https://doi.org/10.1140/epjqt/s40507-025-00353-2
Research
Multiparty quantum key agreement based on GHZ states
Department of Mathematics and Physics, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, 050043, Shijiazhuang, China
Received:
18
February
2025
Accepted:
17
April
2025
Published online:
22
April
2025
This paper introduces the design process of a multiparty quantum key agreement protocol based on the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state in detail. Building on the traditional circle-type quantum key agreement protocol, we introduce a star structure, which significantly improves the speed and efficiency of key agreement. To facilitate the reader’s understanding, we provide an example of a four participants quantum key agreement protocol. In the process of quantum state transmission, we perform operations using the Pauli matrix and the Hadamard matrix to ensure that the quantum state remains in one of the four basis states. This significantly enhances the security of the protocol. After rigorous security analysis, we find that the protocol can effectively resist intercept-resend attack, entangle-measure attack, collective attack, and dishonest participant attack. Under a collective attack, if the first particle is subjected to bit-flipping noise, then 
only guarantees 
when 
. Additionally, we conduct a fairness analysis and evaluate the practical performance of the proposed protocol. In an ideal depolarization noise-free environment, the protocol can achieve a positive key rate only when the global detection efficiency exceeds 0.9636. Finally, we conduct a comprehensive comparative analysis of the protocols. The results show that our proposed protocol is superior to other existing schemes in terms of efficiency and running time.
Key words: Quantum key agreement / Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states / Key rate / Pauli matrices
© The Author(s) 2025
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