Device-independent quantum secure direct communication under non-Markovian quantum channels

Abstract

Device-independent quantum secure direct communication (DI-QSDC) is a promising primitive in quantum cryptography aimed towards addressing the problems of device imperfections and key management. However, significant effort is required to tackle practical challenges such as the distance limitation due to the decohering effects of quantum channels. Here, we explore the constructive effect of non-Markovian noise to improve the performance of DI-QSDC. Considering two different environmental dynamics modelled by the amplitude damping and the dephasing channels, we show that for both cases non-Markovianty leads to a considerable improvement over Markovian dynamics in terms of three benchmark performance criteria of the DI-QSDC task. Specifically, we find that non-Markovian noise (i) enhances the protocol security measured by Bell violation, (ii) leads to a lower quantum bit error rate, and (iii) enables larger communication distances by increasing the capacity of secret communication.