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Rev. Mod. Phys. 81, 1301–1350 (2009)

The security of practical quantum key distribution

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Valerio Scarani
Centre for Quantum Technologies and Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117543, Singapore and Group of Applied Physics, University of Geneva, 20 rue de l'Ecole de Médicine, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland

Helle Bechmann-Pasquinucci
University of Pavia, Dipartimento di Fisica “A. Volta,” via Bassi 6, I-27100 Pavia, Italy and UCCI.IT, via Olma 26, I-23888, Rovagnate (LC), Italy

Nicolas J. Cerf
Quantum Information and Communication, Ecole Polytechnique, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Avenue F. D. Roosevelt 50, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium

Miloslav Dušek
Department of Optics, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, 17. Iistopadu 12, 772 00, Olomouc, Czech Republic

Norbert Lütkenhaus
Institute for Quantum Computing and Department for Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue W., Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada and Max Planck Research Group, Institute for Optics, Information and Photonics, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Staudtstrasse 7/B2, 91058 Erlangen, Germany

Momtchil Peev
Quantum Technologies, Smart Systems Division, Austrian Research Centers GmbH ARC, Donau-City, Strasse 1, 1220 Vienna, Austria

Published 29 September 2009

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is the first quantum information task to reach the level of mature technology, already fit for commercialization. It aims at the creation of a secret key between authorized partners connected by a quantum channel and a classical authenticated channel. The security of the key can in principle be guaranteed without putting any restriction on an eavesdropper’s power. This article provides a concise up-to-date review of QKD, biased toward the practical side. Essential theoretical tools that have been developed to assess the security of the main experimental platforms are presented (discrete-variable, continuous-variable, and distributed-phase-reference protocols).

© 2009 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/RevModPhys.81.1301
DOI:
10.1103/RevModPhys.81.1301
PACS:
03.67.Dd
 
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