Secret key distillation over satellite-to-satellite free-space optics channel with a limited-sized aperture eavesdropper in the same plane of the legitimate receiver

Abstract: Conventionally, unconditional information security has been studied by quantum cryptography although the assumption of an omnipotent eavesdropper is too strict for some realistic implementations. In this paper, we study the realistic secret key distillation over a satellite-to-satellite free space optics channel where we assume a limited-sized aperture eavesdropper (Eve) in the same plane of the legitimate receiver (Bob) and determine the secret key rate lower bounds correspondingly. We first study the input power dependency without assumptions on Bob's detection scheme before optimizing the input power to determine lower bounds as functions of transmission distances, center frequency or Eve aperture radius. Then we calculate analytical expressions regarding the SKR lower bound and upper bound as transmission distance goes to infinity. We also incorporate specific discrete variable (DV) and continuous variable (CV) protocols for comparison. We demonstrate that significantly higher SKR lower bounds can be achieved compared to traditional unrestricted Eve scenario.