Picosecond-resolved entanglement distribution over an urban free-space channel
Abstract
Time-evolving entangled states describe quantum particles whose correlations evolve in time according to a well-defined dynamics. Such states can be generated in a variety of physical systems and are promising resources for several quantum technologies, ranging from quantum clock synchronization to quantum communication. However, their full potential is currently limited by the fact that the entanglement dynamics often occur on timescales comparable to the achievable synchronization precision, especially in experiments aimed at distributing entanglement through noisy urban channels. In this context, accurate timing is not merely a technical detail, but a fundamental requirement for faithfully observing and exploiting the underlying quantum correlations. Here, we demonstrate the faithful distribution of a fast-evolving entangled state over a 270 m free-space channel connecting two buildings in the center of Rome. The developed system incorporates a synchronization device capable of achieving sub-50 ps timing accuracy between the two ends of the link while simultaneously supporting channel stabilization. Our results demonstrate that time-evolving entanglement can be reliably transmitted through a noisy urban free-space channel, representing an important benchmark toward long-distance free-space quantum communication and the future implementation of time-correlated entangled states in demanding scenarios such as satellite-based quantum networks.
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BibTeX
@misc{laneve2026picosecondresolved,
title = {{Picosecond-resolved entanglement distribution over an urban free-space channel}},
author = {Alessandro Laneve and Fabrizio Cienzo and Santiago Gomez and Paolo Barigelli and Philip Menz and Mattia Beccaceci and Giuseppe Ronco and Giorgia Grossi and Ievgen Brytavskyi and Thomas Oberleitner and Markus Wiener and Christian Weidinger and Tobias M. Krieger and Ailton Garcia Jr. and Saimon Filipe Covre da Silva and Michele B. Rota and Nicolò Spagnolo and Henning Weier and Fabio Sciarrino and Armando Rastelli and Rinaldo Trotta},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2607.21093},
eprint = {2607.21093},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.21093},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Picosecond-resolved entanglement distribution over an urban free-space channel
AU - Alessandro Laneve
AU - Fabrizio Cienzo
AU - Santiago Gomez
AU - Paolo Barigelli
AU - Philip Menz
AU - Mattia Beccaceci
AU - Giuseppe Ronco
AU - Giorgia Grossi
AU - Ievgen Brytavskyi
AU - Thomas Oberleitner
AU - Markus Wiener
AU - Christian Weidinger
AU - Tobias M. Krieger
AU - Ailton Garcia Jr.
AU - Saimon Filipe Covre da Silva
AU - Michele B. Rota
AU - Nicolò Spagnolo
AU - Henning Weier
AU - Fabio Sciarrino
AU - Armando Rastelli
AU - Rinaldo Trotta
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2607.21093
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.21093
AB - Time-evolving entangled states describe quantum particles whose correlations evolve in time according to a well-defined dynamics. Such states can be generated in a variety of physical systems and are promising resources for several quantum technologies, ranging from quantum clock synchronization to quantum communication. However, their full potential is currently limited by the fact that the entanglement dynamics often occur on timescales comparable to the achievable synchronization precision, especially in experiments aimed at distributing entanglement through noisy urban channels. In this context, accurate timing is not merely a technical detail, but a fundamental requirement for faithfully observing and exploiting the underlying quantum correlations. Here, we demonstrate the faithful distribution of a fast-evolving entangled state over a 270 m free-space channel connecting two buildings in the center of Rome. The developed system incorporates a synchronization device capable of achieving sub-50 ps timing accuracy between the two ends of the link while simultaneously supporting channel stabilization. Our results demonstrate that time-evolving entanglement can be reliably transmitted through a noisy urban free-space channel, representing an important benchmark toward long-distance free-space quantum communication and the future implementation of time-correlated entangled states in demanding scenarios such as satellite-based quantum networks.
ER -