CAREER: Theoretical and practical aspects of quantum communication protocols

这个NSF奖旨在进一步加深我们对量子信息理论和量子通信的理解。所有提出的工作本质上都是理论性的，但有些线程是实际的，可能会在量子通信系统中找到未来的应用。与此同时，该奖项具有很强的教育成分，符合PI将路易斯安那州立大学建立为量子信息研究和研究的领先中心的愿景。该奖项首先旨在加深我们对使用量子力学系统作为信息载体进行通信的局限性的理解。PI将通过证明量子信道各种通信能力的所谓“强逆”定理来实现这一目标。量子信息界现在很好地理解了几种信道的通信能力，但在某些情况下缺乏一个强大的逆定理。这些定理在概念上是丰富的，它们在证明特定加密模型的安全性方面也有应用。PI还将研究有损量子数据压缩理论和网络系统上的量子通信等领域。这两个主题都是本学科的基础，很可能成为未来量子技术的基础。这些各自领域的重要理论问题仍然没有答案，代表该奖项进行的研究将提供几种解决这些问题的方法。PI还将考虑新的令人兴奋的通信容量问题，例如用于安全发送数据的量子信道的“锁定容量”。PI还寻求提高对实际相关的光通信通道类别的理解，这是自由空间或光纤通信技术的基础。该奖项的更广泛意义符合美国国家科学基金会“促进科学进步；促进国家的健康、繁荣和福利；巩固国防；还有其他目的。”事实上，物理学、信息论、计算机科学和数学交叉领域的研究以非凡的方式推动了科学的发展，突破了实验可能和原理可能的极限。鉴于量子保密通信的重要应用，量子通信的研究对国防也至关重要。PI将为路易斯安那州立大学量子科学与技术小组的几名研究生提供建议和教学。

This NSF award aims to further our understanding of quantum information theory and quantum communication. All of the work proposed is theoretical in nature, but some of the threads are practical and may find future application in quantum communication systems. At the same time, there is a strong educational component to this award in line with the vision of the PI to establish Louisiana State University as a leading center for quantum information research and study.This award first seeks to sharpen our understanding of the limitations on communication using quantum-mechanical systems as the carriers of information. The PI will do so by proving so-called "strong converse" theorems for various communication capacities of quantum channels. The quantum information community now understands the communication capacities of several channels well, but what is lacking in some cases is a strong converse theorem. These theorems are conceptually rich, and they also find application in proving the security of particular models of cryptography. The PI will also investigate areas such as lossy quantum data compression theory and quantum communication over networked systems. Both topics are foundational in the subject and will likely underly future quantum technologies. The important theoretical questions in these respective fields are still left unanswered and the research conducted on behalf of this award will offer several ways of addressing them. The PI also will consider new exciting communication capacity questions to consider, such as the "locking capacity" of a quantum channel for sending data securely. The PI also seeks to improve the understanding of the practically relevant class of optical communication channels, which underly free-space or fiber-optic communication technologies.The broader significance of this award is in line with the NSF Mission "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense; and for other purposes." Indeed, research at the intersection of physics, information theory, computer science, and mathematics has advanced science in remarkable ways, pushing the limits of what is possible experimentally and what is possible in principle. Research in quantum communication is critical to national defense as well, given the important application of quantum secured communication. The PI will be advising and teaching several graduate students in the quantum science and technologies group at Louisiana State University.