Bilinear pairings on elliptic curves (Q5963025): Difference between revisions

Let \(E\) be an elliptic curve defined over a finite field \(K=\mathbb{F}_q\) of characteristic \(p\). Let \(n\) be a positive integer prime with \(p\) and denote by \(E[n]\) (resp. \(E(L)[n]\) for any extension \(L/K\)) the set of \(n\)-torsion points of \(E\) (resp. the \(n\)-torsion points with coordinates in \(L\)). The paper provides an introduction to various pairings defined on subgroups or quotients of \(E\) of type \(E[n]\) or \(E(L)/nE(L)\) with values in a multiplicative group. Key examples are, of course, the Weil and the Tate pairings defined on \(E[n]\times E[n]\) and on \(E[n]\times E(L)/nE(L)\) respectively (for some \(L\) such that \(E(L)[n]=E[n]\)). The author presents a few equivalent definitions and an algorithm for the computation of these two pairings. Connections with cryptography and generalizations leading to more efficient computations (like \textit{Tate pairings} and the \textit{Hesse pairing}) are described in the final sections. As mentioned by the author, the paper can be seen as an update for the author's book [Elliptic curves and their application to cryptography - An introduction. Kluwer Academic Publisher, (1999; 06576253)].