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arxiv: 2604.02311 · v2 · submitted 2026-04-02 · 🪐 quant-ph

Recognition: 2 theorem links

· Lean Theorem

Space-Efficient Quantum Algorithm for Elliptic Curve Discrete Logarithms with Resource Estimation

Authors on Pith no claims yet

Pith reviewed 2026-05-13 21:17 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification 🪐 quant-ph
keywords elliptic curve discrete logarithmspace-efficient quantum algorithmreversible modular inversionShor's algorithmresource estimationlogical qubitsToffoli gatescontrolled point addition
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The pith

Refined reversible modular inversion cuts ECDLP qubit count to 5n plus four log n terms.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The paper establishes a lower-space version of Shor's algorithm for the elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem by redesigning the modular inversion step that dominates space use during point addition. It starts from the extended Euclidean algorithm and applies register sharing plus location-controlled arithmetic to keep intermediate values compact without extra ancillas. This produces a modular inversion circuit of 3n plus four log n qubits and then plugs it into the controlled affine point-addition routine. The result is an ECDLP circuit that runs with 5n plus four log n qubits and cubic Toffoli cost. For a 256-bit prime-field curve the estimate drops to 1333 logical qubits, below the 2124 reported in earlier low-width work.

Core claim

Starting from the extended Euclidean algorithm, length registers and location-controlled arithmetic yield a reversible modular inversion circuit using 3n + 4⌊log₂n⌋ + O(1) qubits and 204n² log₂n + O(n²) Toffoli gates; inserting this component into the controlled affine point-addition circuit produces an ECDLP algorithm with 5n + 4⌊log₂n⌋ + O(1) qubits and O(n³) Toffoli gates.

What carries the argument

Space-efficient reversible modular inversion built from length registers and location-controlled arithmetic that stores EEA intermediates compactly throughout the computation.

If this is right

  • The full ECDLP solver uses 5n + 4⌊log₂n⌋ + O(1) logical qubits and O(n³) Toffoli gates.
  • For n = 256 the qubit requirement falls to 1333, below the 2124 of the prior low-width implementation.
  • Modular inversion alone consumes 3n + 4⌊log₂n⌋ + O(1) qubits and 204n² log n Toffoli gates.
  • The same register-sharing technique can be reused inside other controlled arithmetic operations that appear in Shor's algorithm variants.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • The reduced width makes concrete resource estimates for breaking 256-bit elliptic-curve keys on near-term fault-tolerant machines more realistic.
  • Similar length-register techniques could be tested on other number-theoretic primitives such as RSA modular exponentiation to see whether comparable savings appear.
  • The concrete Toffoli counts supplied allow direct comparison against other arithmetic circuit libraries for quantum cryptanalysis.

Load-bearing premise

The optimized stepwise update rules and location-controlled arithmetic components can be realized in the standard quantum circuit model without hidden space overhead or additional ancilla qubits beyond the stated O(log n) terms.

What would settle it

An explicit circuit or resource count for the modular inversion block on a 256-bit field that requires more than 3n + 4 log n qubits would falsify the space bound.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 2604.02311 by Han Luo, Tongyang Li, Yuexin Su, Ziruo Wang, Ziyi Yang.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: Toffoli gate count and CNOT gate count for modular inversion in ECDLP. [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p005_1.png] view at source ↗
Figure 2
Figure 2. Figure 2: The overall quantum circuit of Shor’s algorithm for solving ECDLP using QFT. The qubits, [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p007_2.png] view at source ↗
Figure 3
Figure 3. Figure 3: The overall quantum circuit of Shor’s algorithm for solving ECDLP using semiclassical QFT. [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p007_3.png] view at source ↗
Figure 4
Figure 4. Figure 4: An illustration of how the two Work registers are allocated for temporary variables within a single iteration of the EEA. The upper and lower stripes represent the Work1 and Work2 registers, respectively. The symbols (h) and (l) indicate that the value t ′ is split into its higher-order bits (h) and lower-order bits (l), which are placed at the corresponding positions on the two sides of the Work2 register… view at source ↗
Figure 5
Figure 5. Figure 5: Overall circuit implementation (Part 1) of a single iteration of our space-efficient EEA. The three [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p018_5.png] view at source ↗
Figure 6
Figure 6. Figure 6: Overall circuit implementation (Part 2) of a single iteration of our space-efficient EEA. The [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p019_6.png] view at source ↗
Figure 7
Figure 7. Figure 7: The explicit implementation of a location-controlled swap circuit. This circuit swaps the qubit [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p019_7.png] view at source ↗
Figure 8
Figure 8. Figure 8: A template for the explicit implementation of a location-controlled addition/subtraction circuit. [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p020_8.png] view at source ↗
Figure 9
Figure 9. Figure 9: The explicit implementation of the length updating circuit. This circuit updates [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p021_9.png] view at source ↗
Figure 10
Figure 10. Figure 10: Schematic low-width controlled affine Weierstrass point-addition circuit, adapted from the [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p026_10.png] view at source ↗
read the original abstract

