Communication

Abstract

This chapter introduces the notions of classical and quantum information and discusses simple protocols for their exchange. It defines the entropy as a quantitative measure of information, and investigates its mathematical properties and operational meaning. It discusses the extent to which classical information can be carried by a quantum system and derives a pertinent upper bound, the Holevo bound. One important application of quantum communication is the secure distribution of cryptographic keys; a pertinent protocol, the BB84 protocol, is discussed in detail. Moreover, the chapter explains two protocols where previously shared entanglement plays a key role, superdense coding and teleportation. These are employed to effectively double the classical information carrying capacity of a qubit, or to transmit a quantum state with classical bits, respectively. It is shown that both protocols are optimal.