Locally decodable codes and private information retrieval schemes. (Q983163)

Locally decodable codes (LDCs) are codes that simultaneously provide efficient random access retrieval and high noise resilience by allowing reliable reconstruction of an arbitrary bit of a message by looking at only a small number of randomly chosen codeword bits. Local decodability comes with a certain loss in terms of efficiency in that LDCs require longer codeword lengths than their classical counterparts. Private Information Retrieval (PIR) schemes are cryptographic protocols designed to safeguard the privacy of database users. They allow clients to retrieve records from public databases while completely hiding the identity of the retrieved records from database owners. In this book the author provides an algebraic look at the theory of LDCs and PIR schemes, obtaining new families of each which have much better parameters than those of previously known constructions, and he also proves limitations of two-server PIRs in a restricted setting that covers all currently known schemes. The book is essentially the same as the author's dissertation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2007. Each chapter also has an addendum to bring the reader up to date with the various developments in the subjects during the period from mid 2007 to mid 2010.