Simultaneous two-way classical communication and measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with coherent states

Abstract

Simultaneous quantum and classical communication integrates both continuous variable quantum key distribution and classical coherent optical communication by using the same communication infrastructure. Given its compelling benefits, we proposed a protocol relying on both two-way classical communication and on measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution, in which the superposition-modulation-based coherent states depend on the information bits of both the secret key and on the classical communication ciphertext, which are measured by an untrusted relay node. The proposed scheme strikes a beneficial balance between its level of security and its grade of practicability. Explicitly, on the one hand, the secret key obtained is secure against all attacks on the detectors, and it is eminently suitable for bidirectional classical communication in the metropolitan network as a benefit of its relay-based configuration. Our results show a convincing bit error rate vs secret key rate trade-off for transmission over dozens of kilometers in the quantum channel, hence striking an excellent integrity (bit error rate) vs security trade-off.