Encrypted Qubits Can Be Cloned

We show that encrypted cloning of unknown quantum states is possible. Any number of encrypted clones of a qubit can be created through a unitary transformation, and each of the encrypted clones can be decrypted through a unitary transformation. The decryption of an encrypted clone consumes the decryption key; i.e., only one decryption is possible, in agreement with the no-cloning theorem. Encrypted cloning represents a new paradigm that provides a form of redundancy, parallelism, or scalability where direct duplication is forbidden by the no-cloning theorem. For example, a possible application of encrypted cloning is to enable encrypted quantum multicloud storage.

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Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Physical Review Letters
Published
2025-11-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/y4y1-1ll6
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Quantum Information and Cryptography
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.96
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article

Encrypted Qubits Can Be Cloned

Karl J. Friston
2 citations
Physical Review Letters
Quantum Information and Cryptography
4.96
article

Encrypted Qubits Can Be Cloned

Karl J. Friston
article en
2 citations

Abstract

We show that encrypted cloning of unknown quantum states is possible. Any number of encrypted clones of a qubit can be created through a unitary transformation, and each of the encrypted clones can be decrypted through a unitary transformation. The decryption of an encrypted clone consumes the decryption key; i.e., only one decryption is possible, in agreement with the no-cloning theorem. Encrypted cloning represents a new paradigm that provides a form of redundancy, parallelism, or scalability where direct duplication is forbidden by the no-cloning theorem. For example, a possible application of encrypted cloning is to enable encrypted quantum multicloud storage.

Physical Review LettersVol. 136(1)
University of Waterloo (CA), Perimeter Institute (CA), University of Electro-Communications (JP)
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Quantum Information and Cryptography
4.96
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