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Three-dimensional quantum key distribution in the presence of several eavesdroppers. (English) Zbl 1263.81132

Summary: Quantum key distribution based on encoding in three-dimensional systems in the presence of several eavesdroppers is proposed. This extends the BB84 protocol in the presence of many eavesdroppers where two-level quantum systems (qubits) are replaced by three-level systems (qutrits). We discuss the scenarios involving two, three and four complementary bases. We derive the explicit form of Alice and Bob mutual information and the information gained by each eavesdropper. In particular, we show that, in the presence of only one eavesdropper, the protocol involving four bases is safer than the other ones. However, for two eavesdroppers, the security is strongly dependent on the attack probabilities. The effect of a large number of eavesdroppers is also investigated.

MSC:

81P94 Quantum cryptography (quantum-theoretic aspects)
94A60 Cryptography