One-way functions and P=NP












5














This site contains various discussions of one-way functions and their relation to P versus NP.



Some of these discussions use a language
$L={(x',y) ~mid~ x'le x text{ and } f(x)=y }$, where $f:Sigma^*toSigma^*$ is the one-way function and $x'le x$ is the prefix relation.
Now one central claim is that this language $L$ is contained in NP, since the word $x$ is a YES-certificate for $(x',y)in L$.



I do not see why this claim is justified.

Why is the length of the certificate $x$ polynomially bounded in the length of $(x',y)$?



Couldn't it be possible that $x$ is exponentially long in $y$ and $x'$, but $f(x)$ is short and quickly computable from $x$?










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  • It is likely that a proof that P=NP is not an effective proof. Crypto works about the same if the effort to crack n bit keys is 2^n or n^65536.
    – Joshua
    Dec 17 at 19:56
















5














This site contains various discussions of one-way functions and their relation to P versus NP.



Some of these discussions use a language
$L={(x',y) ~mid~ x'le x text{ and } f(x)=y }$, where $f:Sigma^*toSigma^*$ is the one-way function and $x'le x$ is the prefix relation.
Now one central claim is that this language $L$ is contained in NP, since the word $x$ is a YES-certificate for $(x',y)in L$.



I do not see why this claim is justified.

Why is the length of the certificate $x$ polynomially bounded in the length of $(x',y)$?



Couldn't it be possible that $x$ is exponentially long in $y$ and $x'$, but $f(x)$ is short and quickly computable from $x$?










share|improve this question







New contributor




Alexis is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.




















  • It is likely that a proof that P=NP is not an effective proof. Crypto works about the same if the effort to crack n bit keys is 2^n or n^65536.
    – Joshua
    Dec 17 at 19:56














5












5








5


1





This site contains various discussions of one-way functions and their relation to P versus NP.



Some of these discussions use a language
$L={(x',y) ~mid~ x'le x text{ and } f(x)=y }$, where $f:Sigma^*toSigma^*$ is the one-way function and $x'le x$ is the prefix relation.
Now one central claim is that this language $L$ is contained in NP, since the word $x$ is a YES-certificate for $(x',y)in L$.



I do not see why this claim is justified.

Why is the length of the certificate $x$ polynomially bounded in the length of $(x',y)$?



Couldn't it be possible that $x$ is exponentially long in $y$ and $x'$, but $f(x)$ is short and quickly computable from $x$?










share|improve this question







New contributor




Alexis is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











This site contains various discussions of one-way functions and their relation to P versus NP.



Some of these discussions use a language
$L={(x',y) ~mid~ x'le x text{ and } f(x)=y }$, where $f:Sigma^*toSigma^*$ is the one-way function and $x'le x$ is the prefix relation.
Now one central claim is that this language $L$ is contained in NP, since the word $x$ is a YES-certificate for $(x',y)in L$.



I do not see why this claim is justified.

Why is the length of the certificate $x$ polynomially bounded in the length of $(x',y)$?



Couldn't it be possible that $x$ is exponentially long in $y$ and $x'$, but $f(x)$ is short and quickly computable from $x$?







one-way-function






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Alexis is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











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asked Dec 17 at 14:33









Alexis

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Check out our Code of Conduct.












  • It is likely that a proof that P=NP is not an effective proof. Crypto works about the same if the effort to crack n bit keys is 2^n or n^65536.
    – Joshua
    Dec 17 at 19:56


















  • It is likely that a proof that P=NP is not an effective proof. Crypto works about the same if the effort to crack n bit keys is 2^n or n^65536.
    – Joshua
    Dec 17 at 19:56
















It is likely that a proof that P=NP is not an effective proof. Crypto works about the same if the effort to crack n bit keys is 2^n or n^65536.
– Joshua
Dec 17 at 19:56




It is likely that a proof that P=NP is not an effective proof. Crypto works about the same if the effort to crack n bit keys is 2^n or n^65536.
– Joshua
Dec 17 at 19:56










1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes


















6














Yes, it could be that in the language you give, $x$ is exponentially long in $(y,x')$, and $f$ is an efficiently computable one-way function (note that it only has to run in time polynomial in its input length, so $f(x)$ needs not be computable in time polynomial in $(y,x')$).



However, this is really a minor issue: the answers to this question that you read are simply a bit informal, and only give an intuition of the proof that OWF implies $P neq NP$. Intuitively, to fix this, modify your language as follows:



$L={(1^n, x',y) ~mid~ exists x, |x| = n, x'le x, text{ and } f(x)=y }$,



where $1^n$ means a sequence of $n$ consecutive one, which exactly allows to fix the issue you point out (note that here $x'le x$ means $x'$ is a prefix of $x$).



