CAREER: Theoretical and practical aspects of quantum communication protocols

这一NSF奖项旨在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上的，但其中一些线索是实用的，可能会在未来的量子通信系统中得到应用。同时，该奖项具有很强的教育性，与国际和平研究所将路易斯安那州立大学建立为领先的量子信息研究中心的愿景相一致。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的通信的局限性的理解。PI将通过证明量子通道的各种通信容量的所谓“强逆”定理来做到这一点。量子信息界现在很好地了解了几个通道的通信能力，但在某些情况下，缺乏一个强有力的逆定理。这些定理在概念上是丰富的，它们也被应用于证明特定密码学模型的安全性。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性课题，很可能会落后于未来的量子技术。这些领域中的重要理论问题仍然悬而未决，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通道的“锁定容量”。该奖项还旨在提高对实际相关类别的光通信信道的了解，这些信道低于自由空间或光纤通信技术。这一奖项的更广泛意义与美国国家科学基金会的使命相一致，即“促进科学进步；促进国家健康、繁荣和福利；保障国防安全；以及其他目的”。事实上，物理学、信息论、计算机科学和数学的交叉研究以惊人的方式推动了科学的发展，突破了实验上可能的和原则上可能的极限。鉴于量子保密通信的重要应用，量子通信的研究对国防也是至关重要的。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.