  The influence of the relativistic covariance requirement on the optimality of
the symmetric state-dependent 1 -> 2 cloning machine is studied. Namely, given
a photonic qubit whose basis is formed from the momentum-helicity eigenstates,
the change to the optimal cloning fidelity is calculated taking into account
the Lorentz covariance unitarily represented by Wigner's little group. To
pinpoint some of the interesting results, we found states for which the optimal
fidelity of the cloning process drops to 2/3 which corresponds to the fidelity
of the optimal classical cloner. Also, an implication for the security of the
BB84 protocol is analyzed.

Quantum Physics