Note: the second answer to the question you link to does provide a link to an exercise sheet which contains the more formal solution.






share|improve this answer























  • Thanks a lot for your kind explanations.
    – Alexis
    Dec 17 at 14:51










  • Sorry, but with your modification it is not clear anymore how to invert function $f$ in polynomial time, in case $L$ is in $P$. For exploting $L$, it seems that now I need some a priori bound on $n$, but this might be exponentially large in the length of $y$.
    – Alexis
    Dec 17 at 15:04










  • Inverting $f$ needs not be polynomial in the output size $y$, but still in the input size $x$, which is the case if $L$ is in $P$. You should check the detailed solution given on page 2-3 of the exercise sheet I link to (courses.cs.ut.ee/all/MTAT.07.004/2016_fall/uploads/solution/…).
    – Geoffroy Couteau
    Dec 17 at 15:29












  • With polynomial runtime for f you can not generate an output f(x) with superpolynonial size - so actually any limitation on x also translates to y implicitly.
    – tylo
    Dec 18 at 11:56













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1 Answer
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1 Answer
1






active

oldest

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active

oldest

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active

oldest

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6














Yes, it could be that in the language you give, $x$ is exponentially long in $(y,x')$, and $f$ is an efficiently computable one-way function (note that it only has to run in time polynomial in its input length, so $f(x)$ needs not be computable in time polynomial in $(y,x')$).



However, this is really a minor issue: the answers to this question that you read are simply a bit informal, and only give an intuition of the proof that OWF implies $P neq NP$. Intuitively, to fix this, modify your language as follows:



$L={(1^n, x',y) ~mid~ exists x, |x| = n, x'le x, text{ and } f(x)=y }$,



where $1^n$ means a sequence of $n$ consecutive one, which exactly allows to fix the issue you point out (note that here $x'le x$ means $x'$ is a prefix of $x$).



Note: the second answer to the question you link to does provide a link to an exercise sheet which contains the more formal solution.






share|improve this answer























  • Thanks a lot for your kind explanations.
    – Alexis
    Dec 17 at 14:51










  • Sorry, but with your modification it is not clear anymore how to invert function $f$ in polynomial time, in case $L$ is in $P$. For exploting $L$, it seems that now I need some a priori bound on $n$, but this might be exponentially large in the length of $y$.
    – Alexis
    Dec 17 at 15:04










  • Inverting $f$ needs not be polynomial in the output size $y$, but still in the input size $x$, which is the case if $L$ is in $P$. You should check the detailed solution given on page 2-3 of the exercise sheet I link to (courses.cs.ut.ee/all/MTAT.07.004/2016_fall/uploads/solution/…).
    – Geoffroy Couteau
    Dec 17 at 15:29












  • With polynomial runtime for f you can not generate an output f(x) with superpolynonial size - so actually any limitation on x also translates to y implicitly.
    – tylo
    Dec 18 at 11:56


















6














Yes, it could be that in the language you give, $x$ is exponentially long in $(y,x')$, and $f$ is an efficiently computable one-way function (note that it only has to run in time polynomial in its input length, so $f(x)$ needs not be computable in time polynomial in $(y,x')$).



However, this is really a minor issue: the answers to this question that you read are simply a bit informal, and only give an intuition of the proof that OWF implies $P neq NP$. Intuitively, to fix this, modify your language as follows:



$L={(1^n, x',y) ~mid~ exists x, |x| = n, x'le x, text{ and } f(x)=y }$,



where $1^n$ means a sequence of $n$ consecutive one, which exactly allows to fix the issue you point out (note that here $x'le x$ means $x'$ is a prefix of $x$).



Note: the second answer to the question you link to does provide a link to an exercise sheet which contains the more formal solution.






share|improve this answer























  • Thanks a lot for your kind explanations.
    – Alexis
    Dec 17 at 14:51










  • Sorry, but with your modification it is not clear anymore how to invert function $f$ in polynomial time, in case $L$ is in $P$. For exploting $L$, it seems that now I need some a priori bound on $n$, but this might be exponentially large in the length of $y$.
    – Alexis
    Dec 17 at 15:04










  • Inverting $f$ needs not be polynomial in the output size $y$, but still in the input size $x$, which is the case if $L$ is in $P$. You should check the detailed solution given on page 2-3 of the exercise sheet I link to (courses.cs.ut.ee/all/MTAT.07.004/2016_fall/uploads/solution/…).
    – Geoffroy Couteau
    Dec 17 at 15:29












  • With polynomial runtime for f you can not generate an output f(x) with superpolynonial size - so actually any limitation on x also translates to y implicitly.
    – tylo
    Dec 18 at 11:56
















6












6








6






Yes, it could be that in the language you give, $x$ is exponentially long in $(y,x')$, and $f$ is an efficiently computable one-way function (note that it only has to run in time polynomial in its input length, so $f(x)$ needs not be computable in time polynomial in $(y,x')$).



