An entropy increasing circuit for quantum walking and its application in quantum encryption

An entropy increasing circuit for quantum walking and its application in quantum encryption | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article An entropy increasing circuit for quantum walking and its application in quantum encryption QingJi Zeng, JinQing Li, XiaoQiang Di This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6392028/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 21 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Quantum Information Processing → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The rapid development of quantum computing poses a serious threat to traditional encryption technologies, especially in the field of image security, where existing encryption schemes struggle to withstand quantum attacks. Therefore, quantum image encryption research is crucial. In the field of quantum image encryption, keys with high randomness and high security are essential. To address the issue of insufficient randomness in quantum walks in low-dimensional spaces, this paper proposes two solutions: the high-dimensional quantum walk paradigm and the entropy-increasing circuit. The high-dimensional quantum walk paradigm enhances the complexity of random sequences by expanding the dimensions of quantum walks, while the entropy-increasing circuit boosts the entropy of the key through quantum operations, thereby improving its randomness and resistance to attacks. To verify the random performance of the entropy-increased key, it is applied to quantum image encryption, with the specific circuit implementation of the encryption process provided. Finally, experimental analysis demonstrates the security of the algorithm. quantum circuit Quantum Walk chaotic map Quantum image encryption Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 21 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Quantum Information Processing → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 16 Sep, 2025 Reviews received at journal 29 Jun, 2025 Reviews received at journal 29 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Jun, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 03 Jun, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 09 Apr, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 09 Apr, 2025 First submitted to journal 07 Apr, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6392028","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":466161194,"identity":"33530eac-4e0b-4e09-a2a7-625c11e01079","order_by":0,"name":"QingJi Zeng","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Changchun University of\nScience and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"QingJi","middleName":"","lastName":"Zeng","suffix":""},{"id":466161195,"identity":"8da8308a-d691-4b17-bd41-cd9245c9ee22","order_by":1,"name":"JinQing Li","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA30lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACPmaGhAMMDBIMDOwNUKEDBLSwwbXwgJQmEKMFzpJIIFYLO8PDwwVlFnnykY+fSf78wSDHdyOB8XMBAYcdnnFOotjwdpqZNE8Cg7HkjQRm6RmEtPC2SSRunJ3DJg10WOKGGwlszDxEaZl5hk3yRwJDPfFa5kvwsEkAHZZgQJQWnnMSiRt40oytedIkDGeeedgsjU8LP/+Z5M88ZXWJ89sPP7z5w8ZGnu948sHP+LQAozABHDsGB8A8YJwyMDbg1QBMKAfAWuQJqRsFo2AUjIKRCwCwJkSQVDLWggAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Changchun University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"JinQing","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":466161197,"identity":"691e5a9c-d184-486b-a4b5-0e117add8fd0","order_by":2,"name":"XiaoQiang Di","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Changchun University of\nScience and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"XiaoQiang","middleName":"","lastName":"Di","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-04-07 08:38:25","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6392028/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6392028/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11128-026-05106-3","type":"published","date":"2026-02-21T15:59:21+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":103252710,"identity":"2282fcc0-a9e0-4bd5-b6b1-cf73b5d89043","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-23 16:15:46","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":7299507,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Anentropyincreasingcircuitforquantumwalkinganditsapplicationinquantumencryption.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6392028/v1_covered_d000d807-eb1c-4920-a41b-e7523e4aca2b.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"An entropy increasing circuit for quantum walking and its application in quantum encryption","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"quantum-information-processing","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"qinp","sideBox":"Learn more about [Quantum Information Processing](http://link.springer.com/journal/11128)","snPcode":"11128","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11128/3","title":"Quantum Information Processing","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"quantum circuit, Quantum Walk, chaotic map, Quantum image encryption","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6392028/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6392028/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"The rapid development of quantum computing poses a serious threat to traditional encryption technologies, especially in the field of image security, where existing encryption schemes struggle to withstand quantum attacks. 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