Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Open Access

Improving semi-device-independent randomness certification by entropy accumulation

Carles Roch i Carceller1,2,*, Lucas Nunes Faria1, Zheng-Hao Liu1, Nicolò Sguerso1, Ulrik Lund Andersen1, Jonas Schou Neergaard-Nielsen1, and Jonatan Bohr Brask1,†

  • *Contact author: carles.roch_i_carceller@teorfys.lu.se
  • †Contact author: jonatan.brask@fysik.dtu.dk

Phys. Rev. A 112, 022430 – Published 25 August, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/dwdv-89bj

Abstract

Certified randomness guaranteed to be unpredictable by adversaries is central to information security. The fundamental randomness inherent in quantum physics makes certification possible from devices that are only weakly characterized, i.e., requiring little trust in their implementation. It was recently shown that the amount of certifiable randomness can be improved using the so-called entropy accumulation theorem generalized to prepare-and-measure settings. Furthermore, this approach allows a finite-size analysis which avoids assuming that all rounds are independent and identically distributed. Here, we demonstrate this improvement in semi-device-independent randomness certification from untrusted measurements.

View figure in article

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Corrections

30 September, 2025

Correction: The first author's name was presented incorrectly and has been fixed.

Article Text

Supplemental Material

References (71)

  1. B. Hayes, Randomness as a resource, Am. Sci. 89, 300 (2001).
  2. C. E. Shannon, Communication theory of secrecy systems, Bell Syst. Tech. J. 28, 656 (1949).
  3. B. S. Niels Ferguson and T. Kohno, Cryptography Engineering: Design Principles and Practical Applications (Wiley, New York, 2011).
  4. N. Metropolis and S. Ulam, The Monte Carlo method, J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 44, 335 (1949).
  5. N. Metropolis, A. W. Rosenbluth, M. N. Rosenbluth, A. H. Teller, and E. Teller, Equation of state calculations by fast computing machines, J. Chem. Phys. 21, 1087 (1953).
  6. A. Montanaro, Quantum speedup of Monte Carlo methods, Proc. R. Soc. A. 471, 20150301 (2015).
  7. D. Ghersi, A. Parakh, and M. Mezei, Comparison of a quantum random number generator with pseudorandom number generators for their use in molecular Monte Carlo simulations, J. Comput. Chem. 38, 2713 (2017).
  8. K. Miyamoto and K. Shiohara, Reduction of qubits in a quantum algorithm for Monte Carlo simulation by a pseudo-random-number generator, Phys. Rev. A 102, 022424 (2020).
  9. F. James, A review of pseudorandom number generators, Comput. Phys. Commun. 60, 329 (1990).
  10. X. Ma, X. Yuan, Z. Cao, B. Qi, and Z. Zhang, Quantum random number generation, npj Quantum Inf. 2, 16021 (2016).
  11. M. Herrero-Collantes and J. C. Garcia-Escartin, Quantum random number generators, Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 015004 (2017).
  12. M. N. Bera, A. Acín, M. Kuś, M. W. Mitchell, and M. Lewenstein, Randomness in quantum mechanics: Philosophy, physics and technology, Rep. Prog. Phys. 80, 124001 (2017).
  13. P. Grangier and A. Auffèves, What is quantum in quantum randomness?, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 376, 20170322 (2018).
  14. N. Brunner, D. Cavalcanti, S. Pironio, V. Scarani, and S. Wehner, Bell nonlocality, Rev. Mod. Phys. 86, 419 (2014).
  15. R. Colbeck, Quantum and relativistic protocols for secure multi-party computation, Ph.D. thesis, University of Cambridge, 2009.
  16. S. Pironio, A. Acín, S. Massar, A. Boyer de la Giroday, D. N. Matsukevich, P. Maunz, S. Olmschenk, D. Hayes, L. Luo, T. A. Manning, and C. Monroe, Random numbers certified by Bell's theorem, Nature (London) 464, 1021 (2010).
  17. A. Acín and L. Masanes, Certified randomness in quantum physics, Nature (London) 540, 213 (2016).
  18. B. G. Christensen, K. T. McCusker, J. B. Altepeter, B. Calkins, T. Gerrits, A. E. Lita, A. Miller, L. K. Shalm, Y. Zhang, S. W. Nam, N. Brunner, C. C. W. Lim, N. Gisin, and P. G. Kwiat, Detection-loophole-free test of quantum nonlocality, and applications, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 130406 (2013).
  19. Y. Liu, Q. Zhao, M.-H. Li, J.-Y. Guan, Y. Zhang, B. Bai, W. Zhang, W.-Z. Liu, C. Wu, X. Yuan, H. Li, W. J. Munro, Z. Wang, L. You, J. Zhang, X. Ma, J. Fan, Q. Zhang, and J.-W. Pan, Device-independent quantum random-number generation, Nature (London) 562, 548 (2018).