However, this is really a minor issue: the answers to this question that you read are simply a bit informal, and only give an intuition of the proof that OWF implies $P neq NP$. Intuitively, to fix this, modify your language as follows:



$L={(1^n, x',y) ~mid~ exists x, |x| = n, x'le x, text{ and } f(x)=y }$,



where $1^n$ means a sequence of $n$ consecutive one, which exactly allows to fix the issue you point out (note that here $x'le x$ means $x'$ is a prefix of $x$).



Note: the second answer to the question you link to does provide a link to an exercise sheet which contains the more formal solution.






share|improve this answer














Yes, it could be that in the language you give, $x$ is exponentially long in $(y,x')$, and $f$ is an efficiently computable one-way function (note that it only has to run in time polynomial in its input length, so $f(x)$ needs not be computable in time polynomial in $(y,x')$).



However, this is really a minor issue: the answers to this question that you read are simply a bit informal, and only give an intuition of the proof that OWF implies $P neq NP$. Intuitively, to fix this, modify your language as follows:



$L={(1^n, x',y) ~mid~ exists x, |x| = n, x'le x, text{ and } f(x)=y }$,



where $1^n$ means a sequence of $n$ consecutive one, which exactly allows to fix the issue you point out (note that here $x'le x$ means $x'$ is a prefix of $x$).



Note: the second answer to the question you link to does provide a link to an exercise sheet which contains the more formal solution.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited Dec 17 at 14:51

























answered Dec 17 at 14:47









Geoffroy Couteau

8,05511532




8,05511532












  • Thanks a lot for your kind explanations.
    – Alexis
    Dec 17 at 14:51










  • Sorry, but with your modification it is not clear anymore how to invert function $f$ in polynomial time, in case $L$ is in $P$. For exploting $L$, it seems that now I need some a priori bound on $n$, but this might be exponentially large in the length of $y$.
    – Alexis
    Dec 17 at 15:04










  • Inverting $f$ needs not be polynomial in the output size $y$, but still in the input size $x$, which is the case if $L$ is in $P$. You should check the detailed solution given on page 2-3 of the exercise sheet I link to (courses.cs.ut.ee/all/MTAT.07.004/2016_fall/uploads/solution/…).
    – Geoffroy Couteau
    Dec 17 at 15:29












  • With polynomial runtime for f you can not generate an output f(x) with superpolynonial size - so actually any limitation on x also translates to y implicitly.
    – tylo
    Dec 18 at 11:56




















  • Thanks a lot for your kind explanations.
    – Alexis
    Dec 17 at 14:51










  • Sorry, but with your modification it is not clear anymore how to invert function $f$ in polynomial time, in case $L$ is in $P$. For exploting $L$, it seems that now I need some a priori bound on $n$, but this might be exponentially large in the length of $y$.
    – Alexis
    Dec 17 at 15:04










  • Inverting $f$ needs not be polynomial in the output size $y$, but still in the input size $x$, which is the case if $L$ is in $P$. You should check the detailed solution given on page 2-3 of the exercise sheet I link to (courses.cs.ut.ee/all/MTAT.07.004/2016_fall/uploads/solution/…).
    – Geoffroy Couteau
    Dec 17 at 15:29












  • With polynomial runtime for f you can not generate an output f(x) with superpolynonial size - so actually any limitation on x also translates to y implicitly.
    – tylo
    Dec 18 at 11:56


















Thanks a lot for your kind explanations.
– Alexis
Dec 17 at 14:51




Thanks a lot for your kind explanations.
– Alexis
Dec 17 at 14:51












Sorry, but with your modification it is not clear anymore how to invert function $f$ in polynomial time, in case $L$ is in $P$. For exploting $L$, it seems that now I need some a priori bound on $n$, but this might be exponentially large in the length of $y$.
– Alexis
Dec 17 at 15:04




Sorry, but with your modification it is not clear anymore how to invert function $f$ in polynomial time, in case $L$ is in $P$. For exploting $L$, it seems that now I need some a priori bound on $n$, but this might be exponentially large in the length of $y$.
– Alexis
Dec 17 at 15:04












Inverting $f$ needs not be polynomial in the output size $y$, but still in the input size $x$, which is the case if $L$ is in $P$. You should check the detailed solution given on page 2-3 of the exercise sheet I link to (courses.cs.ut.ee/all/MTAT.07.004/2016_fall/uploads/solution/…).
– Geoffroy Couteau
Dec 17 at 15:29






Inverting $f$ needs not be polynomial in the output size $y$, but still in the input size $x$, which is the case if $L$ is in $P$. You should check the detailed solution given on page 2-3 of the exercise sheet I link to (courses.cs.ut.ee/all/MTAT.07.004/2016_fall/uploads/solution/…).
– Geoffroy Couteau
Dec 17 at 15:29














With polynomial runtime for f you can not generate an output f(x) with superpolynonial size - so actually any limitation on x also translates to y implicitly.
– tylo
Dec 18 at 11:56






With polynomial runtime for f you can not generate an output f(x) with superpolynonial size - so actually any limitation on x also translates to y implicitly.
– tylo
Dec 18 at 11:56












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