Sending or Not-Sending Twin-Field Quantum Key Distribution with Flawed and Leaky Sources

Abstract

Twin-field quantum key distribution (TF-QKD) has attracted considerable attention and developed rapidly due to its ability to surpass the fundamental rate-distance limit of QKD. However, the device imperfections may compromise its practical implementations. The goal of this paper is to make it robust against the state preparation flaws (SPFs) and side channels at the light source. We adopt the sending or not-sending (SNS) TF-QKD protocol to accommodate the SPFs and multiple optical modes in the emitted states. We analyze that the flaws of the phase modulation can be overcome by regarding the deviation of the phase as phase noise and eliminating it with the post-selection of phase. To overcome the side channels, we extend the generalized loss-tolerant (GLT) method to the four-intensity decoy-state SNS protocol. Remarkably, by decomposing of the two-mode single-photon states, the phase error rate can be estimated with only four parameters. The practical security of the SNS protocol with flawed and leaky source can be guaranteed. Our results might constitute a crucial step towards guaranteeing the practical implementation of the SNS protocol.

Keywords

• twin-field
• practical security
• loss-tolerant