Ring Optimized M-APSK Modulation for Discrete Modulated CV-QKD

Abstract

This paper proposes a multi ring M-APSK constellation optimization method for discrete-modulated continuous variable quantum key distribution. Unlike conventional APSK structures with fixed ring spacing and predefined ring probabilities, the proposed method optimizes the ring radius ratio and ring probability to improve the finite-size secret key rate. A method based on the Gram matrix is used to calculate the nonzero spectrum of the average state $τ$, and fidelity is used to compare the optimized discrete average state with the Gaussian average state. The results show that the proposed structure extends the maximum transmission distance of 16-APSK by approximately 15% compared with the conventional binomial APSK structure. The optimization gain is larger for small size APSK constellations, where the average state has a larger structural gap from Gaussian modulation.