- Open Access
Sequential semi-device-independent quantum randomness certification
Phys. Rev. Research 8, 023186 – Published 19 May, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/vb68-jlr3
Abstract
Quantum measurements under realistic conditions reveal only partial information about a system. Yet, by performing sequential measurements on the same system, additional information can be accessed. We investigate this problem in the context of semi-device-independent randomness certification using sequential maximum-confidence measurements. We develop a general framework and versatile numerical methods to bound the amount of certifiable randomness in such scenarios. We further introduce a technique to compute min-tradeoff functions via semidefinite programming duality, thus making the framework suitable for bounding the certifiable randomness against adaptive attacking strategies through entropy accumulation. Our results establish sufficient criteria showing that maximum-confidence measurements enable the distribution and certification of randomness across a sequential measurement chain in single-party systems.
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Article Text
Supplemental Material
References (73)
- N. Gisin, G. Ribordy, W. Tittel, and H. Zbinden, Quantum cryptography, Rev. Mod. Phys. 74, 145 (2002).
- S. Pirandola, U. L. Andersen, L. Banchi, M. Berta, D. Bunandar, R. Colbeck, D. Englund, T. Gehring, C. Lupo, C. Ottaviani, J. L. Pereira, M. Razavi, J. S. Shaari, M. Tomamichel, V. C. Usenko, G. Vallone, P. Villoresi, and P. Wallden, Advances in quantum cryptography, Adv. Opt. Photonics 12, 1012 (2020).
- V. Mannalatha, S. Mishra, and A. Pathak, A comprehensive review of quantum random number generators: Concepts, classification and the origin of randomness, Quantum Inf. Proc. 22, 439 (2023).
- J. Barrett, L. Hardy, and A. Kent, No signaling and quantum key distribution, Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 010503 (2005).
- A. Acín, N. Brunner, N. Gisin, S. Massar, S. Pironio, and V. Scarani, Device-independent security of quantum cryptography against collective attacks, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 230501 (2007).
- U. Vazirani and T. Vidick, Fully device-independent quantum key distribution, Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 140501 (2014).
- S. Pironio, A. Acín, S. Massar, A. B. 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).
- C. A. Miller and Y. Shi, Robust protocols for securely expanding randomness and distributing keys using untrusted quantum devices, J. ACM 63, 1 (2016).
- A. Acín and L. Masanes, Certified randomness in quantum physics, Nature (London) 540, 213 (2016).
- J. S. Bell, On the einstein podolsky rosen paradox, Phys. Phys. Fiz. 1, 195 (1964).
- N. Brunner, D. Cavalcanti, S. Pironio, V. Scarani, and S. Wehner, Bell nonlocality, Rev. Mod. Phys. 86, 419 (2014).
- M. Pawłowski and N. Brunner, Semi-device-independent security of one-way quantum key distribution, Phys. Rev. A 84, 010302 (2011).
- H.-W. Li, M. Pawłowski, Z.-Q. Yin, G.-C. Guo, and Z.-F. Han, Semi-device-independent randomness certification using quantum random access codes, Phys. Rev. A 85, 052308 (2012).
- Y.-Q. Zhou, F. Gao, D.-D. Li, X.-H. Li, and Q.-Y. Wen, Semi-device-independent randomness expansion with partially free random sources using quantum random access code, Phys. Rev. A 94, 032318 (2016).
- M. Pivoluska, M. Plesch, M. Farkas, N. Ružicková, 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).
- V. Mannalath and A. Pathak, Bounds on semi-device-independent quantum random-number expansion capabilities, Phys. Rev. A 105, 022435 (2022).
- 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).
- R. Silva, N. Gisin, Y. Guryanova, and S. Popescu, Multiple observers can share the nonlocality of half of an entangled pair by using optimal weak measurements, Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 250401 (2015).
- J. Bergou, E. Feldman, and M. Hillery, Extracting information from a qubit by multiple observers: Toward a theory of sequential state discrimination, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 100501 (2013).
- L. Masanes, A. Acin, and N. Gisin, General properties of nonsignaling theories, Phys. Rev. A 73, 012112 (2006).
- H. Barnum, C. M. Caves, C. A. Fuchs, R. Jozsa, and B. Schumacher, Noncommuting mixed states cannot be broadcast, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 2818 (1996).
