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Obfuscation of Arbitrary Quantum Circuits (via Subspace-Preserving Pseudorandom Unitary)
Quantum Physics · Submitted 13 Jan 2026
abstract compiled · 2026-10-06 · no language-model review
The authors' main claim In this work, we construct the first quantum ideal obfuscation scheme for arbitrary quantum circuits that support quantum inputs and outputs in the classical oracle model assuming post-quantum one-way functions, thereby resolving an open problem raised in Bartusek et al. (STOC 2023), Bartusek, Brakerski, and Vaikuntanathan (STOC 2024), and Huang and Tang (FOCS 2025).
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Program obfuscation aims to conceal a computer program's internal structure while preserving its functionality. A central open problem is whether an obfuscation scheme for arbitrary quantum circuits exists. Despite several efforts toward this goal, prior works have succeeded only in obfuscating quantum circuits that implement either pseudo-deterministic functions or unitary transformations. Although unitary transformations already include a broad class of quantum computations, many important quantum tasks, such as state preparation, quantum sampling, and quantum error correction, go beyond unitaries and are described by general completely positive trace-preserving (CPTP) maps. In this work, we construct the first quantum ideal obfuscation scheme for arbitrary quantum circuits that support quantum inputs and outputs in the classical oracle model assuming post-quantum one-way functions, thereby resolving an open problem raised in Bartusek et al. (STOC 2023), Bartusek, Brakerski, and Vaikuntanathan (STOC 2024), and Huang and Tang (FOCS 2025). At the core of our construction lies a novel primitive that we introduce, called the subspace-preserving strong pseudorandom unitary (spsPRU). An spsPRU is a family of efficient unitaries that fix every vector in a given linear subspace $S$, while acting as a Haar random unitary on its orthogonal complement $S^\perp$ under both forward and inverse oracle queries. Furthermore, by instantiating the classical oracle model with the ideal obfuscation scheme for classical circuits proposed by Jain et al. (CRYPTO 2023) and later enhanced by Bartusek et al. (CRYPTO 2026), our obfuscation scheme can also be realized in the quantumly accessible pseudorandom oracle model.
background contribution method result interpretation main claim
| # | sentence | role | the authors' own work | states the main conclusion | strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| s0 | Program obfuscation aims to conceal a computer program's internal structure while preserving its functionality. | background 1.00 | 0.03 | 0.02 | asserted 0.99 |
| s1 | A central open problem is whether an obfuscation scheme for arbitrary quantum circuits exists. | gap 0.82 | 0.04 | 0.03 | asserted 0.83 |
| s2 | Despite several efforts toward this goal, prior works have succeeded only in obfuscating quantum circuits that implement either pseudo-deterministic functions or unitary transformations. | background 0.58 | 0.03 | 0.02 | asserted 1.00 |
| s3 | Although unitary transformations already include a broad class of quantum computations, many important quantum tasks, such as state preparation, quantum sampling, and quantum error correction, go beyond unitaries and are described by general completely positive trace-preserving (CPTP) maps. | background 0.53 | 0.05 | 0.02 | asserted 1.00 |
| s4 | In this work, we construct the first quantum ideal obfuscation scheme for arbitrary quantum circuits that support quantum inputs and outputs in the classical oracle model assuming post-quantum one-way functions, thereby resolving an open problem raised in Bartusek et al. (STOC 2023), Bartusek, Brakerski, and Vaikuntanathan (STOC 2024), and Huang and Tang (FOCS 2025). | contribution 0.96 | 0.96 | 0.95 | asserted 1.00 |
| s5 | At the core of our construction lies a novel primitive that we introduce, called the subspace-preserving strong pseudorandom unitary (spsPRU). | contribution 0.65 | 0.92 | 0.06 | asserted 1.00 |
| s6 | An spsPRU is a family of efficient unitaries that fix every vector in a given linear subspace $S$, while acting as a Haar random unitary on its orthogonal complement $S^\perp$ under both forward and inverse oracle queries. | contribution 0.51 | 0.75 | 0.03 | asserted 1.00 |
| s7 | Furthermore, by instantiating the classical oracle model with the ideal obfuscation scheme for classical circuits proposed by Jain et al. (CRYPTO 2023) and later enhanced by Bartusek et al. (CRYPTO 2026), our obfuscation scheme can also be realized in the quantumly accessible pseudorandom oracle model. | result 0.40 | 0.75 | 0.06 | asserted 0.73 |
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Original abstract
Program obfuscation aims to conceal a computer program's internal structure while preserving its functionality. A central open problem is whether an obfuscation scheme for arbitrary quantum circuits exists. Despite several efforts toward this goal, prior works have succeeded only in obfuscating quantum circuits that implement either pseudo-deterministic functions or unitary transformations. Although unitary transformations already include a broad class of quantum computations, many important quantum tasks, such as state preparation, quantum sampling, and quantum error correction, go beyond unitaries and are described by general completely positive trace-preserving (CPTP) maps. In this work, we construct the first quantum ideal obfuscation scheme for arbitrary quantum circuits that support quantum inputs and outputs in the classical oracle model assuming post-quantum one-way functions, thereby resolving an open problem raised in Bartusek et al. (STOC 2023), Bartusek, Brakerski, and Vaikuntanathan (STOC 2024), and Huang and Tang (FOCS 2025). At the core of our construction lies a novel primitive that we introduce, called the subspace-preserving strong pseudorandom unitary (spsPRU). An spsPRU is a family of efficient unitaries that fix every vector in a given linear subspace $S$, while acting as a Haar random unitary on its orthogonal complement $S^\perp$ under both forward and inverse oracle queries. Furthermore, by instantiating the classical oracle model with the ideal obfuscation scheme for classical circuits proposed by Jain et al. (CRYPTO 2023) and later enhanced by Bartusek et al. (CRYPTO 2026), our obfuscation scheme can also be realized in the quantumly accessible pseudorandom oracle model.
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