Device Independent Protocols

A given quantum information protocol can be realized with many different technical implementations. However, the primary aim of many of these implementations is to create devices that guarantee the absence of eavesdropping or information leakage compared to their classical counterparts. Since such applications should work for every user, it is necessary to shield them from the technical intricacies of the specific realization. In other words, users should trust their apparatus in a ‘device-independent’ manner without the need to disassemble it, test each component, or study extensive literature on quantum optics or similar topics.

Remarkably, such devices can, in principle, be realized using the fundamental properties of quantum mechanics. The theoretical groundwork for such realization constitutes one of our areas of research.