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Ongoing researchResearch

Quantum Handshake

An ongoing research project exploring concepts related to quantum handshake protocols and emerging areas of quantum computing and communication.

30% of this phase

The problem

Key exchange as we practise it today rests on assumptions about what is computationally hard. Quantum approaches to establishing a shared secret change those assumptions — and the literature is large, uneven and worth reading properly before anyone claims anything.

What we are building

  1. A structured literature review of quantum key distribution and handshake-adjacent protocols.

  2. Simulation work using existing quantum computing frameworks, to develop intuition for what the protocols actually do.

  3. A written record of what we understood, what we could not reproduce, and where our reasoning is uncertain.

Current status

The most useful thing a project page can do is be specific about what is not true yet.

What exists today
  • An active reading group working through foundational papers.
  • Early simulation notebooks reproducing textbook protocol behaviour.
  • A running list of open questions the group cannot yet answer.
What does not exist yet
  • No novel result, no proof, and no claim of a breakthrough.
  • No published paper and no submission under review.
  • No hardware access — everything is simulated.
  • Nothing here should be cited as an established finding.

Technology

Quantum computing frameworksPythonCryptographyInformation theorySimulation

Team

Literature + direction

Research lead

Simulation

Position open

Literature review

Position open

Open roles

Pick the one that sounds like the thing you want to get better at.

  • ResearchAnyRead a paper, summarise it for the group, defend your reading
  • AI / LLMAdvancedSimulation work and numerical experiments
  • Technical WritingIntermediateTurn the group’s notes into something readable

What you can contribute

  • You do not need quantum background to start. You need to be willing to read something difficult twice.

  • Reproduce a result from a paper in simulation and report honestly whether it worked.

  • Maintain the annotated bibliography — an underrated and genuinely citable contribution.

Timeline

  1. Idea

    Complete

    Scope agreed: understand the protocols before attempting anything original.

  2. Literature

    In progress

    Systematic reading and annotation, in progress.

  3. Experiment

    Next

    Simulation of selected protocols under stated assumptions.

  4. Analysis

    Later

    What the simulations support, and what they do not.

  5. Paper

    Later

    Only if there is something worth saying.

Want in?

Apply to a role, or start by reading the problem behind it. Neither commits you to anything.

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