Towards large-scale quantum networks

Abstract

The vision of a quantum internet is to fundamentally enhance Internet technology by enabling quantum communication between any two points on Earth. While the first realisations of small scale quantum networks are expected in the near future, scaling such networks presents immense challenges to physics, computer science and engineering. Here, we provide a gentle introduction to quantum networking targeted at computer scientists, and survey the state of the art. We proceed to discuss key challenges for computer science in order to make such networks a reality.