Quantum connectivity of quantum networks

TL;DR

This paper introduces quantum connectivity metrics that evaluate the functional entanglement-based connectivity of quantum networks, surpassing classical topological measures, and are crucial for designing effective quantum communication systems.

Contribution

The paper presents the quantum connectivity measure (QCM), quantum-connected fraction (QCF), and quantum clustering coefficient (QCC) to assess quantum network functionality beyond classical topology.

Findings

Quantum connectivity metrics depend on entanglement protocols and network parameters.

A fully connected graph can be functionally disconnected if entanglement quality is below a threshold.

These metrics aid in the design and benchmarking of quantum networks.

Abstract

The practical utility of a quantum network depends on its ability to establish entanglement between arbitrary node pairs with quality sufficient to execute entanglement enabled tasks. This capability can be assessed globally, through aggregate performance over all node pairs, as well as locally, at the level of individual nodes. Since entanglement-based connections form a layer above the underlying physical topology, quantum connectivity is not adequately captured by classical topological connectivity metrics. To enable characterisation of the quantum connectivity at the level of the network (or its subnetworks), we introduce the quantum connectivity measure (QCM), which quantifies the average connection quality between pairs of network nodes. Further, we describe two quantities, the quantum-connected fraction (QCF) and the quantum clustering coefficient (QCC), naturally derived from the QCM, which capture important features of the functional connectivity of the quantum network at the level of the network and an individual node, respectively. These metrics of quantum connectivity depend crucially on the entanglement distribution protocol and the quantum network parameters in addition to its physical topology. We demonstrate the crucial distinction between topological and quantum connectivity, showing that even a fully connected graph can be functionally disconnected for quantum tasks if average network edge-concurrence falls below a critical threshold. These quantum connectivity metrics thus provide important tools for the design, optimization, and benchmarking of future quantum networks.