Open AccessProgrammable quantum random number generator without postprocessing
Author(s) -
Lac Nguyen,
Patrick Rehain,
Yong Meng Sua,
YuPing Huang
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
optics letters/optics index
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.524
H-Index - 272
eISSN - 1071-2763
pISSN - 0146-9592
DOI - 10.1364/ol.43.000631
Subject(s) - randomness , random number generation , randomness tests , nist , computer science , quantum key distribution , transformation (genetics) , algorithm , generator (circuit theory) , probability distribution , photon , optics , physics , mathematics , statistics , power (physics) , quantum mechanics , biochemistry , chemistry , natural language processing , gene
We demonstrate a viable source of unbiased quantum random numbers whose statistical properties can be arbitrarily programmed without the need for any postprocessing such as randomness distillation or distribution transformation. It is based on measuring the arrival time of single photons in shaped temporal modes that are tailored with an electro-optical modulator. We show that quantum random numbers can be created directly in customized probability distributions and pass all randomness tests of the NIST and Dieharder test suites without any randomness extraction. The min-entropies of such generated random numbers are measured close to the theoretical limits, indicating their near-ideal statistics and ultrahigh purity. Easy to implement and arbitrarily programmable, this technique can find versatile uses in a multitude of data analysis areas.