This is the nineteenth edition of a (usually) quarterly column that covers new developments in the theory of NP-completeness. The presentation is modeled on that used by M. R. Garey and myself in our book ‘‘Computers and Intractability: A Guide to the Theory of NP-Completeness,’ ’ W. H. Freeman & Co., New York, 1979 (hereinafter referred to as ‘‘[G&J]’’; previous columns will be referred to by their dates). A background equivalent to that provided by [G&J] is assumed, and, when appropriate, cross-references will be given to that book and the list of problems (NP-complete and harder) presented there. Readers who have results they would like mentioned (NP-hardness, PSPACE-hardness, polynomial-time-solvability, etc.) or open problems they would like publicized, should

The aim of this paper is to describe the theory and implementation of the Elliptic Curve Primality Proving algorithm.

Given a primitive element g of a finite field GF(q), the discrete logarithm of a nonzero element u GF(q) is that integer k, 1 k q - 1, for which u = g k . The well-known problem of computing discrete logarithms in finite fields has acquired additional importance in recent years due to its applicability in cryptography. Several cryptographic systems would become insecure if an efficient discrete logarithm algorithm were discovered. This paper surveys and analyzes known algorithms in this area, with special attention devoted to algorithms for the fields GF(2 n ). It appears that in order to be safe from attacks using these algorithms, the value of n for which GF(2 n ) is used in a cryptosystem has to be very large and carefully chosen. Due in large part to recent discoveries, discrete logarithms in fields GF(2 n ) are much easier to compute than in fields GF(p) with p prime. Hence the fields GF(2 n ) ought to be avoided in all cryptographic applications. On the other hand, ...

This paper presents a new probabilistic primality test. Upon termination the test outputs "composite" or "prime", along with a short proof of correctness, which can be verified in deterministic polynomial time. The test is different from the tests of Miller [M], Solovay-Strassen [SSI, and Rabin [R] in that its assertions of primality are certain, rather than being correct with high prob-ability or dependent on an unproven assumption. Thc test terminates in expected polynomial time on all but at most an exponentially vanishing fraction of the inputs of length k, for every k. This result implies: • There exist an infinite set of primes which can be recognized in expected polynomial time. • Large certified primes can be generated in expected polynomial time. Under a very plausible condition on the distribution of primes in "small" intervals, the proposed algorithm can be shown'to run in expected polynomial time on every input. This

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Abstract. In this paper we discuss the basic problems of algorithmic algebraic number theory. The emphasis is on aspects that are of interest from a purely mathematical point of view, and practical issues are largely disregarded. We describe what has been done and, more importantly, what remains to be done in the area. We hope to show that the study of algorithms not only increases our understanding of algebraic number fields but also stimulates our curiosity about them. The discussion is concentrated of three topics: the determination of Galois groups, the determination of the ring of integers of an algebraic number field, and the computation of the group of units and the class group of that ring of integers. 1.

this paper contains a list of 36 open problems in numbertheoretic complexity. We expect that none of these problems are easy; we are sure that many of them are hard. This list of problems reflects our own interests and should not be viewed as definitive. As the field changes and becomes deeper, new problems will emerge and old problems will lose favor. Ideally there will be other `open problems' papers in future ANTS proceedings to help guide the field. It is likely that some of the problems presented here will remain open for the forseeable future. However, it is possible in some cases to make progress by solving subproblems, or by establishing reductions between problems, or by settling problems under the assumption of one or more well known hypotheses (e.g. the various extended Riemann hypotheses, NP 6= P; NP 6= coNP). For the sake of clarity we have often chosen to state a specific version of a problem rather than a general one. For example, questions about the integers modulo a prime often have natural generalizations to arbitrary finite fields, to arbitrary cyclic groups, or to problems with a composite modulus. Questions about the integers often have natural generalizations to the ring of integers in an algebraic number field, and questions about elliptic curves often generalize to arbitrary curves or abelian varieties. The problems presented here arose from many different places and times. To those whose research has generated these problems or has contributed to our present understanding of them but to whom inadequate acknowledgement is given here, we apologize. Our list of open problems is derived from an earlier `open problems' paper we wrote in 1986 [AM86]. When we wrote the first version of this paper, we feared that the problems presented were so difficult...

The problem of sorting n integers from a restricted range [1::m], where m is superpolynomial in n, is considered. An o(n log n) randomized algorithm is given. Our algorithm takes O(n log log m) expected time and O(n) space. (Thus, for m = n polylog(n) we have an O(n log log n) algorithm.) The algorithm is parallelizable. The resulting parallel algorithm achieves optimal speed up. Some features of the algorithm make us believe that it is relevant for practical applications. A result of independent interest is a parallel hashing technique. The expected construction time is logarithmic using an optimal number of processors, and searching for a value takes O(1) time in the worst case. This technique enables drastic reduction of space requirements for the price of using randomness. Applicability of the technique is demonstrated for the parallel sorting algorithm, and for some parallel string matching algorithms. The parallel sorting algorithm is designed for a strong and non standard mo...

Abstract. We present a primality proving algorithm—a probabilistic primality test that produces short certificates of primality on prime inputs. We prove that the test runs in expected polynomial time for all but a vanishingly small fraction of the primes. As a corollary, we obtain an algorithm for generating large certified primes with distribution statistically close to uniform. Under the conjecture that the gap between consecutive primes is bounded by some polynomial in their size, the test is shown to run in expected polynomial time for all primes, yielding a Las Vegas primality test. Our test is based on a new methodology for applying group theory to the problem of prime certification, and the application of this methodology using groups generated by elliptic curves over finite fields. We note that our methodology and methods have been subsequently used and improved upon, most notably in the primality proving algorithm of Adleman and Huang using hyperelliptic curves and

Abstract. The elliptic curve primality proving (ECPP) algorithm is one of the current fastest practical algorithms for proving the primality of large numbers. Its running time currently cannot be proven rigorously, but heuristic arguments show that it should run in time Õ((log N)5) to prove the primality of N. An asymptotically fast version of it, attributed to J. O. Shallit, is expected to run in time Õ((log N)4). We describe this version in more details, leading to actual implementations able to handle numbers with several thousands of decimal digits. 1.