Anonymous and private parameter estimation in networks of quantum sensors

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel quantum network protocol enabling a subset of participants to collaboratively estimate an average parameter anonymously and privately, without revealing individual data or identities, enhancing security in quantum sensing applications.

Contribution

It presents the first protocol combining anonymity and privacy in distributed quantum parameter estimation, advancing secure quantum network communication.

Findings

Protocol achieves anonymous collaboration without revealing individual parameters.

Ensures participant identities remain confidential during estimation.

Applicable to quantum sensing tasks like clock synchronization and gravitational detection.

Abstract

Anonymity and privacy are two key properties of modern communication networks. In quantum networks, distributed quantum sensing has emerged as a powerful use case, with applications to clock synchronisation, detecting gravitational effects and more. In this work, we develop a new protocol that, for the first time, combines the different cryptographic properties of anonymity and privacy for the task of distributed parameter estimation. That is, we present a protocol that allows a selected subset of network participants to anonymously collaborate in estimating the average of their private parameters. Crucially, this is achieved without disclosing either the individual parameter values or the identities of the participants, neither to each other nor to the broader network.