  20. P. Bierhorst, E. Knill, S. Glancy, Y. Zhang, A. Mink, S. Jordan, A. Rommal, Y.-K. Liu, B. Christensen, S. W. Nam, M. J. Stevens, and L. K. Shalm, Experimentally generated randomness certified by the impossibility of superluminal signals, Nature (London) 556, 223 (2018).
  21. L. K. Shalm, Y. Zhang, J. C. Bienfang, C. Schlager, M. J. Stevens, M. D. Mazurek, C. Abellán, W. Amaya, M. W. Mitchell, M. A. Alhejji, H. Fu, J. Ornstein, R. P. Mirin, S. W. Nam, and E. Knill, Device-independent randomness expansion with entangled photons, Nat. Phys. 17, 452 (2021).
  22. W.-Z. Liu, M.-H. Li, S. Ragy, S.-R. Zhao, B. Bai, Y. Liu, P. J. Brown, J. Zhang, R. Colbeck, J. Fan, Q. Zhang, and J.-W. Pan, Device-independent randomness expansion against quantum side information, Nat. Phys. 17, 448 (2021).
  23. G. Vallone, D. G. Marangon, M. Tomasin, and P. Villoresi, Quantum randomness certified by the uncertainty principle, Phys. Rev. A 90, 052327 (2014).
  24. Z. Cao, H. Zhou, X. Yuan, and X. Ma, Source-independent quantum random number generation, Phys. Rev. X 6, 011020 (2016).
  25. F. Xu, J. H. Shapiro, and F. N. C. Wong, Experimental fast quantum random number generation using high-dimensional entanglement with entropy monitoring, Optica 3, 1266 (2016).
  26. D. G. Marangon, G. Vallone, and P. Villoresi, Source-device-independent ultrafast quantum random number generation, Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 060503 (2017).
  27. M. Avesani, D. G. Marangon, G. Vallone, and P. Villoresi, Source-device-independent heterodyne-based quantum random number generator at 17 Gbps, Nat. Commun. 9, 5365 (2018).
  28. T. Michel, J. Y. Haw, D. G. Marangon, O. Thearle, G. Vallone, P. Villoresi, P. K. Lam, and S. M. Assad, Real-time source-independent quantum random-number generator with squeezed states, Phys. Rev. Appl. 12, 034017 (2019).
  29. D. Drahi, N. Walk, M. J. Hoban, A. K. Fedorov, R. Shakhovoy, A. Feimov, Y. Kurochkin, W. S. Kolthammer, J. Nunn, J. Barrett, and I. A. Walmsley, Certified quantum random numbers from untrusted light, Phys. Rev. X 10, 041048 (2020).
  30. X. Lin, S. Wang, Z.-Q. Yin, G.-J. Fan-Yuan, R. Wang, W. Chen, D.-Y. He, Z. Zhou, G.-C. Guo, and Z.-F. Han, Security analysis and improvement of source independent quantum random number generators with imperfect devices, npj Quantum Inf. 6, 100 (2020).
  31. X. Lin, R. Wang, S. Wang, Z.-Q. Yin, W. Chen, G.-C. Guo, and Z.-F. Han, Certified randomness from untrusted sources and uncharacterized measurements, Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 050506 (2022).
  32. X. Lin, R. Wang, S. Wang, Z.-Q. Yin, W. Chen, D.-Y. He, Z. Zhou, G.-C. Guo, and Z.-F. Han, Imperfection-insensitivity quantum random number generator with untrusted daily illumination, Opt. Express 30, 25474 (2022).
  33. E. Passaro, D. Cavalcanti, P. Skrzypczyk, and A. Acín, Optimal randomness certification in the quantum steering and prepare-and-measure scenarios, New J. Phys. 17, 113010 (2015).
  34. A. Chaturvedi and M. Banik, Measurement-device-independent randomness from local entangled states, Europhys. Lett. 112, 30003 (2015).
  35. Z. Cao, H. Zhou, and X. Ma, Loss-tolerant measurement-device-independent quantum random number generation, New J. Phys. 17, 125011 (2015).
  36. Y.-Q. Nie, J.-Y. Guan, H. Zhou, Q. Zhang, X. Ma, J. Zhang, and J.-W. Pan, Experimental measurement-device-independent quantum random-number generation, Phys. Rev. A 94, 060301(R) (2016).
  37. F. Bischof, H. Kampermann, and D. Bruß, Measurement-device-independent randomness generation with arbitrary quantum states, Phys. Rev. A 95, 062305 (2017).
  38. M. Pivoluska, M. Plesch, M. Farkas, N. Ružičková, C. Flegel, N. H. Valencia, W. McCutcheon, M. Malik, and E. A. Aguilar, Semi-device-independent random number generation with flexible assumptions, npj Quantum Inf. 7, 50 (2021).
  39. C. Wang, I. W. Primaatmaja, H. J. Ng, J. Y. Haw, R. Ho, J. Zhang, G. Zhang, and C. Lim, Provably-secure quantum randomness expansion with uncharacterised homodyne detection, Nat. Commun. 14, 316 (2023).
  40. J. Argillander, A. Alarcón, C. Bao, C. Kuang, G. Lima, F. Gao, and G. B. Xavier, Quantum random number generation based on a perovskite light emitting diode, Commun. Phys. 6, 157 (2023).
  41. X. Lin and R. Wang, Quantum random number generation with partial source assumptions, arXiv:2312.03333.
  42. H.-W. Li, Z.-Q. Yin, Y.-C. Wu, X.-B. Zou, S. Wang, W. Chen, G.-C. Guo, and Z.-F. Han, Semi-device-independent random-number expansion without entanglement, Phys. Rev. A 84, 034301 (2011).