Solving the Elliptic Curve Discrete Logarithm Problem (ECDLP) is critical for evaluating the quantum security of widely deployed elliptic-curve cryptosystems. Consequently, minimizing the number of logical qubits required to execute this algorithm is a key object. In implementations of Shor's algorithm, the space complexity is largely dictated by the modular inversion operation during point addition. Starting from the extended Euclidean algorithm (EEA), we refine the register-sharing method of Proos and Zalka and propose a space-efficient reversible modular inversion algorithm. We use length registers together with location-controlled arithmetic to store the intermediate variables in a compact form throughout the computation. We then optimize the stepwise update rules and give concrete circuit constructions for the resulting controlled arithmetic components. This leads to a modular inversion circuit that uses $3n + 4\lfloor \log_2 n \rfloor + O(1)$ logical qubits and $204n^2\log_2 n + O(n^2)$ Toffoli gates. By inserting this modular inversion component into the controlled affine point-addition circuit, we obtain a space-efficient algorithm for the ECDLP with $5n + 4\lfloor \log_2 n \rfloor + O(1)$ qubits and $O(n^3)$ Toffoli gates. In particular, for a 256-bit prime-field curve, our estimate reduces the logical-qubit count to 1333, compared with 2124 in the previous low-width implementation of H\"aner et al.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

1 major / 2 minor

Summary. The paper claims to develop a space-efficient quantum algorithm for the Elliptic Curve Discrete Logarithm Problem (ECDLP) by refining the extended Euclidean algorithm for reversible modular inversion using length registers and location-controlled arithmetic. This results in a modular inversion circuit using 3n + 4⌊log₂ n⌋ + O(1) qubits and 204n² log₂ n + O(n²) Toffoli gates, which when integrated into the controlled affine point addition yields an overall ECDLP solver with 5n + 4⌊log₂ n⌋ + O(1) qubits and O(n³) Toffoli gates. For a 256-bit curve, this reduces the qubit count to 1333 compared to 2124 in prior work.

Significance. If the resource estimates hold, this work provides a substantial reduction in logical qubit requirements for quantum attacks on elliptic curve cryptography (1333 vs. 2124 for 256-bit curves), which is significant for assessing quantum security margins. The constructive use of standard reversible arithmetic primitives, register sharing, and explicit Toffoli counts strengthens the contribution by enabling more precise hardware resource planning.

major comments (1)
  1. [Abstract and modular inversion circuit description] Abstract and modular inversion section: the central qubit formula 5n + 4⌊log₂n⌋ + O(1) for the full ECDLP algorithm rests on the claim that embedding the 3n + 4⌊log₂n⌋ + O(1) inversion circuit into controlled affine point addition incurs no hidden ancilla overhead from the location-controlled arithmetic or stepwise updates; an explicit register accounting table or diagram verifying this for the EEA-based components would be required to confirm the total.
minor comments (2)
  1. [Abstract] Abstract: the inversion gate count 204n²log₂n + O(n²) is stated without a breakdown of the leading coefficient derivation or comparison table to prior EEA implementations; adding this would improve verifiability.
  2. [References] The reference to Häner et al. should include the full citation details (year, title, venue) in the bibliography for completeness.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

1 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for the careful reading, positive assessment of significance, and recommendation for minor revision. The suggestion for explicit register accounting improves clarity of the qubit claims.

read point-by-point responses
  1. Referee: Abstract and modular inversion section: the central qubit formula 5n + 4⌊log₂n⌋ + O(1) for the full ECDLP algorithm rests on the claim that embedding the 3n + 4⌊log₂n⌋ + O(1) inversion circuit into controlled affine point addition incurs no hidden ancilla overhead from the location-controlled arithmetic or stepwise updates; an explicit register accounting table or diagram verifying this for the EEA-based components would be required to confirm the total.

    Authors: We agree that an explicit accounting table strengthens the presentation. In the revised manuscript we have added a register accounting table (new Table 2) in the modular inversion section together with a compact diagram of register sharing. The table enumerates every register (including length registers and those used for location-controlled arithmetic) across the EEA steps and the controlled affine point addition, confirming that all intermediate values reuse the existing 3n + 4⌊log₂n⌋ + O(1) qubits with no additional ancilla. The integration therefore preserves the overall bound of 5n + 4⌊log₂n⌋ + O(1) qubits. revision: yes

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No significant circularity in the derivation chain

full rationale

The paper constructs an explicit reversible modular inversion circuit from the extended Euclidean algorithm by refining register-sharing techniques and introducing length registers with location-controlled arithmetic. Qubit counts (3n + 4⌊log₂n⌋ + O(1) for inversion, then 5n + 4⌊log₂n⌋ + O(1) for the full ECDLP algorithm) are obtained by direct enumeration of shared n-bit registers plus explicit O(log n) overhead terms in the stepwise update rules and controlled components. No parameters are fitted to data, no quantity is defined in terms of itself, and no load-bearing step reduces to a self-citation or imported ansatz; the comparison to Häner et al. is an external benchmark. The derivation is therefore self-contained against standard reversible-arithmetic primitives.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 1 axioms · 0 invented entities

The paper relies on standard quantum circuit assumptions and prior algorithmic techniques without introducing new free parameters or postulated entities.

axioms (1)
  • standard math Quantum computation is modeled by reversible circuits composed of Toffoli gates and standard arithmetic primitives.
    All circuit constructions and resource counts presuppose the usual fault-tolerant quantum circuit model.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5581 in / 1301 out tokens · 57604 ms · 2026-05-13T21:17:21.675029+00:00 · methodology

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Reference graph

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