Noisy Processing and Distillation of Private Quantum States

Abstract

We provide a simple security proof for prepare and measure quantum key distribution protocols employing noisy processing and one-way postprocessing of the key. This is achieved by showing that the security of such a protocol is equivalent to that of an associated key distribution protocol in which, instead of the usual maximally entangled states, a more general private state is distilled. In addition to a more general target state, the usual entanglement distillation tools are employed (in particular, Calderbank-Shor-Steane–like codes), with the crucial difference that noisy processing allows some phase errors to be left uncorrected without compromising the privacy of the key.