Quantum quadrature amplitude modulation system and its applicability to coherent-state quantum cryptography

Abstract

The quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) signal of coherent state of light is applied to the quantum stream cipher by Y-00 protocol. We first discuss on the performance of the square-root measurement (SRM) for the QAM signals in comparison with the optimum receiver. It is shown that the quantum stream cipher with the QAM signals is designed by using the SRM, taking account of the ciphertext-only attack and the known/chosen plain attack. Furthermore, the modification of the quantum stream cipher with the QAM signals is considered.