Hardware-Free Polarization Stabilization for Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution via Correlated Twirling
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Quantum Physics arXiv:2605.07229 (quant-ph) [Submitted on 8 May 2026] Title:Hardware-Free Polarization Stabilization for Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution via Correlated Twirling Authors:Papon Pewkhom, Nattee Jeennugool, Norshamsuri Ali, Rosdisham Endut, Syed Alwee Aljunid, Pruet Kalasuwan View a PDF of the paper titled Hardware-Free Polarization Stabilization for Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution via Correlated Twirling, by Papon Pewkhom and 5 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract:Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution (MDI-QKD) provides unconditional security against detector vulnerabilities, but its practical deployment is severely hindered by asymmetric channel turbulence. Fluctuations in optical fibers induce arbitrary polarization drift, degrading Hong-Ou-Mandel interference and forcing extensive calibration downtime. In this work, we propose a hardware-free polarization stabilization technique utilizing a Correlated Twirling protocol based on a unitary 2-design. By applying a synchronized, public twirling supermap, Alice and Bob mathematically transform deterministic, asymmetric geometric rotations into an isotropic Pauli depolarizing channel. Executed entirely as a virtual post-processing step during classical sifting, this protocol mathematically suppresses intrinsic channel noise by a factor of 2/3. We demonstrate through exact quantum state simulations that this induced symmetry neutralizes catastrophic axis-dependent failures, extending the Y-bias tolerance from 0.68 to 0.84 radians. Furthermore, the protocol passively extends the absolute angular misalignment tolerance for the 11% security threshold from $38.7^\circ$ to $47.9^\circ$, sustaining secure key distillation over extended fiber distances in highly turbulent regimes where standard architectures fail. Inherently compatible with decoy-state weak coherent pulses, this algorithmic approach provides a highly scalable, resource-efficient framework for robust long-distance quantum networks. Subjects: Quantum Physics (quant-ph) Cite as: arXiv:2605.07229 [quant-ph] (or arXiv:2605.07229v1 [quant-ph] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2605.07229 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration) Submission history From: Pruet Kalasuwan [view email] [v1] Fri, 8 May 2026 04:27:30 UTC (363 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled Hardware-Free Polarization Stabilization for Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution via Correlated Twirling, by Papon Pewkhom and 5 other authorsView PDFHTML (experimental)TeX Source view license Current browse context: quant-ph new | recent | 2026-05 References & Citations INSPIRE HEP NASA ADSGoogle Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Loading... BibTeX formatted citation × loading... Data provided by: Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer (What is the Explorer?) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers (What is Connected Papers?) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps (What is Litmaps?) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations (What are Smart Citations?) Code, Data, Media Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article alphaXiv Toggle alphaXiv (What is alphaXiv?) Links to Code Toggle CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers (What is CatalyzeX?) DagsHub Toggle DagsHub (What is DagsHub?) GotitPub Toggle Gotit.pub (What is GotitPub?) Huggingface Toggle Hugging Face (What is Huggingface?) ScienceCast Toggle ScienceCast (What is ScienceCast?) Demos Demos Replicate Toggle Replicate (What is Replicate?) Spaces Toggle Hugging Face Spaces (What is Spaces?) Spaces Toggle TXYZ.AI (What is TXYZ.AI?) Related Papers Recommenders and Search Tools Link to Influence Flower Influence Flower (What are Influence Flowers?) Core recommender toggle CORE Recommender (What is CORE?) Author Venue Institution Topic About arXivLabs arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs. Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax (What is MathJax?)