Protocols for Packet Quantum Network Intercommunication

Nengkun Yu,Ching-Yi Lai,Li Zhou

doi:10.1109/tqe.2021.3112594

Abstract

A quantum network, which involves multiple parties pinging each other with quantum messages, could revolutionize communication, computing and basic sciences. The future internet will be a global system of various packet switching quantum and classical networks and we call it \emph{quantum internet}. To build a quantum internet, unified protocols that support the distribution of quantum messages within it are necessary. Intuitively one would extend classical internet protocols to handle quantum messages. However, classical network mechanisms, especially those related to error control and reliable connection, implicitly assume that information can be duplicated, which is not true in the quantum world due to the no-cloning theorem and monogamy of entanglement. In this paper, we investigate and propose protocols for packet quantum network intercommunication. To handle the packet loss problem in transport, we propose a quantum retransmission protocol based on the recursive use of a quantum secret sharing scheme. Other internet protocols are also discussed. In particular, the creation of logical process-to-process connections is accomplished by a quantum version of the three-way handshake protocol.

Highlights

Quantum computing is the generation of computing that promises extraordinary computing power
With the additional ability to send quantum messages from one quantum processor to another, several quantum processors can form a quantum computing cluster and they can together build an entangled quantum system [1]. This is often referred to as networked quantum computing, or distributed quantum computing, which may provide exceptional savings in communication complexity compared with classical distributed computation
We describe a future quantum internet model and study protocols for packet quantum network intercommunication in theory

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Quantum computing is the generation of computing that promises extraordinary computing power. Communication between two nodes in a quantum network is achieved by quantum teleportation [16], where shared quantum entanglement is necessary. As quantum decoherence is inevitable in a quantum network [25], [26], this motivates us to study the quantum version of reliable transmission control protocol. Retransmission is one of the basic mechanisms used in a packet switched network for reliable communication. We describe a future quantum internet model and study protocols for packet quantum network intercommunication in theory. Packet switching is a technique for reliably and efficiently transmitting data in network communication and we will employ this feature in the quantum internet.

PRELIMINARIES

QUANTUM MECHANICS

QUANTUM TELEPORTATION AND ENTANGLEMENT

TRANSPORT LAYER

DATA TRANSFER

CONCLUSION