Public key cryptography and error correcting codes as Ising models

We employ the methods of statistical physics to study the performance of Gallager type error-correcting codes. In this approach, the transmitted codeword comprises Boolean sums of the original message bits selected by two randomly-constructed sparse matrices. We show that a broad range of these codes potentially saturate Shannon's bound but are limited due to the decoding dynamics used. Other codes show sub-optimal performance but are not restricted by the decoding dynamics. We show how these codes may also be employed as a practical public-key cryptosystem and are of competitive performance to modern cyptographical methods.Comment: 6 page

Thouless-Anderson-Palmer Approach for Lossy Compression

We study an ill-posed linear inverse problem, where a binary sequence will be reproduced using a sparce matrix. According to the previous study, this model can theoretically provide an optimal compression scheme for an arbitrary distortion level, though the encoding procedure remains an NP-complete problem. In this paper, we focus on the consistency condition for a dynamics model of Markov-type to derive an iterative algorithm, following the steps of Thouless-Anderson-Palmer's. Numerical results show that the algorithm can empirically saturate the theoretical limit for the sparse construction of our codes, which also is very close to the rate-distortion function.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

One step RSB scheme for the rate distortion function

We apply statistical mechanics to an inverse problem of linear mapping to investigate the physics of the irreversible compression. We use the replica symmetry breaking (RSB) technique with a toy model to demonstrate the Shannon's result. The rate distortion function, which is widely known as the theoretical limit of the compression with a fidelity criterion, is derived using the Parisi one step RSB scheme. The bound can not be achieved in the sparsely-connected systems, where suboptimal solutions dominate the capacity.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Typical Performance of Gallager-type Error-Correcting Codes

The performance of Gallager's error-correcting code is investigated via methods of statistical physics. In this approach, the transmitted codeword comprises products of the original message bits selected by two randomly-constructed sparse matrices; the number of non-zero row/column elements in these matrices constitutes a family of codes. We show that Shannon's channel capacity is saturated for many of the codes while slightly lower performance is obtained for others which may be of higher practical relevance. Decoding aspects are considered by employing the TAP approach which is identical to the commonly used belief-propagation-based decoding.Comment: 6 pages, latex, 1 figur

Cryptographical Properties of Ising Spin Systems

The relation between Ising spin systems and public-key cryptography is investigated using methods of statistical physics. The insight gained from the analysis is used for devising a matrix-based cryptosystem whereby the ciphertext comprises products of the original message bits; these are selected by employing two predetermined randomly-constructed sparse matrices. The ciphertext is decrypted using methods of belief-propagation. The analyzed properties of the suggested cryptosystem show robustness against various attacks and competitive performance to modern cyptographical methods.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

The Statistical Physics of Regular Low-Density Parity-Check Error-Correcting Codes

A variation of Gallager error-correcting codes is investigated using statistical mechanics. In codes of this type, a given message is encoded into a codeword which comprises Boolean sums of message bits selected by two randomly constructed sparse matrices. The similarity of these codes to Ising spin systems with random interaction makes it possible to assess their typical performance by analytical methods developed in the study of disordered systems. The typical case solutions obtained via the replica method are consistent with those obtained in simulations using belief propagation (BP) decoding. We discuss the practical implications of the results obtained and suggest a computationally efficient construction for one of the more practical configurations.Comment: 35 pages, 4 figure