Abstract
We propose a new characterization of NP using square span programs (SSPs). We first characterize NP as affine map constraints on small vectors. We then relate this characterization to SSPs, which are similar but simpler than Quadratic Span Programs (QSPs) and Quadratic Arithmetic Programs (QAPs) since they use a single series of polynomials rather than 2 or 3.
We use SSPs to construct succinct non-interactive zero-knowledge arguments of knowledge. For performance, our proof system is defined over Type III bilinear groups; proofs consist of just 4 group elements, verified in just 6 pairings. Concretely, using the Pinocchio libraries, we estimate that proofs will consist of 160 bytes verified in less than 6 ms.
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013) / ERC Grant Agreement n. 307937 and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council grant EP/J009520/1.
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Danezis, G., Fournet, C., Groth, J., Kohlweiss, M. (2014). Square Span Programs with Applications to Succinct NIZK Arguments. In: Sarkar, P., Iwata, T. (eds) Advances in Cryptology – ASIACRYPT 2014. ASIACRYPT 2014. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 8873. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-45611-8_28
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