Leveraging Internet Principles to Build a Quantum Network

Abstract: Designing an operational architecture for the Quantum Internet is challenging in light of both fundamental limits imposed by physics laws and technological constraints. Here, we propose a method to abstract away most of the quantum-specific elements and formulate a best-effort quantum network architecture based on packet switching, akin to that of the classical Internet. This reframing provides an opportunity to exploit the many available and well-understood protocols within the Internet context. As an illustration, we tailor and adapt classical congestion control and active queue management protocols to quantum networks, employing an architecture wherein quantum end and intermediate nodes effectively regulate demand and resource utilization, respectively. Results show that these classical networking tools can be effective in managing quantum memory decoherence and maintaining end-to-end fidelity around a target value.