QUANTUM CRYPTOGRAPHY USING ANY 2 NONORTHOGONAL STATES

Quantum techniques for key distribution-the classically impossible task of distributing secret information over an insecure channel whose transmissions are subject to inspection by an eavesdropper, between parties who share no secret initially-have been proposed using (a) four nonorthogonally polarized single-photon states or low-intensity light pulses, and (b) polarization-entangled or spacetime-entangled two-photon states. Here we show that in principle any two nonorthogonal quantum states suffice, and describe a practical interferometric realization using low-intensity coherent light pulses.