Quantum Authentication Protocol for Secure Quantum Superdense Coding

In quantum information theory, superdense coding allows two network entities to exchange two classical bits via a quantum channel using a single quantum bit (qubit) transmission, provided they have pre-shared an entangled qubit. An attacker intercepting the qubit during transmission cannot extract meaningful data without the other entangled qubit from the pair. However, an attacker can disrupt the communication by introducing its own qubit to the receiver. To enhance the security of superdense coding, we propose an authentication mechanism through a classical communication channel.