Quantum entanglement is a building block of the entangled quantum networks of the
quantum Internet. A fundamental problem of the quantum Internet is entanglement distribution.
Since quantum entanglement will be fundamental to any future quantum networking scenarios,
the distribution mechanism of quantum entanglement is a critical and emerging issue
in quantum networks. Here we define the method of opportunistic entanglement distribution
for the quantum Internet. The opportunistic model defines distribution sets that are
aimed to select those quantum nodes for which the cost function picks up a local minimum.
The cost function utilizes the error patterns of the local quantum memories and the
predictability of the evolution of the entanglement fidelities. Our method provides
efficient entanglement distributing with respect to the actual statuses of the local
quantum memories of the node pairs. The model provides an easily-applicable, moderate-complexity
solution for high-fidelity entanglement distribution in experimental quantum Internet
scenarios.
