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Quantum key distribution protocols have been designed for layered networks employing multidimensional entangled and separable orbital angular momentum states [Phys. Rev. A 97, 032312 (2018), Int. J. Theor. Phys. 62, 104 (2023)]. This paper seeks an answer to the overarching question -- in the context of secure quantum communication tasks, do orbital angular momentum states act merely as an alternative or do they act as an indispensable resource? We start by showing that the task of quantum key distribution in layered networks can also be accomplished with several copies of lower-dimensional states such as polarization qubits. For this reason, orbital angular momentum states do not offer any intrinsic advantage in layered quantum key distribution. The potential of OAM states unveils itself in the enhancement of key generation rates and integrated quantum communication tasks, which we present in this paper. These tasks can be implemented exclusively with high-dimensional OAM entangled states. In fact, we show that the employment of orbital angular momentum states eliminates the need for entangled state measurements, whose implementation is resource-intensive. We believe that this study opens up a possibility for designing several quantum information processing tasks in which multidimensional OAM states act as an indispensable resource.

We propose a quantum secure direct communication protocol using SU (2)- invariant $2\times N$ separable states, identified as separable equivalents of two-qubit entangled Werner states in [Bharath & Ravishankar, Phys. Rev. A 89, 062110}]. These states can be experimentally realized as incoherent superpositions of separable polarisation-OAM states., Comment: Accepted for oral presentation in International Conference on Quantum Computing and Communications held at Bathinda, Punjab, India

Secure communication in layered networks having differently preferred participants has attracted a lot of research attention. Protocols for key distribution in a layered network have been recently proposed in [M. Pivoluska et al., Phys. Rev. A 97, 032312] by employing asymmetrically entangled multiqudit states. Due to the employment of asymmetrically entangled multiqudit states, the yield of these protocols is very low. To address this issue, in this work, we have proposed semi-quantum secure communication protocols by employing separable states only which give a better yield and a higher key generation rate. As illustrations, we present two representative protocols. The first protocol allows sharing of two keys simultaneously in a network of two layers. The second protocol facilitates direct communication in one layer and key distribution in the other. The separable states, i.e., coherent pulses of orbital angular momentum required in the protocols are easily realizable with current technologies., Comment: Accepted in QIP 2023 (held at Ghent, Belgium) for a poster presentation

We present a protocol for collaborative error-immune information through atmospheric turbulence. The protocol allows transferring of information in a network of three participants., Comment: Accepted for oral presentation in International Conference on Quantum Computing and Communications, 2023 held at Bathinda, Punjab, India

Secure quantum communication protocols based on a prepare-and-measure scheme employ mutually unbiased bases. In these protocols, many runs, in which different participants measure in different bases, simply go wasted. In this paper, we show that it is possible to reduce the number of such runs by a suitable design of the key generation rule. This results in a significant increase in the key generation rate (KGR). We illustrate this advantage by proposing quantum and semi-quantum key distribution protocols by employing effective qubits encoded in higher dimensional quantum systems. None of them demands the preparation of entangled states as resources and a relatively large amount of information can be transferred. For this reason, we believe that our proposals are worth pursuing experimentally.

In this paper, we utilize the potential offered by multidimensional separable states (MSS) for secure and simultaneous distributions of keys in a layered network. We present protocols for both quantum and semi-quantum key distribution and discuss their robustness against various eavesdropping strategies. We provide a procedure to identify the requisite resource states to generalise these protocols for arbitrary layered networks. Finally, we study the interrelation between the local dimensionalities of states and achievable key rates in a given layer. These proposals are realisable with current technology, thanks to employment of MSS and many advances in generation, manipulation and measurement of higher-dimensional orbital angular momentum states of light.

There is a wealth of simulation, experimental and analytical studies on propagation of orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes through atmospheric and oceanic turbulence.} Using the data of these studies and generalising the framework proposed in [Bala et al., [arXiv:2208.04555] for error-immune information transfer, we accomplish two tasks. First, we identify invariants for propagation of OAM modes through atmospheric and oceanic turbulence, in which error-immune information can be encoded. A closer look at the data reveals two universal features: (i)coherence lasts for a much longer distance in turbulence than entanglement, and, (ii) the crosstalk among different OAM modes depends very weakly on the initial OAM mode index in the weak turbulence regime. Keeping these in mind, we next develop a method for combating errors in what we call an idealised crosstalk channel. In an idealised crosstalk channel, the crossover probabilities are independent of the initial mode index (IMI). We lay down a procedure that allows to retrieve full information in a state by identifying invariant quantities. Finally, we construct quantum error correction and rejection codes for idealised crosstalk channels, without any need for multiparty entanglement.

