Beyond Shannon Limits: Quantum Communications Through Quantum Paths

Abstract

A crucial step towards the 6th generation (6G) of networks would be a shift in communication paradigm beyond the limits of Shannon's theory. In both classical and quantum Shannon's information theory, communication channels are generally assumed to combine through classical trajectories, so that the associated network path traversed by the information carrier is well-defined. Counter-intuitively, quantum mechanics enables a quantum information carrier to propagate through a quantum path, i.e., through a path such that the causal order of the constituting communications channels becomes indefinite. Quantum paths exhibit astonishing features, such as providing non-null capacity even when no information can be sent through any classical path. In this paper, we study the quantum capacity achievable via a quantum path and establish upper and the lower bounds for it. Our findings reveal the substantial advantage achievable with a quantum path over any classical placements of communications channels in terms of ultimate achievable communication rates. Furthermore, we identify the region where a quantum path incontrovertibly outperforms the amount of transmissible information beyond the limits of conventional quantum Shannon's theory, and we quantify this advantage over classical paths through a conservative estimate.