General model for simulation of the measurement-device independent quantum key distribution

Abstract

We present a general model on the simulation of the measurement-device independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD). It can be used to predict experimental observations of a MDI-QKD with linear channel loss, simulating corresponding values for the gains, the error rates in different basis, and also the final key rates. Our model can be applicable to the MDI-QKDs with whatever convex source states or using whatever coding schemes. Therefore, it is useful in characterizing and evaluating the performance of any MDI-QKD protocols, making it a valuable tool in studying the quantum key distributions.