- R. Gallego, L. E. Würflinger, R. Chaves, A. Acín, and M. Navascués, Nonlocality in sequential correlation scenarios, New J. Phys. 16, 033037 (2014).
- P. J. Brown and R. Colbeck, Arbitrarily many independent observers can share the nonlocality of a single maximally entangled qubit pair, Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 090401 (2020).
- F. J. Curchod, M. Johansson, R. Augusiak, M. J. Hoban, P. Wittek, and A. Acín, Unbounded randomness certification using sequences of measurements, Phys. Rev. A 95, 020102 (2017).
- B. Coyle, M. J. Hoban, and E. Kashefi, One-sided device-independent certification of unbounded random numbers, Electron. Proc. Theor. Comput. Sci. 273, 14 (2018).
- B. Coyle, E. Kashefi, and M. J. Hoban, Certified randomness from steering using sequential measurements, Cryptography 3, 27 (2019).
- J. Bowles, F. Baccari, and A. Salavrakos, Bounding sets of sequential quantum correlations and device-independent randomness certification, Quantum 4, 344 (2020).
- G. Foletto, M. Padovan, M. Avesani, H. Tebyanian, P. Villoresi, and G. Vallone, Experimental test of sequential weak measurements for certified quantum randomness extraction, Phys. Rev. A 103, 062206 (2021).
- X. Liu, Y. Wang, Y. Han, and X. Wu, Quantifying the intrinsic randomness in sequential measurements, New J. Phys. 26, 013026 (2024).
- M. Padovan, G. Foletto, L. Coccia, M. Avesani, P. Villoresi, and G. Vallone, Secure and robust randomness with sequential quantum measurements, npj Quantum Inf. 10, 94 (2024).
- S. Sarkar, Certification of unbounded randomness with arbitrary noise, Phys. Rev. A 111, L010201 (2025).
- H. Lee, K. Flatt, and J. Bae, Sequential quantum maximum-confidence discrimination, Phys. Rev. A 112, 052206 (2025).
- S. Croke, E. Andersson, S. M. Barnett, C. R. Gilson, and J. Jeffers, Maximum confidence quantum measurements, Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 070401 (2006).
- S. M. Barnett and S. Croke, Quantum state discrimination, Adv. Opt. Photon. 1, 238 (2009).
- H. Lee, K. Flatt, C. Roch i Carceller, J. B. Brask, and J. Bae, Maximum-confidence measurement for qubit states, Phys. Rev. A 106, 032422 (2022).
- C. Roch i Carceller and J. B. Brask, Contextuality witness inspired by optimal state discrimination, Phys. Rev. A 109, 032202 (2024).
- J. Bae, Structure of minimum-error quantum state discrimination, New J. Phys. 15, 073037 (2013).
- I. Ivanovic, How to differentiate between non-orthogonal states, Phys. Lett. A 123, 257 (1987).
- D. Dieks, Overlap and distinguishability of quantum states, Phys. Lett. A 126, 303 (1988).
- A. Peres, How to differentiate between non-orthogonal states, Phys. Lett. A 128, 19 (1988).
- See Supplemental Material at http://link.aps.org/supplemental/10.1103/vb68-jlr3 for a summary of sequential maximum confidence state discrimination and a derivation of the SDPs presented in the main text.
- C. Roch i Carceller and A. Tavakoli, The role of entanglement in energy-restricted communication and randomness generation, Quantum Sci. Technol. 11, 025020 (2026).
- R. Konig, R. Renner, and C. Schaffner, The operational meaning of min- and max-entropy, IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory 55, 4337 (2009).
- M. Tomamichel and A. Leverrier, A largely self-contained and complete security proof for quantum key distribution, Quantum 1, 14 (2017).
- L. Vandenberghe and S. Boyd, Semidefinite programming, SIAM Rev. 38, 49 (1996).
- T. Metger, O. Fawzi, D. Sutter, and R. Renner, Generalised entropy accumulation, Commun. Math. Phys. 405, 261 (2024).
- 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).
- R. Bhavsar, S. Ragy, and R. Colbeck, Improved device-independent randomness expansion rates using two sided randomness, New J. Phys. 25, 093035 (2023).
- L. Kamin, A. Arqand, I. George, N. Lütkenhaus, and E. Y.-Z. Tan, Finite-size analysis of prepare-and-measure and decoy-state quantum key distribution via entropy accumulation, PRX Quantum 6, 020342 (2025).
