Device-independent quantum random-number generation

Yang Liu, Qi Zhao, Ming-Han Li, Jian-Yu Guan, Yanbao Zhang, Bing Bai, Weijun Zhang, Wen-Zhao Liu, Cheng Wu, Xiao Yuan, Hao Li, W. J. Munro, Zhen Wang, Lixing You, Jun Zhang, Xiongfeng Ma (), Jingyun Fan (), Qiang Zhang () and Jian-Wei Pan ()
Additional contact information
Yang Liu: University of Science and Technology of China
Qi Zhao: Tsinghua University
Ming-Han Li: University of Science and Technology of China
Jian-Yu Guan: University of Science and Technology of China
Yanbao Zhang: NTT Basic Research Laboratories and NTT Research Center for Theoretical Quantum Physics, NTT Corporation
Bing Bai: University of Science and Technology of China
Weijun Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Wen-Zhao Liu: University of Science and Technology of China
Cheng Wu: University of Science and Technology of China
Xiao Yuan: University of Science and Technology of China
Hao Li: Chinese Academy of Sciences
W. J. Munro: NTT Basic Research Laboratories and NTT Research Center for Theoretical Quantum Physics, NTT Corporation
Zhen Wang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Lixing You: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jun Zhang: University of Science and Technology of China
Xiongfeng Ma: Tsinghua University
Jingyun Fan: University of Science and Technology of China
Qiang Zhang: University of Science and Technology of China
Jian-Wei Pan: University of Science and Technology of China

Nature, 2018, vol. 562, issue 7728, 548-551

Abstract: Abstract Randomness is important for many information processing applications, including numerical modelling and cryptography1,2. Device-independent quantum random-number generation (DIQRNG)3,4 based on the loophole-free violation of a Bell inequality produces genuine, unpredictable randomness without requiring any assumptions about the inner workings of the devices, and is therefore an ultimate goal in the field of quantum information science5–7. Previously reported experimental demonstrations of DIQRNG8,9 were not provably secure against the most general adversaries or did not close the ‘locality’ loophole of the Bell test. Here we present DIQRNG that is secure against quantum and classical adversaries10–12. We use state-of-the-art quantum optical technology to create, modulate and detect entangled photon pairs, achieving an efficiency of more than 78 per cent from creation to detection at a distance of about 200 metres that greatly exceeds the threshold for closing the ‘detection’ loophole of the Bell test. By independently and randomly choosing the base settings for measuring the entangled photon pairs and by ensuring space-like separation between the measurement events, we also satisfy the no-signalling condition and close the ‘locality’ loophole of the Bell test, thus enabling the realization of the loophole-free violation of a Bell inequality. This, along with a high-voltage, high-repetition-rate Pockels cell modulation set-up, allows us to accumulate sufficient data in the experimental time to extract genuine quantum randomness that is secure against the most general adversaries. By applying a large (137.90 gigabits × 62.469 megabits) Toeplitz-matrix hashing technique, we obtain 6.2469 × 107 quantum-certified random bits in 96 hours with a total failure probability (of producing a random number that is not guaranteed to be perfectly secure) of less than 10−5. Our demonstration is a crucial step towards transforming DIQRNG from a concept to a key aspect of practical applications that require high levels of security and thus genuine randomness7. Our work may also help to improve our understanding of the origin of randomness from a fundamental perspective.

Keywords: Quantum Random Number Generator; Total Failure Probability; Bell Inequalities; Bell Test; Quantum Optical Technology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0559-3 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:562:y:2018:i:7728:d:10.1038_s41586-018-0559-3

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0559-3

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().