Abigail Mann

Abigail Mann

As society becomes more reliant on computers, cryptographic security becomes increasingly important. Current encryption schemes include the ElGamal signature scheme, which depends on the complexity of the discrete logarithm problem. It is thought that the functions that such schemes use have inverses that are computationally intractable. In relation to this, we are interested in counting the solutions to a generalization of the discrete logarithm problem modulo a prime power. This is achieved by interpolating to p-adic functions, and using Hensel's lemma, or other methods in the case of singular lifting, and the Chinese Remainder Theorem.

Abigail Mann, Adelyn Yeoh

The Welch map $x \rightarrow g^{x-1+c}$ is similar to the discrete exponential map $x \rightarrow g^x$, which is used in many cryptographic applications including the ElGamal signature scheme. This paper analyzes the number of solutions to the Welch equation: $g^{x-1+c} \equiv x \pmod{p^e}$ where $p$ is a prime and $g$ is a unit modulo $p$, and looks at other patterns of the equation that could possibly be exploited in a similar cryptographic system. Since the equation is modulo $p^e$, where $p$ is a prime number, $p$-adic methods of analysis are used in counting the number of solutions modulo $p^e$. These methods include: $p$-adic interpolation, Hensel's lemma and Chinese Remainder Theorem.