TY - JOUR A1 - Mauerer, Wolfgang A1 - Helwig, Wolfram A1 - Silberhorn, Christine T1 - Recent developments in quantum key distribution: Theory and practice JF - Annalen der Physik N2 - Quantum key distribution is among the foremost applications of quantum mechanics, both in terms of fundamental physics and as a technology on the brink of commercial deployment. Starting from principal schemes and initial proofs of unconditional security for perfect systems, much effort has gone into providing secure schemes which can cope with numerous experimental imperfections unavoidable in real world implementations. In this paper, we provide a comparison of various schemes and protocols. We analyse their efficiency and performance when implemented with imperfect physical components. We consider how experimental faults are accounted for using effective parameters. We compare various recent protocols and provide guidelines as to which components propose best advances when being improved. KW - experimental imperfections KW - quantum communication KW - Quantum cryptography Y1 - 2008 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/andp.200710284 VL - 17 IS - 2-3 SP - 158 EP - 175 PB - Wiley ER -