- T. V. Himbeeck and S. Pironio, Correlations and randomness generation based on energy constraints, arXiv:1905.09117.
- M. Avesani, H. Tebyanian, P. Villoresi, and G. Vallone, Semi-device-independent heterodyne-based quantum random-number generator, Phys. Rev. Appl. 15, 034034 (2021).
- C. Roch i Carceller, J. Pauwels, S. Pironio, and A. Tavakoli, Prepare-and-measure scenarios with photon-number constraints, Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 140802 (2025).
- C. R. Carceller, L. N. Faria, Z.-H. Liu, N. Sguerso, U. L. Andersen, J. S. Neergaard-Nielsen, and J. B. Brask, Improving semi-device-independent randomness certification by entropy accumulation, Phys. Rev. A 112, 022430 (2025).
- R. Renner, Security of quantum key distribution, Int. J. Quantum Inf. 06, 1 (2008).
- P. Brown, H. Fawzi, and O. Fawzi, Device-independent lower bounds on the conditional von Neumann entropy, Quantum 8, 1445 (2024).
- G. H. Golub, Some modified matrix eigenvalue problems, SIAM Rev. 15, 318 (1973).
- M. Ioannou, J. B. Brask, and N. Brunner, Upper bound on certifiable randomness from a quantum black-box device, Phys. Rev. A 99, 052338 (2019).
- M. A. Solís-Prosser, P. González, J. Fuenzalida, S. Gómez, G. B. Xavier, A. Delgado, and G. Lima, Experimental multiparty sequential state discrimination, Phys. Rev. A 94, 042309 (2016).
- M. Namkung and Y. Kwon, Sequential state discrimination of coherent states, Sci. Rep. 8, 16915 (2018).
- H. Anwer, S. Muhammad, W. Cherifi, N. Miklin, A. Tavakoli, and M. Bourennane, Experimental characterization of unsharp qubit observables and sequential measurement incompatibility via quantum random access codes, Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 080403 (2020).
- P. J. Mosley, S. Croke, I. A. Walmsley, and S. M. Barnett, Experimental realization of maximum confidence quantum state discrimination for the extraction of quantum information, Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 193601 (2006).
- G. A. Steudle, S. Knauer, U. Herzog, E. Stock, V. A. Haisler, D. Bimberg, and O. Benson, Experimental optimal maximum-confidence discrimination and optimal unambiguous discrimination of two mixed single-photon states, Phys. Rev. A 83, 050304 (2011).
- S. Gómez, E. S. Gómez, O. Jiménez, A. Delgado, S. P. Walborn, and G. Lima, Experimental quantum state discrimination using the optimal fixed rate of inconclusive outcomes strategy, Sci. Rep. 12, 17312 (2022).
- L. F. Melo, M. A. Solís-Prosser, O. Jiménez, A. Delgado, and L. Neves, Experimental optimal discrimination of states of a qubit with fixed rates of inconclusive outcomes, Phys. Rev. Res. 5, 043149 (2023).
- 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).
- 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).
- H. Tebyanian, M. Avesani, G. Vallone, and P. Villoresi, Semi-device-independent randomness from -outcome continuous-variable detection, Phys. Rev. A 104, 062424 (2021).
- C. Roch i Carceller, Entanglement structure certification based on energy-restricted state discrimination, New J. Phys. 28, 024509 (2026).
- A. Tavakoli, A. Pozas-Kerstjens, P. Brown, and M. Araújo, Semidefinite programming relaxations for quantum correlations, Rev. Mod. Phys. 96, 045006 (2024).
- M. Żukowski, A. Zeilinger, M. A. Horne, and H. Weinfurter, Quest for GHZ states, Acta Phys. Pol. A 93, 187 (1998).
- Y.-A. Chen, A.-N. Zhang, Z. Zhao, X.-Q. Zhou, C.-Y. Lu, C.-Z. Peng, T. Yang, and J.-W. Pan, Experimental quantum secret sharing and third-man quantum cryptography, Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 200502 (2005).
- C. H. Bennett and G. Brassard, Quantum cryptography: Public key distribution and coin tossing, Theor. Comput. Sci. 560, 7 (2014).
- C. Roch i Carceller, Sequential-QRNG-with-MCM, 2025, https://github.com/chalswater/Sequential-QRNG-with-MCM.