors. A mismatch can also be induced as the different spatial-temporal modes of an incoming signal might couple differently to a detector. Here we develop a method that allows to provide security proofs without the usual assumption. Our method can take the detection-efficiency mismatch into account without having to restrict the attack strategy of the adversary. Especially, we do not rely on any photon-number cut-off of incoming signals such that our security proof is directly applicable to practical situations. We illustrate our method for a receiver that is designed for polarization encoding and is sensitive to a number of spatial-temporal modes. In our detector model, the absence of quantum interference between any pair of spatial-temporal modes is assumed. For a QKD protocol with this detector model, we can perform a security proof with characterized efficiency mismatch and without photon-number cut-off assumption. Our method also shows that in the absence of efficiency mismatch in our detector model, the key rate increases if the loss due to detection inefficiency is assumed to be outside of the adversary's control, as compared to the view where for a security proof this loss is attributed to the action of the adversary.

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arXiv2020

Tsirelson Polytopes and Randomness Generation

We classify the extreme points of a polytope of probability distributions in the (2,2,2) CHSH-Bell setting that is induced by a single Tsirelson bound. We do the same for a class of polytopes obtained from a parametrized family of multiple Tsirelson bounds interacting non-trivially. Such constructions can be applied to device-independent random number generation using the method of probability estimation factors [Phys. Rev. A, 98:040304(R), 2018]. We demonstrate a meaningful improvement in certified randomness applying the new polytopes characterized here.

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arXiv2019

Experimental Low-Latency Device-Independent Quantum Randomness

Applications of randomness such as private key generation and public randomness beacons require small blocks of certified random bits on demand. Device-independent quantum random number generators can produce such random bits, but existing quantum-proof protocols and loophole-free implementations suffer from high latency, requiring many hours to produce any random bits. We demonstrate device-independent quantum randomness generation from a loophole-free Bell test with a more efficient quantum-proof protocol, obtaining multiple blocks of $512$ bits with an average experiment time of less than $5$ min per block and with a certified error bounded by $2^{-64}\approx 5.42\times 10^{-20}$.

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arXiv2019

Eavesdropper's ability to attack a free-space quantum-key-distribution receiver in atmospheric turbulence

The ability of an eavesdropper (Eve) to perform an intercept-resend attack on a free-space quantum key distribution (QKD) receiver by precisely controlling the incidence angle of an attack laser has been previously demonstrated. However, such an attack could be ineffective in the presence of atmospheric turbulence due to beam wander and spatial mode aberrations induced by the air's varying index of refraction. We experimentally investigate the impact turbulence has on Eve's attack on a free-space polarization-encoding QKD receiver by emulating atmospheric turbulence with a spatial light modulator. Our results identify how well Eve would need to compensate for turbulence to perform a successful attack by either reducing her distance to the receiver, or using beam wavefront correction via adaptive optics. Furthermore, we use an entanglement-breaking scheme to find a theoretical limit on the turbulence strength that hinders Eve's attack.

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arXiv2019

Bounding the plausibility of physical theories in a device-independent setting via hypothesis testing

The device-independent approach to physics is one where conclusions about physical systems (and hence of Nature) are drawn directly and solely from the observed correlations between measurement outcomes. This operational approach to physics arose as a byproduct of Bell's seminal work to distinguish, via a Bell test, quantum correlations from the set of correlations allowed by local-hidden-variable theories. In practice, since one can only perform a finite number of experimental trials, deciding whether an empirical observation is compatible with some class of physical theories will have to be carried out via the task of hypothesis testing. In this paper, we show that the prediction-based-ratio method---initially developed for performing a hypothesis test of local-hidden-variable theories---can equally well be applied to test many other classes of physical theories, such as those constrained only by the nonsignaling principle, and those that are constrained to produce any of the outer approximation to the quantum set of correlations due to Navascués-Pironio-Ac\'ın. We numerically simulate Bell tests using hypothetical nonlocal sources of correlations to illustrate the applicability of the method in both the independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) scenario and the non-i.i.d. scenario. As a further application, we demonstrate how this method allows us to unveil an apparent violation of the nonsignaling conditions in certain experimental data collected in a Bell test. This, in turn, highlights the importance of the randomization of measurement settings, as well as a consistency check of the nonsignaling conditions in a Bell test.

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arXiv2018

Certifying Quantum Randomness by Probability Estimation

We introduce probability estimation, a broadly applicable framework to certify randomness in a finite sequence of measurement results without assuming that these results are independent and identically distributed. Probability estimation can take advantage of verifiable physical constraints, and the certification is with respect to classical side information. Examples include randomness from single-photon measurements and device-independent randomness from Bell tests. Advantages of probability estimation include adaptability to changing experimental conditions, unproblematic early stopping when goals are achieved, optimal randomness rates, applicability to Bell tests with small violations, and unsurpassed finite-data efficiency. We greatly reduce latencies for producing random bits and formulate an associated rate-tradeoff problem of independent interest. We also show that the latency is determined by an information-theoretic measure of nonlocality rather than the Bell violation.

