A Dual-Uplink Dual-Satellite Architecture for Entanglement Distribution
Abstract
Satellite-based quantum links are a promising enabler of long-distance entanglement distribution, overcoming the exponential losses of optical fibers. In uplink architectures, entangled photons are generated at ground stations and transmitted to orbiting satellites, reducing space-segment complexity but introducing significant atmospheric and geometric losses. Single-satellite dual-uplink configurations are additionally limited by the requirement of simultaneous visibility between both ground stations and the satellite. In this work, we investigate a dual-uplink dual-satellite network architecture and compare its performance with the single-satellite scheme under identical physical assumptions. The proposed topology introduces an inter-satellite link (ISL) that decouples the ground-station separation from the atmospheric uplink geometry. A realistic channel model is employed, incorporating geometric attenuation, atmospheric turbulence, background noise, and Bell-state measurement efficiency. The overall success probability and practical fidelity are evaluated as functions of satellite altitude and ground-station separation. Our results show that while the single-satellite configuration is suitable for regional-scale networks, it becomes infeasible for large separations due to geometric constraints. The proposed dual-satellite architecture mitigates this limitation and significantly extends the achievable communication distance, representing a key step toward scalable quantum internet infrastructures.
Related
- Scalability bottlenecks in entanglement-based satellite quantum key distribution: downlink asymmetry, orbit dependence and finite-key effects
- Security of quantum key distribution with passive basis choice and detection-efficiency mismatch for a realistic satellite setup
- Optimised finite key for satellite up-link entangled quantum key distribution
- Long-distance device-independent quantum key distribution using single-photon entanglement
- Chip-to-chip entanglement distribution over an 80-km multicore fiber link
BibTeX
@misc{angelidis2026dualuplink,
title = {{A Dual-Uplink Dual-Satellite Architecture for Entanglement Distribution}},
author = {Charilaos C. Angelidis and Ioannis K. Marmorkos},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.26034},
eprint = {2610.26034},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.26034},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A Dual-Uplink Dual-Satellite Architecture for Entanglement Distribution
AU - Charilaos C. Angelidis
AU - Ioannis K. Marmorkos
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.26034
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.26034
AB - Satellite-based quantum links are a promising enabler of long-distance entanglement distribution, overcoming the exponential losses of optical fibers. In uplink architectures, entangled photons are generated at ground stations and transmitted to orbiting satellites, reducing space-segment complexity but introducing significant atmospheric and geometric losses. Single-satellite dual-uplink configurations are additionally limited by the requirement of simultaneous visibility between both ground stations and the satellite. In this work, we investigate a dual-uplink dual-satellite network architecture and compare its performance with the single-satellite scheme under identical physical assumptions. The proposed topology introduces an inter-satellite link (ISL) that decouples the ground-station separation from the atmospheric uplink geometry. A realistic channel model is employed, incorporating geometric attenuation, atmospheric turbulence, background noise, and Bell-state measurement efficiency. The overall success probability and practical fidelity are evaluated as functions of satellite altitude and ground-station separation. Our results show that while the single-satellite configuration is suitable for regional-scale networks, it becomes infeasible for large separations due to geometric constraints. The proposed dual-satellite architecture mitigates this limitation and significantly extends the achievable communication distance, representing a key step toward scalable quantum internet infrastructures.
ER -