Resource Placement for Rate and Fidelity Maximization in Quantum Networks

TL;DR

This paper develops a framework for optimizing the placement of quantum repeaters in existing optical networks to maximize entanglement distribution utility, considering hardware costs, noise, and fairness.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive network planning approach for quantum repeater deployment, incorporating quantum memory multiplexing and coherence time effects, with real-world case studies.

Findings

Quantum memory multiplexing improves network utility.

Memory coherence time significantly impacts entanglement distribution.

Fairness assumptions affect network performance and resource allocation.

Abstract

Existing classical optical network infrastructure cannot be immediately used for quantum network applications due to photon loss. The first step towards enabling quantum networks is the integration of quantum repeaters into optical networks. However, the expenses and intrinsic noise inherent in quantum hardware underscore the need for an efficient deployment strategy that optimizes the allocation of quantum repeaters and memories. In this paper, we present a comprehensive framework for network planning, aiming to efficiently distributing quantum repeaters across existing infrastructure, with the objective of maximizing quantum network utility within an entanglement distribution network. We apply our framework to several cases including a preliminary illustration of a dumbbell network topology and real-world cases of the SURFnet and ESnet. We explore the effect of quantum memory multiplexing within quantum repeaters, as well as the influence of memory coherence time on quantum network utility. We further examine the effects of different fairness assumptions on network planning, uncovering their impacts on real-time network performance.