Variable-order QNSC with turbulence-induced perturbation for LEO-to-Earth secure laser communication

Area of Science:

• Quantum Information Science
• Cryptography
• Physical Layer Security

Background:

• Quantum noise stream cipher (QNSC) systems face security degradation under high transmit power.
• Existing systems may lack efficiency for resource-constrained environments like satellite terminals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a turbulence-induced perturbation (TIP) approach to enhance QNSC security under high power.
• To introduce a variable-order quantum noise stream cipher (VO-QNSC) for improved transmission performance.
• To ensure suitability for satellite terminals with limited computational resources.

Main Methods:

• Incorporating turbulence-induced perturbation into QNSC systems.
• Developing a variable-order quantum noise stream cipher (VO-QNSC) scheme.
• Simulating system performance under various channel conditions.

Main Results:

• TIP approach increases detection failure probability (DFP) to over 99.97% and number of masked signals (NMS) to 10^3, enhancing anti-eavesdropping.
• VO-QNSC improves receiver sensitivity by up to 0.5 dB in poor channel conditions.
• The proposed methods enhance security without increasing algorithmic complexity.

Conclusions:

• The TIP approach effectively strengthens physical-layer security of QNSC systems in high-power scenarios.
• VO-QNSC significantly improves system performance and receiver sensitivity, meeting complex communication requirements.
• The combined approach offers a robust solution for secure and efficient quantum communication, particularly for satellite applications.