Traceable random numbers from a non-local quantum advantage

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Kavuri, Gautam A.; Palfree, Jasper; Reddy, Dileep V.; Zhang, Yanbao; Bienfang, Joshua C.; Mazurek, Michael D.; Alhejji, Mohammad A.; Siddiqui, Aliza U.; Cavanagh, Joseph M.; Dalal, Aagam; Abellan, Carlos; Amaya, Waldimar; Mitchell, Morgan W.; Stange, Katherine E.; Beale, Paul D.; Brandao, Luis T. A. N.; Booth, Harold; Peralta, Rene; Nam, Sae Woo; Mirin, Richard P.; Stevens, Martin J.; Knill, Emanuel; Shalm, Lynden K.
• 署名单位: University of Colorado System; University of Colorado Boulder; National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) - USA; United States Department of Energy (DOE); Oak Ridge National Laboratory; University System of Maryland; University of Maryland College Park; National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) - USA; University of New Mexico; University of Colorado System; University of Colorado Boulder; Barcelona Institute of Science & Technology; Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya; Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques (ICFO); ICREA; University of Colorado System; University of Colorado Boulder; National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) - USA; University of Colorado System; University of Colorado Boulder; National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) - USA; University of Colorado System; University of Colorado Boulder; University of California System; University of California Berkeley
• 刊物名称: Nature
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0028-2149
• DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09054-3
• 发表日期: 2025-06-26
• 关键词: bell inequality violation

摘要

The unpredictability of random numbers is fundamental to both digital security1,2 and applications that fairly distribute resources3,4. However, existing random number generators have limitations-the generation processes cannot be fully traced, audited and certified to be unpredictable. The algorithmic steps used in pseudorandom number generators5 are auditable, but they cannot guarantee that their outputs were a priori unpredictable given knowledge of the initial seed. Device-independent quantum random number generators6, 7, 8-9 can ensure that the source of randomness was unknown beforehand, but the steps used to extract the randomness are vulnerable to tampering. Here we demonstrate a fully traceable random number generation protocol based on device-independent techniques. Our protocol extracts randomness from unpredictable non-local quantum correlations, and uses distributed intertwined hash chains to cryptographically trace and verify the extraction process. This protocol forms the basis for a public traceable and certifiable quantum randomness beacon that we have launched10. Over the first 40 days of operation, we completed the protocol 7,434 out of 7,454 attempts-a success rate of 99.7%. Each time the protocol succeeded, the beacon emitted a pulse of 512 bits of traceable randomness. The bits are certified to be uniform with error multiplied by actual success probability bounded by 2-64. The generation of certifiable and traceable randomness represents a public service that operates with an entanglement-derived advantage over comparable classical approaches.