  43. T. Lunghi, J. B. Brask, C. C. W. Lim, Q. Lavigne, J. Bowles, A. Martin, H. Zbinden, and N. Brunner, Self-testing quantum random number generator, Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 150501 (2015).
  44. P. Mironowicz, G. Cañas, J. Cariñe, E. S. Gómez, J. F. Barra, A. Cabello, G. B. Xavier, G. Lima, and M. Pawłowski, Quantum randomness protected against detection loophole attacks, Quantum Inf. Process. 20, 39 (2021).
  45. T. Van Himbeeck, E. Woodhead, N. J. Cerf, R. García-Patrón, and S. Pironio, Semi-device-independent framework based on natural physical assumptions, Quantum 1, 33 (2017).
  46. D. Rusca, T. van Himbeeck, A. Martin, J. B. Brask, W. Shi, S. Pironio, N. Brunner, and H. Zbinden, Self-testing quantum random-number generator based on an energy bound, Phys. Rev. A 100, 062338 (2019).
  47. T. V. Himbeeck and S. Pironio, Correlations and randomness generation based on energy constraints, arXiv:1905.09117.
  48. H. Tebyanian, M. Zahidy, M. Avesani, A. Stanco, P. Villoresi, and G. Vallone, Semi-device independent randomness generation based on quantum state's indistinguishability, Quantum Sci. Technol. 6, 045026 (2021).
  49. C. Roch i Carceller, K. Flatt, H. Lee, J. Bae, and J. B. Brask, Quantum vs noncontextual semi-device-independent randomness certification, Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 050501 (2022).
  50. J. B. Brask, A. Martin, W. Esposito, R. Houlmann, J. Bowles, H. Zbinden, and N. Brunner, Megahertz-rate semi-device-independent quantum random number generators based on unambiguous state discrimination, Phys. Rev. Appl. 7, 054018 (2017).
  51. R. Konig, R. Renner, and C. Schaffner, The operational meaning of min- and max-entropy, IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory 55, 4337 (2009).
  52. M. Tomamichel, R. Colbeck, and R. Renner, A fully quantum asymptotic equipartition property, IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory 55, 5840 (2009).
  53. R. Arnon-Friedman, F. Dupuis, O. Fawzi, R. Renner, and T. Vidick, Practical device-independent quantum cryptography via entropy accumulation, Nat. Commun. 9, 459 (2018).
  54. T. Metger, O. Fawzi, D. Sutter, and R. Renner, Generalised entropy accumulation, in 2022 IEEE 63rd Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science (FOCS) (IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, 2022), pp. 844–850.
  55. T. Metger and R. Renner, Security of quantum key distribution from generalised entropy accumulation, Nat. Commun. 14, 5272 (2023).
  56. H. Zhou, Numerical framework for semi-device-independent quantum random-number generators, Phys. Rev. A 107, 052402 (2023).
  57. P. Brown, H. Fawzi, and O. Fawzi, Computing conditional entropies for quantum correlations, Nat. Commun. 12, 575 (2021).
  58. E. Knill, Y. Zhang, and P. Bierhorst, Generation of quantum randomness by probability estimation with classical side information, Phys. Rev. Res. 2, 033465 (2020).
  59. J. A. Bergou, Quantum state discrimination and selected applications, J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 84, 012001 (2007).
  60. S. M. Barnett and S. Croke, Quantum state discrimination, Adv. Opt. Photon. 1, 238 (2009).
  61. J. Bae and L.-C. Kwek, Quantum state discrimination and its applications, J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 48, 083001 (2015).
  62. I. D. Ivanovic, How to differentiate between non-orthogonal states, Phys. Lett. A 123, 257 (1987).
  63. D. Dieks, Overlap and distinguishability of quantum states, Phys. Lett. A 126, 303 (1988).
  64. A. Peres, How to differentiate between non-orthogonal states, Phys. Lett. A 128, 19 (1988).
  65. C. Roch i Carceller, Quantum state discrimination with applications in contextuality and randomness certification, Ph.D. thesis, Technical University of Denmark, 2023.
  66. P. Skrzypczyk and D. Cavalcanti, Semidefinite Programming in Quantum Information Science (IOP Publishing, Philadelphia, 2023), pp. 2053–2563.
  67. See Supplemental Material at http://link.aps.org/supplemental/10.1103/dwdv-89bj for a detailed derivation of the semidefinite programs presented in the main text, specific details of the implementation, and finite-size effects treatment.
  68. P. Brown, H. Fawzi, and O. Fawzi, Device-independent lower bounds on the conditional von Neumann entropy, Quantum 8, 1445 (2024).
  69. R. Renner, Security of quantum key distribution, arXiv:quant-ph/0512258.
  70. https://doi.org/10.3030/101106833.
  71. https://github.com/chalswater/QRNG_entropy_accumulation.

Outline

Information

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation