Binary communication in entangled channels

Abstract

We analyze optical binary communication assisted by entanglement and show that: i) ideal entangled channels have smaller error probability than ideal single-mode coherent channels if the photon number of the channel is larger than one; ii) realistic entangled channels with heterodyne receivers have smaller error probability than ideal single-mode coherent channels if the photon number of the channel is larger than a threshold of about five photons.