Experimental single-photon exchange along a space link of 7000 km
Daniele Dequal ; Giuseppe Vallone ; Davide Bacco ; et al. ; - Giuseppe Bianco
Jan - 2016
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.93.010301

journal : Physical Review A

Volume : 93 ; Issue : 1
type: Article Journal

Abstract
Extending the single-photon transmission distance is a basic requirement for the implementation of quantum communication on a global scale. In this work we report the single-photon exchange from a medium Earth orbit satellite (MEO) at more than 7000km of slant distance to the ground station at the Matera Laser Ranging Observatory. The single-photon transmitter was realized by exploiting the corner cube retroreflectors mounted on the LAGEOS-2 satellite. Long duration of data collection is possible with such altitude, up to 43 min in a single passage. The mean number of photons per pulse (μsat) has been limited to 1 for 200 s, resulting in an average detection rate of 3.0counts/s and a signal-to-noise ratio of 1.5. The feasibility of single-photon exchange from MEO satellites paves the way to tests of quantum mechanics in moving frames and to global quantum Information.

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