This chapter analyzes the applicability of Fourier transformations to determine the periodic structure of finite-length sequences. The classical factorization problem is reformulated to solve it on modern quantum computers with 16 or more qubits. The chapter presents Shor's algorithm for factorization of natural numbers. Performing two basic quantum operations is required to implement the described Shor algorithm, namely exponentiation and quantum discrete Fourier transformation. The chapter estimates the amount of quantum resources needed to solve some asymmetric cryptographic problems using derivatives of the Shor algorithm, with different parameters of these problems, and compares them with the complexity of solving the iterative problem when searching for the key of a symmetric cryptosystem. Using the example of solving the problem of finding the exponent (multiplicative order) of a simple integer modulo by another simple integer, the chapter shows the main features of modeling and engineering implementation of the quantum Shor algorithm.
This chapter analyzes the applicability of Fourier transformations to determine the periodic structure of finite-length sequences. The classical factorization problem is reformulated to solve it on modern quantum computers with 16 or more qubits. The chapter presents Shor's algorithm for factorization of natural numbers. Performing two basic quantum operations is required to implement the described Shor algorithm, namely exponentiation and quantum discrete Fourier transformation. The chapter estimates the amount of quantum resources needed to solve some asymmetric cryptographic problems using derivatives of the Shor algorithm, with different parameters of these problems, and compares them with the complexity of solving the iterative problem when searching for the key of a symmetric cryptosystem. Using the example of solving the problem of finding the exponent (multiplicative order) of a simple integer modulo by another simple integer, the chapter shows the main features of modeling and engineering implementation of the quantum Shor algorithm.
A fundamental problem in factorization by Shor's algorithm [1] is the implementation of the modular exponentiation function. The period of this function is important for determining the individual factors, so its accurate implementation is for successful factorization critical.The imprecision of current quantum computers requires that any quantum circuits should be as simple as possible. Both in terms of the number of qubits used, the number of quantum gates and the depth of the quantum circuit. Therefore, it is necessary to search for an optimal variant for the implementation of the above-mentioned modular exponentiation function.The standard method is to implement individual arithmetic functions [2] which can be combined to achieve the desired modular exponentiation function. This process, however, creates a very complex quantum circuit, so that its measured result (probability distribution) will be so skewed that it will not be possible to reliably obtain the period of sought.Another way is to create a special quantum circuit for one particular modular exponentiation function [3]. Such a circuit is of course simpler than the circuit created by the above universal implementation, but in practice it only makes sense for testing the functionality of the surrounding quantum circuit for period detection.A very interesting possibility for the implementation of arithmetic functions is to use the direct and inverse quantum Fourier transform [4]. For a quantum computer, these transformations are very easy operations, and this interesting feature can then be used to advantage in these various implementations.This contribution will explore these possible approaches and show their advantages and disadvantages through concrete examples.
Shor's algorithm proved a significant milestone in quantum computing since it promises an exponential speedup over conventional algorithms for integer factorization, a problem critical to modern cryptography systems. This work covers implementation steps of Shor’s algorithm and analyzes Quantum Fourier Transform (QFT) usage for extracting periodicity from quantum superpositions. Firstly, theoretical foundations of algorithm are illustrated concentrating on QFT construction and operation within the setting of the quantum circuit. Thereafter, each implementation step such as qubit optimization, modular exponentiation, and circuit design is discussed. Our findings validate the theoretical effectiveness of the QFT in solving the period-finding subroutine, while also highlighting the practical difficulties and scaling constraints presented by existing quantum hardware. The paper ends with a summary of possible advancements and future paths for error mitigation strategies and quantum algorithm design.
In quantum cryptanalysis, Shor's algorithm provides exponential acceleration of solving factorization problems, discrete logarithm problem, and elliptic curve discrete logarithm problems, widely used in cryptographic applications in cyberspace. Shor's quantum algorithm can potentially crack most protocols and schemes of asymmetric encryption (public key cryptography). In general, all known quantum algorithms can be divided into two groups: providing exponential gain (for example, Shor's algorithm) and providing quadratic gain (for example, Grover's algorithm). Particular attention is paid to the Shor quantum algorithm and other polynomial algorithms capable of solving cryptanalysis problems with the required reliability and complexity in polynomial time. For quantum computing, all cryptographies are divided into quantum-secure and quantum-insecure. Algorithms and cryptosystems of symmetric encryption are attributed to quantum-secure but with at least twice the key length increased. This chapter presents an overview of the concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book.
To factor an integer N into a product of two other numbers N1 and N2, Shor’s algorithm uses the Quantum Fourier Transform on n qubits, denoted QFTn, to determine the period r of a Modular Exponentiation Function (MEF), which is later used to compute a factor of N. In this work, we present Shor’s algorithm for factoring an integer of n qubits and illustrate an example with n=4. We implement our algorithm using Qiskit and IBM quantum computers, which also can be adapted on other quantum computing platforms with minor adjustments. We discuss the IBM quantum computer limitations for running our circuit and show the impact of device imperfections on the factored result.
Abstract Expanding on the factoring and periodicity in Chapter 14, the Shor algorithm is explained in detail, with a warning that this is one of the toughest chapters in the book. While the steps of Shor algorithm may look just like the RSA in reverse, the quantum computer is needed to find the periodicity of the factors and thereby the prime factors themselves. Fourier analysis is the tool for this. The quantum Fourier transform is described, including the quantum circuit, after first showing what the classical Fourier transform accomplishes. Extensive examples of all the steps are given.
We provide a pedagogical presentation of Shor's factoring algorithm, which is a quantum algorithm for factoring very large numbers (of order of hundreds to thousands of bits) in polynomial time. In contrast, all known classical algorithms for the factoring problem take an exponential time to factor such large numbers. Shor's algorithm therefore has profound implication for public-key encryption such as RSA and Diffie–Hellman key exchange. We assume no prior knowledge of Shor's algorithm beyond a basic familiarity with the circuit model of quantum computing. Shor's algorithm contains a number of moving parts, and can be rather daunting at first. The literature is replete with derivations and expositions of Shor's algorithm, but most of them seem to be lacking in essential details, and none of them provide a pedagogical presentation. They require a thicket of appendices and assume a knowledge of quantum algorithms and classical mathematics with which the reader might not be familiar. We therefore start with first principle derivations of the quantum Fourier transform (QFT) and quantum phase estimation (QPE), which are the essential building blocks of Shor's algorithm. We then go on to develop the theory of modular exponentiation (ME) operators, one of the fundamental components of Shor's algorithm, and the place where most of the quantum resources are deployed. We also delve into the number theory that establishes the link between factorization and the period of the modular exponential function. We then apply the QPE algorithm to obtain Shor's factoring algorithm. We also discuss the post-quantum processing and the method of continued fractions, which is used to extract the exact period of the modular exponential function from the approximately measured phase angles of the ME operator. The manuscript then moves on to a series of examples. We first verify the formalism by factoring N=15, the smallest number accessible to Shor's algorithm. We then proceed to factor larger integers, developing a systematic procedure that will find the ME operators for any semi-prime N=p×q (where q and p are prime). Finally, we factor the composite numbers N=21, 33, 35, 143, 247 using the Qiskit simulator. It is observed that the ME operators are somewhat forgiving, and truncated approximate forms are able to extract factors just as well as the exact operators. This is because the method of continued fractions only requires an approximate phase value for its input, which suggests that implementing Shor's algorithm might not be as difficult as first suspected. Quanta 2023; 12: 41–130.