{
  "abstract": "Quantum networks are transitioning from labo- ratory experiments to real-world deployments, with entangle- ment as their fundamental resource. Since an entanglement source effectively defines a quantum network, its performance directly impacts the reliability, scalability, and efficiency of future quantum communications. In this work, we investigate rack-mountable plug-and-play entangled-photon sources from a network engineering perspective, shifting the focus from device characterization to deployment-oriented performance evaluation. Building upon an extensive experimental campaign, we assess commercially deployable hardware across multiple operating conditions, evaluate current state-of-the-art capabilities, and pro- vide an outlook on future generations of entanglement sources. We identify and evaluate two key performance indicators (KPIs): multi-photon generation, capturing deviations from ideal single- pair emission, and entanglement quality, quantified through the reconstructed two-qubit density matrix. By combining the measured detected-pair rate with the one-way hashing bound derived from each density matrix, we estimate a lower bound on the achievable distillable-entanglement generation rate, providing a compact metric that captures the trade-off between pair throughput and entanglement quality. Finally, we translate these experimental results into lower bounds on the quantum-memory coherence time required for entanglement distillation, directly linking optical source performance to the hardware requirements of future quantum repeater nodes.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.11387",
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Laura d'Avossa"
    },
    {
      "name": "Daniela Salvoni"
    },
    {
      "name": "Angela Sara Cacciapuoti"
    },
    {
      "name": "Marcello Caleffi"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0762tsztqtfcz.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.11387",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "0762tsztqtfcz",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.11387",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "quant-ph"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1702|Quantum Information and Cryptography"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7212219292",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.11387",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-10",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0762tsztqtfcz.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:26Z",
      "native_id": "2609.11387",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.11387"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:quant-ph",
      "subfield": "quantum"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Entanglement Meets Reality: A Network Engineering Assessment and Forecast of Rackable Entanglement Sources",
  "title_text": "Entanglement Meets Reality: A Network Engineering Assessment and Forecast of Rackable Entanglement Sources",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:26Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0762tsztqtfcz",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}