Protocols for Packet Quantum Network Intercommunication

A quantum network, which involves multiple parties pinging each other with quantum messages, could revolutionize communication, computing, and basic sciences. The future internet will be a global system of various packet switching quantum and classical networks, and we call it quantum internet. To build a quantum Internet, unified protocols that support the distribution of quantum messages within it are necessary. Intuitively, one would extend classical internet protocols to handle quantum messages. However, classical network mechanisms, especially those related to error control and reliable connection, implicitly assume that information can be duplicated, which is not true in the quantum world due to the no-cloning theorem and monogamy of entanglement. In this article, we investigate and propose protocols for packet quantum network intercommunication. To handle the packet loss problem in transport, we propose a quantum retransmission protocol based on the recursive use of a quantum secret sharing scheme. Other Internet protocols are also discussed. In particular, the creation of logical process-to-process connections is accomplished by a quantum version of the three-way handshake protocol. © 2021 by the Author(s).