Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: We investigate the hardware requirements for quantum teleportation in an intercity-scale network topology consisting of two metropolitan-scale networks connected via a long-distance backbone link. Specifically, we identify the minimal improvements required beyond the state-of-the-art to achieve an end-to-end expected teleportation fidelity of 2 / 3 , which represents the classical limit. To this end, we formulate the hardware requirements computation as optimisation problems, where the hardware parameters representing the underlying device capabilities serve as decision variables. Assuming a simplified noise model, we derive closed-form analytical expressions for the teleportation fidelity and rate when the network is realised using heterogeneous quantum hardware, including a quantum repeater chain with a memory cut-off. Our derivations are based on events defined by the order statistics of link generation durations in both the metropolitan networks and the backbone, and the resulting expressions are verified against NetSquid simulations. The analytical expressions facilitate efficient exploration of the optimisation parameter space without resorting to computationally intensive simulations. We then apply this framework to a representative realisation in which the metropolitan nodes are based on trapped-ion processors and the backbone is composed of ensemble-based quantum memories. Our results suggest that teleportation across metropolitan distances already reaches the classical limit with state-of-the-art hardware when the data qubit is prepared after end-to-end entanglement has been established, whereas extending teleportation to intercity scales requires additional, though plausibly achievable, improvements in hardware performance.
Source: New Journal of Physics
Language: English
Subfield: Artificial Intelligence
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,610
OpenAlex ID: W7127902873