Intrinsic Quantum Correlations of Weak Coherent States for Quantum Communication

Abstract: Intrinsic quantum correlations of weak coherent states are observed between two parties through a novel detection scheme, which can be used as a supplement to the existence decoy-state BB84 and differential phase-shift quantum key distribution (DPS-QKD) protocols. In a proof-of-principle experiment, we generate bi-partite correlations of weak coherent states using weak local oscillator fields in two spatially separated balanced homodyne detections. We employ nonlinearity of post-measurement method to obtain the bi-partite correlations from two single-field interferences at individual homodyne measurement. This scheme is then used to demonstrate bits correlations between two parties over a distance of 10 km through a transmission fiber. We believe that the scheme can add another physical layer of security to these protocols for quantum key distribution.