Quantum key distribution without reference frame alignment: Exploiting photon orbital angular momentum

2004/09/10 by Federico M. Spedalieri, Spedalieri, Federico M. · 1 citation
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #FOS: Physical sciences #Orbital Angular Momentum in Optics #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Quantum Physics (quant-ph) #quant-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.quant-ph/0409057

4 pages, 2 figures

arxiv created 2004/09/10 · openalex publication_date 2004/09/10 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

We present a new implementation of the BB84 quantum key distribution protocol that employs a d-dimensional Hilbert space spanned by spatial modes of the propagating beam that have a definite value of orbital angular momentum. Each photon carries log d bits of information, increasing the key generation rate of the protocol. The states used in the transmission part of the protocol are invariant under rotations about the propagation direction, making this implementation independent of the alignment between the reference frames of the sender and receiver. The protocol still works when these reference frames rotate with respect to each other.

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