Quantum algorithms for highly non-linear Boolean functions

Attempts to separate the power of classical and quantum models of computation have a long history. The ultimate goal is to find exponential separations for computational problems. However, such separations do not come a dime a dozen: while there were some early successes in the form of hidden subgroup problems for abelian groups--which generalize Shor's factoring algorithm perhaps most faithfully--only for a handful of non-abelian groups efficient quantum algorithms were found. Recently, problems have gotten increased attention that seek to identify hidden sub-structures of other combinatorial and algebraic objects besides groups. In this paper we provide new examples for exponential separations by considering hidden shift problems that are defined for several classes of highly non-linear Boolean functions. These so-called bent functions arise in cryptography, where their property of having perfectly flat Fourier spectra on the Boolean hypercube gives them resilience against certain types of attack. We present new quantum algorithms that solve the hidden shift problems for several well-known classes of bent functions in polynomial time and with a constant number of queries, while the classical query complexity is shown to be exponential. Our approach uses a technique that exploits the duality between bent functions and their Fourier transforms.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure, to appear in Proceedings of the 21st Annual ACM-SIAM Symposium on Discrete Algorithms (SODA'10). This updated version of the paper contains a new exponential separation between classical and quantum query complexit

Metrical properties of the set of bent functions in view of duality

In the paper, we give a review of metrical properties of the entire set of bent functions and its significant subclasses of self-dual and anti-self-dual bent functions. We present results for iterative construction of bent functions in n + 2 variables based on the concatenation of four bent functions and consider related open problem proposed by one of the authors. Criterion of self-duality of such functions is discussed. It is explored that the pair of sets of bent functions and affine functions as well as a pair of sets of self-dual and anti-self-dual bent functions in n > 4 variables is a pair of mutually maximally distant sets that implies metrical duality. Groups of automorphisms of the sets of bent functions and (anti-)self-dual bent functions are discussed. The solution to the problem of preserving bentness and the Hamming distance between bent function and its dual within automorphisms of the set of all Boolean functions in n variables is considered