Abstract

Quantum networking brings together several diverse research areas, such as fiber-optic communication, quantum optics, and quantum information, to achieve capabilities in security, secret sharing, and authentication which are unavailable classically. The development of practical fiber-based quantum networks requires an understanding of the reach, rates, and quality of the entanglement of distributed quantum states. Here, we present a theoretical model describing how the magnitude and orientation of polarization dependent loss (PDL), a common impairment in fiber-optic networks, affects the entanglement quality of distributed quantum states. Furthermore, we theoretically characterize how PDL in one fiber channel can be optimally applied in order to nonlocally compensate for the PDL present in another channel. We present experimental results that verify our theoretical model.

© 2018 IEEE

Loss of polarization entanglement in a fiber-optic system with polarization mode dispersion in one optical path

Misha Brodsky, Elizabeth C. George, Cristian Antonelli, and Mark Shtaif
Opt. Lett. 36(1) 43-45 (2011)

Counterfactual entanglement distribution without transmitting any particles

Qi Guo, Liu-Yong Cheng, Li Chen, Hong-Fu Wang, and Shou Zhang
Opt. Express 22(8) 8970-8984 (2014)

High-efficient entanglement distillation from photon loss and decoherence

Tie-Jun Wang and Chuan Wang
Opt. Express 23(24) 31550-31563 (2015)

Nonlocal compensation of polarization mode dispersion in the transmission of polarization entangled photons

Mark Shtaif, Cristian Antonelli, and Misha Brodsky
Opt. Express 19(3) 1728-1733 (2011)

Autocorrelation of the polarization-dependent loss in fiber routes

C. Antonelli, A. Mecozzi, L. E. Nelson, and P. Magill
Opt. Lett. 36(20) 4005-4007 (2011)