2018/04/13 by Luca Calderaro, Costantino Agnesi, Costatino Agnesi +10 · 1 voice · 3 citations
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Orbital Angular Momentum in Optics #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/2058-9565/aaefd4
published as Quantum Sci. Technol. 4, 015012 (2019) · Revtex
arxiv created 2018/04/13 · openalex publication_date 2018/12/19 · arxiv updated 2019/02/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Satellite-based quantum communication is an invaluable resource for the realization of a quantum network at the global scale. In this regard, the use of satellites well beyond the low Earth orbits gives the advantage of long communication time with a ground station. However, high-orbit satellites pose a great technological challenge due to the high diffraction losses of the optical channel, and the experimental investigation of such quantum channels is still lacking. Here, we report on the first experimental exchange of single photons from Global Navigation Satellite System at a slant distance of 20000 kilometers, by exploiting the retroreflector array mounted on GLONASS satellites. We also observed the predicted temporal spread of the reflected pulses due to the geometrical shape of array. Finally, we estimated the requirements needed for an active source on a satellite, aiming towards quantum communication from GNSS with state-of-the-art technology.