Olijnyk Nicholas V
United States Military Academy, West Point, NY, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2018 Jan 31;13(1):e0190646. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190646. eCollection 2018.
This study performed two phases of analysis to shed light on the performance and thematic evolution of China's quantum cryptography (QC) research. First, large-scale research publication metadata derived from QC research published from 2001-2017 was used to examine the research performance of China relative to that of global peers using established quantitative and qualitative measures. Second, this study identified the thematic evolution of China's QC research using co-word cluster network analysis, a computational science mapping technique. The results from the first phase indicate that over the past 17 years, China's performance has evolved dramatically, placing it in a leading position. Among the most significant findings is the exponential rate at which all of China's performance indicators (i.e., Publication Frequency, citation score, H-index) are growing. China's H-index (a normalized indicator) has surpassed all other countries' over the last several years. The second phase of analysis shows how China's main research focus has shifted among several QC themes, including quantum-key-distribution, photon-optical communication, network protocols, and quantum entanglement with an emphasis on applied research. Several themes were observed across time periods (e.g., photons, quantum-key-distribution, secret-messages, quantum-optics, quantum-signatures); some themes disappeared over time (e.g., computer-networks, attack-strategies, bell-state, polarization-state), while others emerged more recently (e.g., quantum-entanglement, decoy-state, unitary-operation). Findings from the first phase of analysis provide empirical evidence that China has emerged as the global driving force in QC. Considering China is the premier driving force in global QC research, findings from the second phase of analysis provide an understanding of China's QC research themes, which can provide clarity into how QC technologies might take shape. QC and science and technology policy researchers can also use these findings to trace previous research directions and plan future lines of research.
本研究进行了两个阶段的分析，以阐明中国量子密码学（QC）研究的表现和主题演变。首先，使用从2001年至2017年发表的量子密码学研究中获取的大规模研究出版物元数据，通过既定的定量和定性方法，考察中国相对于全球同行的研究表现。其次，本研究使用共词聚类网络分析（一种计算科学映射技术）来确定中国量子密码学研究的主题演变。第一阶段的结果表明，在过去17年中，中国的表现发生了巨大变化，位居领先地位。其中最显著的发现是中国所有表现指标（即发表频率、引用分数、H指数）的增长速度呈指数级。在过去几年中，中国的H指数（一个标准化指标）已超过所有其他国家。分析的第二阶段展示了中国的主要研究重点如何在几个量子密码学主题之间转移，包括量子密钥分发、光子光通信、网络协议以及量子纠缠，并侧重于应用研究。在不同时间段观察到了几个主题（例如，光子、量子密钥分发、秘密消息、量子光学、量子签名）；一些主题随着时间消失了（例如，计算机网络、攻击策略、贝尔态、偏振态），而其他主题最近才出现（例如，量子纠缠、诱骗态、酉运算）。第一阶段分析的结果提供了实证证据，表明中国已成为量子密码学领域的全球驱动力。鉴于中国是全球量子密码学研究的首要驱动力，第二阶段分析的结果有助于理解中国的量子密码学研究主题，从而清晰了解量子密码学技术可能如何形成。量子密码学以及科技政策研究人员也可以利用这些发现来追溯以往的研究方向并规划未来的研究路线。
