Quantum Communication Networks: Design and Simulation

After having described specific areas of research of applied quantum mechanics such as quantum information theory, quantum error correction, and quantum computing, this chapter leverages those results and contextualizes them in the wider perspective of quantum communication networks. Such networks require the deployment of the so-called quantum repeaters, consisting of quantum and classical hardware performing quantum distillation and storage. Next, the role and characteristics of entanglement generation and distribution are explained, with a specific description of entanglement swapping and quantum network coding. The discussion on quantum communication networks ends with an illustration of quantum multiple-access channel theory and its relation to quantum game theory. Finally, the exposition deals with the problem of simulation and evaluation of quantum communication networks via simulators based on classical hardware and software. Moreover, the chapter lists the main simulators currently available, their characteristics, and their pros and cons.