True randomness from quantum physics

Ramona Wolf and Renato Renner
ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Randomness is a regular part of our (more or less) daily lives: from drawing lottery numbers to running computer simulations and the security of cryptographic schemes, various applications rely on random numbers. But does true randomness actually exist? If so, can we create truly random numbers in our labs? This task proposes many challenges, already on a fundamental theoretical level. I will present what is necessary to realize quantum random number generators, starting with how to properly define randomness (which is a surprisingly nontrivial task!) up to explaining the different kinds of protocols that fall under the name ‘’quantum random number generation’’ and how far we have come in experimental realizations.