Mark Zhandry: Quantum Lightning Never Strikes the Same State Twice

Abstract: Quantum no-cloning states that it is physically impossible to clone a quantum state.  No-cloning is a central to the study of quantum cryptography, where it allows for objects such as physically unforgeable currency.  In this work, I study two strong variants of no-cloning: (1) public key quantum money, where the would-be cloner is given a verification oracle for checking if it successfully cloned; and (2) quantum lightning, where the cloner even knows all the details of how the initial state was constructed.  I then give a variety of results for public key quantum money and quantum lightning, yielding new constructions and interesting connections to other areas of cryptography.