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arXiv2018

Testing 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.

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arXiv2018

Device independent quantum random number generation

Randomness is critical for many information processing applications, including numerical modeling and cryptography. Device-independent quantum random number generation (DIQRNG) based on the loophole free violation of Bell inequality produces unpredictable genuine randomness without any device assumption and is therefore an ultimate goal in the field of quantum information science. However, due to formidable technical challenges, there were very few reported experimental studies of DIQRNG, which were vulnerable to the adversaries. Here we present a fully functional DIQRNG against the most general quantum adversaries. We construct a robust experimental platform that realizes Bell inequality violation with entangled photons with detection and locality loopholes closed simultaneously. This platform enables a continuous recording of a large volume of data sufficient for security analysis against the general quantum side information and without assuming independent and identical distribution. Lastly, by developing a large Toeplitz matrix (137.90 Gb $\times$ 62.469 Mb) hashing technique, we demonstrate that this DIQRNG generates $6.2469\times 10^7$ quantum-certified random bits in 96 hours (or 181 bits/s) with uniformity within $10^{-5}$. We anticipate this DIQRNG may have profound impact on the research of quantum randomness and information-secured applications.

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arXiv2018

Quantum Randomness Generation by Probability Estimation with Classical Side Information

We develop a framework for certifying randomness from Bell-test trials based on directly estimating the probability of the measurement outcomes with adaptive test supermartingales. The number of trials need not be predetermined, and one can stop performing trials early, as soon as the desired amount of randomness is extractable. It can be used with arbitrary, partially known and time-dependent probabilities for the random settings choices. Furthermore, it is suitable for application to experimental configurations with low Bell violation per trial, such as current optical loophole-free Bell tests. It is possible to adapt to time-varying experimental parameters. We formulate the framework for the general situation where the trial probability distributions are constrained to a known set. Randomness expansion with logarithmic settings entropy is possible for many relevant configurations. We implement probability estimation numerically and apply it to a representative settings-conditional probability distribution of the outcomes from an atomic loophole-free Bell test [Rosenfeld et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 119:010402 (2017), arXiv:1611.04604 (2016)] to illustrate trade-offs between the amount of randomness, error, settings entropy, unknown settings biases, and number of trials. We then show that probability estimation yields more randomness from the loophole-free Bell-test data analyzed in [Bierhorst et al., arXiv:1702.05178 (2017)] and tolerates adversarial settings probability biases.

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arXiv2018

Demonstration of analyzers for multimode photonic time-bin qubits

We demonstrate two approaches for unbalanced interferometers as time-bin qubit analyzers for quantum communication, robust against mode distortions and polarization effects as expected from free-space quantum communication systems including wavefront deformations, path fluctuations, pointing errors, and optical elements. Despite strong spatial and temporal distortions of the optical mode of a time-bin qubit, entangled with a separate polarization qubit, we verify entanglement using the Negative Partial Transpose, with the measured visibility of up to 0.85$\pm$0.01. The robustness of the analyzers is further demonstrated for various angles of incidence up to 0.2$^{\circ}$. The output of the interferometers is coupled into multimode fiber yielding a high system throughput of 0.74. Therefore, these analyzers are suitable and efficient for quantum communication over multimode optical channels.

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arXiv2018

Device-independent point estimation from finite data and its application to device-independent property estimation

The device-independent approach to physics is one where conclusions are drawn directly from the observed correlations between measurement outcomes. In quantum information, this approach allows one to make strong statements about the properties of the underlying systems or devices solely via the observation of Bell-inequality-violating correlations. However, since one can only perform a {\em finite number} of experimental trials, statistical fluctuations necessarily accompany any estimation of these correlations. Consequently, an important gap remains between the many theoretical tools developed for the asymptotic scenario and the experimentally obtained raw data. In particular, a physical and concurrently practical way to estimate the underlying quantum distribution has so far remained elusive. Here, we show that the natural analogs of the maximum-likelihood estimation technique and the least-square-error estimation technique in the device-independent context result in point estimates of the true distribution that are physical, unique, computationally tractable and consistent. They thus serve as sound algorithmic tools allowing one to bridge the aforementioned gap. As an application, we demonstrate how such estimates of the underlying quantum distribution can be used to provide, in certain cases, trustworthy estimates of the amount of entanglement present in the measured system. In stark contrast to existing approaches to device-independent parameter estimations, our estimation does not require the prior knowledge of {\em any} Bell inequality tailored for the specific property and the specific distribution of interest.

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