Fundamental research in quantum information performed since the 1980s shows that the principles of quantum mechanics can lead to dramatic computational and cryptographic consequences, from exponentially faster algorithms to unbreakable cryptosystems. The first practical quantum devices, from single-photon receptors used in quantum cryptography to large-scale quantum optimizers, are now being actively developed. These stunning experimental advances raise a very practical challenge: how can classical users establish and maintain a trusted interaction with a priori unknown and untrusted quantum devices?
This project aims to address the many aspects of this question, from the development of novel secure cryptographic protocols to the study of the fundamental consequences of quantum mechanical devices for the theory of computation. Research in this direction is essential for the establishment of a secure quantum network of trusted interactions. Making progress will require a combination of insights from computer science, physics, and mathematics. By nature the project is highly interdisciplinary, and the PI will put substantial effort into disseminating the ideas that support, and arise from, the research. This includes making best use of the possibilities for communication through the internet (including online seminars and courses) and encouraging, via outreach and teaching, the emergence of a generation of researchers equipped to address the upcoming challenges posed by the interaction of physics and information technologies.
Research by the PI on this project will build upon recent striking developments in cryptography and complexity theory, including the framework of device-independence and the theory of quantum multi-prover interactive proof systems. Recent works in these areas have identified a key property of quantum entanglement, the monogamy of entanglement, which places very strong constraints on quantum mechanical systems. The PI will develop techniques that leverage entanglement and its monogamy in order to enable testing and secure interactions between classical users and quantum devices. The insights gained in the process will find applications beyond the framework of the project to the many areas of physics in which entanglement plays a role, from the theory of superconductors to that of black holes.
