NIST - National Institute of Standards and Technology
08/14/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/15/2026 03:10
A Control Protocol for Wide-Area Quantum Links
Published
August 14, 2026
Author(s)
Connor Clayton, Cory Nunn, Wayne McKenzie, Quinn Carmack, Anne Marie Richards, Xiaodi Wu, Bobby Bhattacharjee
Abstract
High-quality, high-rate entanglement generation over quantum links is a requirement for primitives such as quantum teleportation. Here, we define a new optimization framework for maintaining performance in long-distance entanglement distribution based on hardware-level considerations. This framework provides an opportunity to surpass state-of-the-art quantum link performance through software-based techniques, potentially by orders of magnitude over the currently accepted standard practices. We apply our framework to develop a link control protocol and evaluate it using data from a 62km over-air fiber. In the face of significant time-varying noise, our protocol compensates by adaptively tuning hardware-level parameters and using control-theoretic decision processes to apply those adjustments effectively. We employ trace-driven simulations to demonstrate the efficacy of our adaptation scheme, and our results indicate that our link control protocol performs within 85% of an unrealistic "optimal'' deployment operating over a perfectly noiseless system.
Proceedings Title
Proceedings of the ACM on Measurement and Analysis of Computer Systems (POMACS)
Conference Dates
June 7-11, 2027
Conference Location
Atlanta, GA, US
Conference Title
SIGMETRICS 2027
Pub Type
Conferences
Keywords
quantum networks, quantum communication, quantum entanglement, network control
Citation
Clayton, C. , Nunn, C. , McKenzie, W. , Carmack, Q. , Richards, A. , Wu, X. and Bhattacharjee, B. (2026), A Control Protocol for Wide-Area Quantum Links, Proceedings of the ACM on Measurement and Analysis of Computer Systems (POMACS), Atlanta, GA, US (Accessed August 15, 2026)
Additional citation formats
Issues
If you have any questions about this publication or are having problems accessing it, please contact [email protected].
NIST - National Institute of Standards and Technology published this content on August 14, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on August 15, 2026 at 09:10 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]