Entanglement Swapping: Teleportation Across Quantum Networks

Synopsis

Quantum networks facilitate secure communication of quantum information between distant systems by exploiting fundamental physics such as teleportation through quantum entanglement. Future quantum networks face the engineering challenge of entangling geographically separate nodes together beyond nearest neighbours; this is a requirement for lossless communication through teleportation. One proposed solution involves generating multiple entangled pairs between different nodes in the network and then performing entanglement swapping between them. Entanglement swapping, therefore, allows for two quantum systems to become entangled in the absence of direct interaction between them. This presentation will provide an overview of the swapping protocol as well as describe how entanglement swapping is experimentally realized within solid state architectures. The recent demonstration using the nitrogen-vacancy centre in diamond, for example, represents a key realization for large scale quantum networks.