A simple relation of guessing probability in quantum key distribution

TL;DR

This paper establishes a simple relation between guessing probability and security in quantum key distribution, offering an alternative perspective that aligns with existing security criteria and aids in protocol analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a guessing-probability-based relation for analyzing security in quantum key distribution, connecting it with error rates and security regions.

Findings

Tolerable error regions are close to those from security criteria.

The relation applies to specific quantum key distribution protocols.

Provides a new perspective for security analysis in quantum communication.

Abstract

Given a communication system using quantum key distribution, the receiver can be seen as one who tries to guess the sender's information just as potential eavesdroppers do. The receiver-eavesdropper similarity thus implies a simple relation in terms of guessing probability and correctness of sifted keys, related with the distance-based, information-theoretic security. The tolerable regions of error rates determined by such a guessing-probability-based relation are shown to be close to those determined by security criteria. Thus, an alternative perspective on applying guessing probability in analyzing quantum key distribution issues is here provided. Examples of two specific protocols are illustrated. Our results contribute to evaluating an important element in communication study, and may provide useful reference for the security analysis of quantum key distribution protocols.