Dr Christopher Ballance

Abstract:

Optical atomic clocks are our most precise tools to measure time and frequency1,2,3. Precision frequency comparisons between clocks in separate locations enable one to probe the space–time variation of fundamental constants4,5 and the properties of dark matter6,7, to perform geodesy8,9,10 and to evaluate systematic clock shifts. Measurements on independent systems are limited by the standard quantum limit; measurements on entangled systems can surpass the standard quantum limit to reach the ultimate precision allowed by quantum theory—the Heisenberg limit. Although local entangling operations have demonstrated this enhancement at microscopic distances11,12,13,14,15,16, comparisons between remote atomic clocks require the rapid generation of high-fidelity entanglement between systems that have no intrinsic interactions. Here we report the use of a photonic link17,18 to entangle two 88Sr+ ions separated by a macroscopic distance19 (approximately 2 m) to demonstrate an elementary quantum network of entangled optical clocks. For frequency comparisons between the ions, we find that entanglement reduces the measurement uncertainty by nearly 2‾√, the value predicted for the Heisenberg limit. Today’s optical clocks are typically limited by dephasing of the probe laser20; in this regime, we find that entanglement yields a factor of 2 reduction in the measurement uncertainty compared with conventional correlation spectroscopy techniques20,21,22. We demonstrate this enhancement for the measurement of a frequency shift applied to one of the clocks. This two-node network could be extended to additional nodes23, to other species of trapped particles or—through local operations—to larger entangled systems.

Abstract:

Cryptographic key exchange protocols traditionally rely on computational conjectures such as the hardness of prime factorization¹ to provide security against eavesdropping attacks. Remarkably, quantum key distribution protocols such as the Bennett-Brassard scheme² provide information-theoretic security against such attacks, a much stronger form of security unreachable by classical means. However, quantum protocols realized so far are subject to a new class of attacks exploiting a mismatch between the quantum states or measurements implemented and their theoretical modelling, as demonstrated in numerous experiments^3-6. Here we present the experimental realization of a complete quantum key distribution protocol immune to these vulnerabilities, following Ekert's pioneering proposal⁷ to use entanglement to bound an adversary's information from Bell's theorem⁸. By combining theoretical developments with an improved optical fibre link generating entanglement between two trapped-ion qubits, we obtain 95,628 key bits with device-independent security^9-12 from 1.5 million Bell pairs created during eight hours of run time. We take steps to ensure that information on the measurement results is inaccessible to an eavesdropper. These measurements are performed without space-like separation. Our result shows that provably secure cryptography under general assumptions is possible with real-world devices, and paves the way for further quantum information applications based on the device-independence principle.