Numerical calculations of the finite key rate for general quantum key distribution protocols

Abstract

Finite key analysis of quantum key distribution (QKD) is an important tool for any QKD implementation. While much work has been done on the framework of finite key analysis, the application to individual protocols often relies on the specific protocol being simple or highly symmetric as well as represented in small finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. In this work, we extend our pre-existing reliable, efficient, tight, and generic numerical method for calculating the asymptotic key rate of device-dependent QKD protocols in finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces to the finite key regime using the security analysis framework of Renner. We explain how this extension preserves the reliability, efficiency, and tightness of the asymptotic method. We then explore examples which illustrate both the generality of our method as well as the importance of parameter estimation and data processing within the framework.