Random entanglement percolation on realistic quantum networks

TL;DR

This paper investigates how randomness in edge entanglement, due to physical effects like polarization-dependent loss, impacts percolation in heterogeneous quantum networks, with implications for quantum communication.

Contribution

It introduces a model for random entanglement percolation considering physical sources of randomness like PDL in photonic networks, extending classical percolation theory to quantum networks.

Findings

Polarization imbalance maps to edge SCPs in photonic networks.

Random edge SCPs influence entanglement percolation thresholds.

Representative PDL models illustrate the impact on network connectivity.

Abstract

We study random entanglement percolation in heterogeneous quantum networks, where the singlet-conversion probabilities (SCPs) of the edges are drawn from a probability distribution rather than being fixed. After briefly recalling random classical and random quantum entanglement percolation, we focus on polarization-dependent loss (PDL) as a physical source of random edge entanglement in photonic networks. In this setting, polarization imbalance induces a simple map from the PDL magnitude to the edge SCP. We illustrate this map for representative PDL models and discuss the resulting implications for entanglement percolation.