Work

A Sigmoid-Based Optimization Approach for Multi-UAV-Aided IRS-Assisted Quantum Entanglement Distribution in FSO Networks

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Quantum networks connect devices to facilitate the transmission of quantum bits (qubits), harnessing quantum mechanics for groundbreaking telecommunications applications. The quantum state exchange rely on quantum entangled particles which have to be sent from a Quantum Base Station (QBS) to Quantum Nodes (QNs) through an optical channel. Free Space Optical (FSO) links promise flexibility and cost advantages over the classical fiber-based infrastructure. However, the absence of Line of Sight (LoS) between the QBS and QNs may completely disrupt the communication. Therefore, this work focuses on an Intelligent Reflective Surface (IRS)-assisted Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-aided FSO quantum network. An optimization problem is formulated to fairly maximize qubit reception at QNs by optimizing UAV hovering locations, constrained by fidelity and link-per-IRS limits. The intractability of the original problem is first tackled with a sigmoid-based approximations, subsequently split into three sub-problems, sequentially solved applying the Successive Convex Approximation (SCA) technique. Numerical results (i) validate the approximation accuracy, and (ii) demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposal against three baseline approaches, showing an order of magnitude increase in terms of fairness.

Source: IEEE Transactions on Communications

DOI: 10.1109/tcomm.2025.3622984

Authors: Giovanni Iacovelli, Francesco Vista, Stephen DiAdamo, Symeon Chatzinotas

Institutions: University of Luxembourg, Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust

Language: English

Topic: Optical Wireless Communication Technologies

Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,645