Near-term quantum communication protocols suffer inevitably from channel noises, whose alleviation has been mostly attempted with resources such as multiparty entanglement or sophisticated experimental techniques. Generation of multiparty higher dimensional entanglement is not easy. This calls for exploring realistic solutions which are implementable with current devices. Motivated particularly by the difficulty in generation of multiparty entangled states, in this paper, we have investigated error-free information transfer with minimal requirements. For this, we have proposed a new information encoding scheme for communication purposes. The encoding scheme is based on the fact that most noisy channels leave some quantities invariant. Armed with this fact, we encode information in these invariants. These invariants are functions of expectation values of operators. This information passes through the noisy channel unchanged. Pertinently, this approach is not in conflict with other existing error correction schemes. In fact, we have shown how standard quantum error-correcting codes emerge if suitable restrictions are imposed on the choices of logical basis states. As applications, for illustration, we propose a quantum key distribution protocol and an error-immune information transfer protocol.

In recent times, secure quantum communication in layered networks has emerged as an important area of study. In this paper, we harness the potential offered by multidimensional states in secure quantum communication with only one quantum participant and all the other classical participants. We propose three protocols for (i) entanglement-based layered semi--quantum key distribution, (ii) layered semi-quantum secret sharing, and, (iii) integrated layered semi-quantum key distribution and secret sharing to share secret information in an arbitrarily layered network. These protocols integrate the features of semi quantum communication in layered networks. All three protocols allow for the simultaneous distribution of secure information in all the layers of a network, thanks to the employment of multidimensional states. We present these protocols for a small network of at most five participants and three layers and show the robustness of the same against various eavesdropping strategies. Finally, we provide a detailed procedure for the generalization of the proposed protocols to distribute keys/secrets in any arbitrarily structured quantum network.

Environmental effects on the transmission of a state result, in general, in a change in the information carried by it. To mitigate this, many techniques such as quantum error--correcting codes, decoherence--free--subspaces [Rev Mod Phys, 88(4):041001, 2016] are employed. The basic idea underlying them is to protect/recover the state. These techniques require multi-party entanglement, whose generation is a difficult task. Further, retrieval of information would require complete tomography, which inevitably requires a large number of copies. Taking this into account, in this work, a formalism has been laid down which does not require recovery of a state. The formalism employs scaling laws to obtain quantities that remain invariant under a noisy evolution of a state. The information encoded in these invariant quantities can be transmitted in an error-immune manner. Since multiparty entanglement and error detection/correction will not be required, the proposed scheme would be cost-effective and may be reliably employed for error-free information transfer. Employing the formalism, we have obtained invariant quantities for various noisy channels of a qubit and a quNit., Comment: 25 pages, 2 figures

Information is encoded in a qubit in the form of its Bloch vector. In this paper, we propose protocols for remote transfers of information in a known and an unknown qubit to qudits using $SU(2)$- invariant $\frac{1}{2}\otimes S$ discordant states as a channel. These states have been identified as separable equivalents of the two-qubit entangled Werner states in [Bharath & Ravishankar, Phys. Rev. A 89, 062110]. Due to $SU(2) \times SU(2)$ invariance of these states, the remote qudit can be changed by performing appropriate measurements on the qubit. We also propose a protocol for transferring information of an unknown qudit to a remote qudit using a $\frac{1}{2}\otimes S$- state as a channel. Finally, we propose a protocol for swapping of quantum discord from $\frac{1}{2}\otimes S$- systems to $S\otimes S$- systems. All the protocols proposed in this paper involve separable states as quantum channels. Employing these protocols, we believe that quantum information processing can be performed using highly mixed separable higher dimensional states., Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures

Nonlocality inequalities for multi-party systems act as contextuality inequalities for single qudit systems of suitable dimensions. In this paper, we propose the procedure for adaptation of nonlocality-based quantum conferencing protocols (QCPs) to contextuality-based QCPs. Unlike the nonlocality-based protocols, the proposed protocols do not involve nonlocal states. These protocols can also be implemented in a class of noisy channels without any compromise in the key generation rate. As an illustration of the procedure, we present a QCP based on Mermin's contextuality inequality. As a significant improvement, we propose a QCP based on CHSH contextuality inequality involving only four-dimensional states irrespective of the number of parties sharing the key. The key generation rate of the latter is twice that of the former. Although these QCPs allow for an eavesdropping attack which has no analog in nonlocality-based QCPs, a way out of this attack is demonstrated. Finally, we show the feasibility of experimental implementation of these protocols with orbital angular momentum (OAM) states., Comment: 27 Pages, 12 figure