Nanotechnology Now

Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors
Heifer International



Home > Press > Researchers find safeguards for quantum communications

Abstract:
Army researchers developed a new way to protect and safeguard quantum information, moving quantum networks a step closer to reality.

Researchers find safeguards for quantum communications

Adelphi, MD | Posted on July 10th, 2020

Quantum information science is a rapidly growing interdisciplinary field exploring new ways of storing, manipulating and communicating information. Researchers want to create powerful computational capabilities using new hardware that operates on quantum physics principles.

For the Army, the new quantum paradigms could potentially lead to transformational capabilities in fast, efficient and secure collecting, exchanging and processing vast amounts of information on dynamic battlefields of the future.

Drs. Dan Jones, Brian Kirby and Michael Brodsky from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command's Army Research Laboratory, joined by Gabriele Riccardi and Professor Cristian Antonelli from the University of L'Aquila, studied sources of noise in quantum communication channels.

Noise is a common plague of any communication - anyone who has ever used a radio, a walkie-talkie or a phone experienced noisy reception now and then, Brodsky said. Communication engineers devise intricate schemes to remove the noise and to clean the transmitted signal as much as possible.

According to Brodsky, quantum communications are no different in their susceptibility to noise in communication channels. In fact, even more so than the regular classic communications because the quantum signals are extremely low power.

"To engineer a useful quantum network, we need to understand how far, how fast and how reliably we could send quantum information," Brodsky said. "That requires understanding of the noise in communication channels."

As the team modeled, emulated, characterized and measured different types of noise in quantum channels, the researchers realized that while some quantum noise types are impossible to filter out, others could be removed quite easily.

Surprisingly, it turns out that the bad noise could be converted into good noise by simply adding a cheap extra component to the quantum channel. Having this extra control allows them to tweak the channel and to adjust the properties of the noise that masks the transmitted signal.

The overall focus of the lab's Quantum Networking Group is to experimentally explore the most efficient and secure ways to create, store and process quantum information based on state-of-the-art photonic technologies of the day. The main workhorse of the group is the lab's quantum networking testbed that they have built at its headquarters in Adelphi, Maryland. Researchers use the quantum testbed to test-drive various photonic technological approaches to the fast and robust delivery of quantum information over large distances.

"We approach our research quite uniquely by wearing system engineer hats," Jones said.

The research scope of the group spans developing the architecture and operational principles of quantum networks, as well as understanding and mapping technological limitations to its practical implementation, and, finally, inventing methods and techniques to engineer around these limitations. The current research results belong to the latter two categories.

The next projects in the pipeline focus on demonstrating an intriguing way of completely error-free transmission of quantum information. Further down the line is creating a multi-user quantum network testbed deployed in the field and demonstrating secure secret sharing protocols between two distance metropolitan campuses.

The field of quantum information science is booming worldwide as it potentially leads to unsurpassed capabilities in computation, communication and networking. It offers new paradigms in the ways information is being handled, which would lead to secure secret sharing, distributed network sensing and efficient decision making.

"Our research results are a step towards arming the warfighter of the future with quantum advantages and a good example of how operationalizing science results in transformational overmatch," Brodsky said.

####

About U.S. Army Research Laboratory
CCDC Army Research Laboratory is an element of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. As the Army’s corporate research laboratory, ARL discovers, innovates and transitions science and technology to ensure dominant strategic land power. Through collaboration across the command’s core technical competencies, CCDC leads in the discovery, development and delivery of the technology-based capabilities required to make Soldiers more lethal to win the nation’s wars and come home safely. CCDC is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Futures Command.

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Jenna Brady

301-394-1819

@ArmyResearchLab

Copyright © U.S. Army Research Laboratory

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark:
Delicious Digg Newsvine Google Yahoo Reddit Magnoliacom Furl Facebook

Related Links

The group summarized their research results are in a paper, Exploring classical correlation in noise to recover quantum information using local filtering, accepted by the peer-reviewed New Journal of Physics:

Related News Press

Quantum communication

Researchers’ approach may protect quantum computers from attacks March 8th, 2024

News and information

Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024

How surface roughness influences the adhesion of soft materials: Research team discovers universal mechanism that leads to adhesion hysteresis in soft materials March 8th, 2024

Two-dimensional bimetallic selenium-containing metal-organic frameworks and their calcinated derivatives as electrocatalysts for overall water splitting March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

Laboratories

A battery’s hopping ions remember where they’ve been: Seen in atomic detail, the seemingly smooth flow of ions through a battery’s electrolyte is surprisingly complicated February 16th, 2024

NRL discovers two-dimensional waveguides February 16th, 2024

Catalytic combo converts CO2 to solid carbon nanofibers: Tandem electrocatalytic-thermocatalytic conversion could help offset emissions of potent greenhouse gas by locking carbon away in a useful material January 12th, 2024

Three-pronged approach discerns qualities of quantum spin liquids November 17th, 2023

Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy

What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024

Researchers’ approach may protect quantum computers from attacks March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

Optically trapped quantum droplets of light can bind together to form macroscopic complexes March 8th, 2024

Possible Futures

Two-dimensional bimetallic selenium-containing metal-organic frameworks and their calcinated derivatives as electrocatalysts for overall water splitting March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Discoveries

What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024

Researchers’ approach may protect quantum computers from attacks March 8th, 2024

High-tech 'paint' could spare patients repeated surgeries March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Announcements

What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters

Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024

How surface roughness influences the adhesion of soft materials: Research team discovers universal mechanism that leads to adhesion hysteresis in soft materials March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Military

What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

New chip opens door to AI computing at light speed February 16th, 2024

NRL discovers two-dimensional waveguides February 16th, 2024

NanoNews-Digest
The latest news from around the world, FREE




  Premium Products
NanoNews-Custom
Only the news you want to read!
 Learn More
NanoStrategies
Full-service, expert consulting
 Learn More











ASP
Nanotechnology Now Featured Books




NNN

The Hunger Project