W-state is an important resource for many quantum information processing tasks. In this paper, we for the first time propose a multi-party measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) protocol based on W-state. With linear optics, we design a W-state analyzer in order to distinguish the four-qubit W-state. This analyzer constructs the measurement device for four-party MDI-QKD. Moreover, we derived a complete security proof of the four-party MDI-QKD and performed a numerical simulation to study its performance. The results show that four-party MDI-QKD is feasible over 150 km standard telecom fiber with off-the-shelf single photon detectors. This work takes an important step towards multi-party quantum communication and a quantum network.

We propose a continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CVQKD) scheme at terahertz (THz) bands based on multicarrier multiplexing (MCM) technology. In this scheme, multiple Gaussian modulated subcarriers are coupled to transmit multipath superposed thermal Gaussian states. At the receiver, optical discrete Fourier transform (ODFT) is used to demultiplex the received subcarriers, and the keys can be generated in parallel by homodyne detection and post processing. We analyze the security of the scheme against the optimal collective Gaussian attack under indoor environment and in inter-satellite links respectively. Results indicate that by using MCM technology, each subchannel may be affected by crosstalk, resulting in slight shortening of the maximal transmission distance while the total secret key rate can be greatly increased. We also verify the feasibility of higher key rate and longer distance THz-QKD by using MCM technology in inter-satellite links communication. We expect this work will provide an efficient path to build a global quantum communication network.

We propose a continuous-variable quantum secret sharing (CVQSS) scheme based on thermal terahertz (THz) sources in inter-satellite wireless links (THz-CVQSS). In this scheme, firstly, each player locally preforms Gaussian modulation to prepare a thermal THz state, and then couples it into a circulating spatiotemporal mode using a highly asymmetric beam splitter. At the end, the dealer measures the quadrature components of the received spatiotemporal mode through performing the heterodyne detection to share secure keys with all the players of a group. This design enables that the key can be recovered only by the whole group players’ knowledge in cooperation and neither a single player nor any subset of the players in the group can recover the key correctly. We analyze both the security and the performance of THz-CVQSS in inter-satellite links. Results show that a long-distance inter-satellite THz-CVQSS scheme with multiple players is feasible. This work will provide an effective way for building an inter-satellite quantum communication network.

Universal blind quantum computation allows a client who has limited quantum abilities to delegate his or her private computation to an untrusted quantum server. The first universal blind quantum computation protocol was proposed by Broadbent, Fitzsimons, and Kashefi. In their work the computation resource is the so-called brickwork state, which can be constructed by a number of specific single qubits. The number of single qubits is in theory linearly related to the size of the quantum circuit. However, due to the fixed structure of the brickwork states, the actual number of qubits is usually far more than the linear size. In this work we mainly construct three improved brickwork states whose structures are no longer fixed, thus they can efficiently reduce the client's qubit consumption. Using those improved brickwork states we propose a class of efficient universal blind quantum computation protocols. In our basic protocol, to implement a single-qubit basic gate the client needs to prepare only two ancillary qubits, while in the original protocol it will consume four ancillary qubits. Making use of our improved brickwork states the qubit consumption of implementing a nonadjacent two-qubit gate such as a control-$X$ gate can be sharply reduced.