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Demonstration of a quantum teleportation network for continuous variables

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Abstract

Quantum teleportation1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 involves the transportation of an unknown quantum state from one location to another, without physical transfer of the information carrier. Although quantum teleportation is a naturally bipartite process, it can be extended to a multipartite protocol known as a quantum teleportation network9. In such a network, entanglement is shared between three or more parties. For the case of three parties (a tripartite network), teleportation of a quantum state can occur between any pair, but only with the assistance of the third party. Multipartite quantum protocols are expected to form fundamental components for larger-scale quantum communication and computation10,11. Here we report the experimental realization of a tripartite quantum teleportation network for quantum states of continuous variables (electromagnetic field modes). We demonstrate teleportation of a coherent state between three different pairs in the network, unambiguously demonstrating its tripartite character.

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Figure 1: The experimental set-up for quantum teleportation from Alice to Bob under the control of Claire.
Figure 2: Quantum teleportation from Alice to Bob under the control of Claire.
Figure 3: Dependence of the fidelities on the controller's gain.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partly supported by the MEXT and the MPHPT of Japan, and the Research Foundation for Opto-Science and Technology.

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Correspondence to Akira Furusawa.

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The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.

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Yonezawa, H., Aoki, T. & Furusawa, A. Demonstration of a quantum teleportation network for continuous variables. Nature 431, 430–433 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02858

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