The Questions Logging for the Chapter of Theoretical Constructions of Symmetic-Key Primitives

1. “A function h c : { 0 , 1 } ∗ → { 0 , 1 } hc : \{0, 1\}^{*} \to \{0,1\} hc:{0,1}∗→{0,1} is a hard-core predicate of a function $f$ if hc can be computed in polynomial time, and for every probabilistic polynomial-time algorithm $\mathcal{A}$ there is a negligible function negl.” I cannot understand the meaning of { 0 , 1 } ∗ → { 0 , 1 } \{0, 1\}^{*} \to \{0,1\} {0,1}∗→{0,1} and I need you to explain it.

Answer:

In the context of computational complexity theory and cryptography, the notation { 0 , 1 } ∗ \{0, 1\}^* {0,1}∗ represents the set of all binary strings of any length. Each binary string is a sequence of 0s and 1s. The asterisk (*) denotes the Kleene star operator, which indicates that the set includes strings of any possible length, including the empty string.

So, { 0 , 1 } ∗ \{0, 1\}^* {0,1}∗ represents an infinite set of binary strings that can be of any length, including zero. For example, { 0 , 1 } ∗ \{0, 1\}^* {0,1}∗ includes strings such as “0”, “1”, “1010”, “001001”, and so on.

In the given context, the function h c : { 0 , 1 } ∗ → { 0 , 1 } hc : \{0, 1\}^* \to \{0,1\} hc:{0,1}∗→{0,1} is a function that takes as input a binary string from the set { 0 , 1 } ∗ \{0, 1\}^* {0,1}∗ and produces a binary output, either 0 or 1. The function $hc$ is defined to be a hard-core predicate of another function $f$ if it satisfies certain properties, as mentioned in your statement.

Essentially, $hc$ is a computationally hard function that serves as a way to extract some information about the input of a function $f$ that would otherwise be difficult to compute. It acts as a “hard-core” property that reveals some aspects of $f$ while maintaining its computational hardness.

The statement you provided says that $hc$ can be computed efficiently (in polynomial time) and that for any probabilistic polynomial-time algorithm $\mathcal{A}$ (an algorithm that runs in polynomial time and can make random choices), there is a negligible function $\text{negl}$ such that $\mathcal{A}$ cannot predict the value of $hc$ with non-negligible advantage (the advantage is negligible when it approaches zero as the input size increases).

In summary, the notation { 0 , 1 } ∗ \{0, 1\}^* {0,1}∗ represents the set of all binary strings, and h c : { 0 , 1 } ∗ → { 0 , 1 } hc : \{0, 1\}^* \to \{0,1\} hc:{0,1}∗→{0,1} denotes a function that takes binary strings as input and produces a binary output…