Authenticated hierarchical quantum state sharing based on non-maximally entangled states

Abstract Hierarchical quantum state sharing (HQSTS) provides a way for the quantum state from one party to another among multiple parties asymmetrically. In the process, it is necessary to ensure the legitimacy and authenticity of participants to defend against attacks caused by neglecting authentication. Hence, we propose a three-phase probabilistic HQSTS protocol with identity authentication. Firstly, the legitimacy of participants is verified in the identity authentication phase, which effectively prevents impersonation and deception. Secondly, the sender Alice sends the target quantum state to three agents asymmetrically, which implies that there is a hierarchy of agents regarding their ability to recover the secret state. The high authority agent can recover the state without the cooperation of all agents, while the low authority agent has to recover the state with the cooperation of all agents. Thirdly, based on the non-maximally entangled cluster states, the sharing of the arbitrary three-qubit states is realized, which increases the amount of information transmitted. Using the Qiskit framework, the quantum circuit and simulation results for a particular case are given to verify the feasibility and correctness of our protocol. Moreover, the security of the protocol is analyzed from the perspective of both internal and external attacks.