Work

Toward Practical Two-Way Covert Communication

Year: 2026

Type: preprint

Abstract: We study two-way covert communication schemes, where information is transmitted by passively modulating a reflected signal back to the source. We consider optical systems, described by quantum bosonic channels. While broadband classical and quantum light sources offer high covert throughput in theory, the associated mode-matching and phase-synchronization requirements make them impractical. Therefore, we employ a narrowband laser source to experimentally demonstrate a proof-of-concept two-way covert communication system, where the adversary is assumed to be quantum-capable. Furthermore, we propose a correlator-based receiver that attains the broadband gain offered by a quantum light source without the need for precise mode matching.

Source: arXiv (Cornell University)

DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2605.29840

Authors: Fessatidis, Paul N., Wallis, Wyatt, Cooper, Tae E., Meisner, Mark J., Bucay, Jaim, Guha, Saikat, Jenkins, Shelbi L., Bullock, Michael S., Bash, Boulat A.

Institutions: University of Arizona, RTX (United States), University of Maryland, College Park, Amherst College, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Topic: Quantum Information and Cryptography

Subfield: Artificial Intelligence

Field: Computer Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W7162784624

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