Quantum Time Synchronization for Satellite Networks

• Published in: 2023 IEEE Aerospace Conference pp. 1 - 9
• Main Authors: Nande, Swaraj Shekhar, Lhamo, Osel, Paul, Marius, Bassoli, Riccardo, Fitzek, Frank H. P.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 04-03-2023
• Subjects: Laser stability; Qubit; Resonant frequency; Satellites; Stability criteria; Synchronization; Time-frequency analysis
• DOI: 10.1109/AERO55745.2023.10115619

Establishing accurate time standards across the globe is very important. The success of any real-time task depends on maintaining time synchronization in its system. Space technology helps in enabling global dissemination of time. In this paper, we propose a model that uses satellites to transfer the time information extracted from three qubits that are precisely synchronized using quantum synchronization. By applying an external field with wavelength 813.32 nm we can synchronize the three qubits (each carried in another satellite) to oscillate at the same frequency. We can ideally achieve a precision of 1.6 × 10 15 signals per second, and show the corresponding Allan deviation curve to analyze the stability of our system for different noise strengths. We introduce the possibility of using quantum synchronization on satellite-carried clocks to distribute accurate time and frequency standards.