Entanglement purification for quantum communication

Author(s)
Jian-Wei Pan, Christoph Simon, Caslav Brukner, Anton Zeilinger
Abstract

The distribution of entangled states between distant locations will be essential for the future large-scale realization of quantum communication schemes such as quantum cryptography and quantum teleportation. Because of unavoidable noise in the quantum communication channel, the entanglement between two particles is more and more degraded the further they propagate. Entanglement purification is thus essential to distil highly entangled states from less entangled ones. Existing general purification protocols are based on the quantum controlled-NOT (CNOT) or similar quantum logic operations, which are very difficult to implement experimentally. Present realizations of CNOT gates are much too imperfect to be useful for long-distance quantum communication. Here we present a scheme for the entanglement purification of general mixed entangled states, which achieves 50 per cent of the success probability of schemes based on the CNOT operation, but requires only simple linear optical elements. Because the perfection of such elements is very high, the local operations necessary for purification can be performed with the required precision. Our procedure is within the reach of current technology, and should significantly simplify the implementation of long-distance quantum communication.

Organisation(s)
External organisation(s)
University of Science and Technology Beijing, University of Oxford
Journal
Nature
Volume
410
Pages
1067-1070
No. of pages
4
ISSN
0028-0836
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/35074041
Publication date
2001
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
103026 Quantum optics
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/entanglement-purification-for-quantum-communication(6ccd6b99-52c6-42df-9cd4-98d6e7cb11b0).html