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Measurement-device-independent quantum key agreement based on entanglement swapping

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Abstract

Quantum key agreement (QKA) is an important cryptographic primitive that plays a pivotal role in private communications. However, in practical implementations of QKA, the flaws in participants’ detectors may be exploited to compromise the security and fairness of the protocol. To address this issue, we propose a two-party measurement-device-independent QKA protocol, effectively eliminating all detector-side-channel loopholes. This protocol is based on quantum entanglement swapping and Bell-state measurements, making it feasible under current technological conditions. A thorough security analysis is conducted, demonstrating its ability to guarantee both security and fairness.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 62071015, 62171264); Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (ZR2023MF080).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Information Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China

    Yu-Guang Yang, Rui-Chen Huang, Yi-Hua Zhou & Wei-Min Shi

  2. College of Computer Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266590, China

    Guang-Bao Xu

  3. College of Computer Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China

    Dan Li

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  1. Yu-Guang Yang
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Yang, YG., Huang, RC., Xu, GB. et al. Measurement-device-independent quantum key agreement based on entanglement swapping. Quantum Inf Process 22, 438 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11128-023-04189-6

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