Provably-secure symmetric private information retrieval with quantum cryptography

Private information retrieval (PIR) is a database query protocol that provides user privacy, in that the user can learn a particular entry of the database of his interest but his query would be hidden from the data centre. Symmetric private information retrieval (SPIR) takes PIR further by additionally offering database privacy, where the user cannot learn any additional entries of the database. Unconditionally secure SPIR solutions with multiple databases are known classically, but are unrealistic because they require long shared secret keys between the parties for secure communication and shared randomness in the protocol. Here, we propose using quantum key distribution (QKD) instead for a practical implementation, which can realise both the secure communication and shared randomness requirements. We prove that QKD maintains the security of the SPIR protocol and that it is also secure against any external eavesdropper. We also show how such a classical-quantum system could be implemented practically, using the example of a two-database SPIR protocol with keys generated by measurement device-independent QKD. Through key rate calculations, we show that such an implementation is feasible at the metropolitan level with current QKD technology.Comment: 19 page

Inverse regression for longitudinal data

Sliced inverse regression (Duan and Li [Ann. Statist. 19 (1991) 505-530], Li [J. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 86 (1991) 316-342]) is an appealing dimension reduction method for regression models with multivariate covariates. It has been extended by Ferr\'{e} and Yao [Statistics 37 (2003) 475-488, Statist. Sinica 15 (2005) 665-683] and Hsing and Ren [Ann. Statist. 37 (2009) 726-755] to functional covariates where the whole trajectories of random functional covariates are completely observed. The focus of this paper is to develop sliced inverse regression for intermittently and sparsely measured longitudinal covariates. We develop asymptotic theory for the new procedure and show, under some regularity conditions, that the estimated directions attain the optimal rate of convergence. Simulation studies and data analysis are also provided to demonstrate the performance of our method.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/13-AOS1193 the Annals of Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aos/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org). With Correction

Implications of new data in charmless B decays

Based on the latest experimental data of $B \to \pi\pi$ and $\pi K$ modes, a model-independent analytical analysis is presented. The CP-averaged branching ratio difference $\Delta R = R_c - R_n$ in $B\to \pi K$ decays with $R_c = 2Br(\pi^0K^-)/Br(\pi^-\bar{K}^0)$ and $R_n =Br(\pi^+K^-)/2Br(\pi^0\bar{K}^0)$ is reduced though it remains larger than the prediction from the standard model(SM) as both measured $R_n$ and $R_c$ are enhanced, which indicates that a room for new physics becomes smaller. The present data of $\pi\pi$ decay reduce the ratio $|C/T|$ from the previous value of $|C/T|\simeq 0.8$ to $|C/T| \simeq 0.65$, which is still larger than the theoretical estimations based on QCD factorization and pQCD. Within SM and flavor SU(3) symmetry, the current $\pi K$ data also diminish the ratio $|C'/T'|$ from the previous value $|C'/T'| \simeq 2$ to $|C'/T'| \simeq 1.16$ with a large strong phase $\delta_{C'} \simeq -2.65$, while its value remains much larger than the one extracted from the $\pi \pi$ modes. The direct CP violation $A_{CP}(\pi^0\bar{K}^0)$ is predicted to be $A_{CP}(\pi^0\bar{K}^0) = -0.15\pm0.03$, which is consistent with the present data. Two kinds of new effects in both strong and weak phases of the electroweak penguin diagram are considered. It is found that both cases can reduce the ratio to $|C'/T'| = 0.40\sim 0.80$ and lead to roughly the same predictions for CP violation in $\pi^0 K^0$.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure