Quantum advantage prediction in turbulent free-space quantum illumination

Abstract

Quantum illumination offers a significant theoretical advantage for target detection in high background noise environments. However, its practical deployment in free-space channels is hindered by atmospheric turbulence. Stochastic fluctuations in atmospheric turbulence inevitably degrade the quantum signature, rendering the real-time evaluation of quantum advantage under such dynamic conditions a critical yet unresolved challenge. To circumvent the reliance on costly direct turbulence measurements, we propose a physics-driven framework that integrates Kolmogorov-Arnold networks directly bridge macroscopic meteorological observations with microscopic quantum channel dynamics. Trained on 105,120 samples from 12 climatically diverse sites and validated on 26,280 unseen samples from three extreme boundary conditions (arid continental, tropical maritime, high-altitude plateau), our approach establishes a physically consistent mapping from standard meteorological variables to the temporal evolution of the quantum advantage. This end-to-end system dynamically quantifies the degradation of quantum advantage across diverse turbulence conditions. Our results provide a rigorous theoretical and data-driven pathway for environmental adaptation, facilitating the transition of quantum radar networks from proof-of-principle demonstrations to all-weather operational systems.