Blockwise Key Distillation in Satellite-based Quantum Key Distribution
Minu J. Bae, Nitish K. Panigrahy, Prajit Dhara, Walter O. Krawec,, Alexander Russell, Don Towsley, Bing Wang

TL;DR
This paper compares traditional and blockwise key distillation strategies in satellite-based quantum key distribution, demonstrating that the blockwise approach can improve key rates by up to 5% and is easily deployable.
Contribution
It introduces a blockwise key distillation method for satellite QKD, showing its advantages over the traditional approach through extensive simulations.
Findings
Blockwise strategy can improve key rate by up to 5%.
Blockwise approach is effective for different environmental conditions.
Implementation requires only modifications in classical post-processing.
Abstract
Free-space satellite communication has significantly lower photon loss than terrestrial communication via optical fibers. Satellite-based quantum key distribution (QKD) leverages this advantage and provides a promising direction in achieving long-distance inter-continental QKD. Satellite channels, however, can be highly dynamic due to various environmental factors and time-of-the-day effects, leading to heterogeneous noises over time. In this paper, we compare two key distillation techniques for satellite-based QKD. One is the traditional {\em non-blockwise} strategy that treats all the signals as a whole; the other is a {\em blockwise} strategy that divides the signals into individual blocks that have similar noise characteristics and processes them independently. Through extensive simulation in a wide range of settings, we show trends in optimal parameter choices and when one strategy…
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Taxonomy
TopicsQuantum Information and Cryptography · Orbital Angular Momentum in Optics · Quantum Mechanics and Applications
