Entropy 2018, 20(11), 886; https://doi.org/10.3390/e20110886
Advanced Statistical Testing of Quantum Random Number Generators
Aldo C. Martínez 1, Aldo Solis 2, Rafael Díaz Hernández Rojas 3
, Alfred B. U'Ren 2, Jorge G. Hirsch 2 and Isaac Pérez Castillo 4,5,*
, Alfred B. U'Ren 2, Jorge G. Hirsch 2 and Isaac Pérez Castillo 4,5,*
1
Department of Physics, Center for Research in Photonics, University of Ottawa, 25 Templeton St, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
2
Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apdo. Postal 70-543, Cd. Mx., C.P. 04510 Mexico, Mexico
3
Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy
4
Departamento de Física Cuántica y Fótonica, Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apdo. Postal 20-364, Cd. Mx., C.P. 04510 Mexico, Mexico
5
London Mathematical Laboratory, 8 Margravine Gardens, London W6 8RH, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 20 October 2018 / Revised: 12 November 2018 / Accepted: 14 November 2018 / Published: 17 November 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quantum Probability and Randomness)
Abstract
Pseudo-random number generators are widely used in many branches of science, mainly in applications related to Monte Carlo methods, although they are deterministic in design and, therefore, unsuitable for tackling fundamental problems in security and cryptography. The natural laws of the microscopic realm provide a fairly simple method to generate non-deterministic sequences of random numbers, based on measurements of quantum states. In practice, however, the experimental devices on which quantum random number generators are based are often unable to pass some tests of randomness. In this review, we briefly discuss two such tests, point out the challenges that we have encountered in experimental implementations and finally present a fairly simple method that successfully generates non-deterministic maximally random sequences. View Full-TextKeywords:
Bell inequalities; algorithmic complexity; Borel normality; Bayesian inference; model selection; random numbers
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Martínez, A.C.; Solis, A.; Díaz Hernández Rojas, R.; U'Ren, A.B.; Hirsch, J.G.; Pérez Castillo, I. Advanced Statistical Testing of Quantum Random Number Generators. Entropy 2018, 20, 886.
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