#!/usr/bin/perl -w die 'usage: ./shor.pl [number to factor]' unless @ARGV; use strict; use warnings; use Quantum::Entanglement qw(:DEFAULT :complex :QFT); $Quantum::Entanglement::destroy = 0; my $num = $ARGV[0]; # do some early die'ing die "$num is a multiple of two, here I am, brain the size..." unless $num %2; die "$num is a non-integer, I only have whole numbers of fingers" unless $num == int($num); die "$num is less than 15" unless $num >= 15; print "Performing initial classical steps:\n"; # work out q value my $q_power = int(2* log($num) / log(2)) +1; my $q = 2 ** $q_power; # pick some x so that x is coprime to n. my $x; do { $x = int(rand $num) + 1; } until ($num % $x != 0 and $x > 2); #ok.. so this misses the point slightly print "Using q:$q, x:$x\nStarting quantum steps\n"; # fill up a register with integers from 1..q my $prob = 1/sqrt($q); my $register1 = entangle(map {$prob, $_} (0..$q-1)); # apply transformation F = x**|a> mod n, store in register 2 # (need to do a p_func to avoid overflow while **) sub power_mod { my ($state, $x1, $num1) = @_; my $rt = 1; return 1 if $state == 0; return 1 if $state == 1; for (1..$state) { $rt = ($rt * $x1) % $num1; } return $rt; } print "Performing F = x**|a> mod n\n"; my $register2 = p_func(\&power_mod, $register1, $x, $num); # We now observe $register2, thus partially collapsing reg1 my $k = "$register2"; print "\$register2 collapsed to $k\n"; print "Finding period of F (this is where you wish for a QCD)\n"; # take a ft of the amplitudes of reg1, placing result in reg3 my $register3 = QFT($register1); my $lqonr = "$register3"; # observe, this must be multiple of q/r if ($lqonr == 0) { print "Got period of '0', halting\n"; exit(0); } my $period = int($q / $lqonr + 0.5); # rounding print "Period of F = x**|a> mod n is $period\n"; # now given the period, we need to work out the factor of n # work out the two thingies: if ($period % 2 != 0) { print "$period is not an even number, doubling to"; $period *=2; print " $period\n"; } my $one = $x**($period/2) -1; my $two = $x**($period/2) +1; # one and two must have a gcd in common with n, which we now find... print "$one * $two and $num might share a gcd (classical step)\n"; my ($max1, $max2) = (1,1); for (2..$num) { last if $_ > $num; unless (($num % $_) || ($one % $_)) { $max1 = $_; } unless (($num % $_) || ($two % $_)) { $max2 = $_; } } print "$max1, $max2 could be factors of $num\n"; __END__; =head1 NAME shor - A short demonstration of Quantum::Entanglement =head1 SYNOPSIS ./shor.pl [number to factor (>14)] =head1 DESCRIPTION This program implements Shor's famous algorithm for factoring numbers. A brief overview of the algorithm is given below. =head2 The important maths Given a number B which we are trying to factor, and some other number which we have guessed, B, we can say that: x**0 % n == 1 (as x**0 = 1, 1 % n =1) There will also be some other number, B such that x**r % n == 1 or, more specifically, x**(kr) % n ==1 in other words, the function F(a) = x**a % n is periodic with period B. Now, starting from x**r = 1 % n x**(2*r/2) = 1 % n (x**(r/2))**2 - 1 = 0 % n and, if r is an even number, (x**(r/2) - 1)*(x**(r/2) + 1) = 0 mod n or in nice short words, the term on the left is an integer multiple of B. So long as x**(r/2) != +-1, at least one of the two brackets on the left must share a factor with B. Shor's alorithm provides a way to find the periodicity of the function F and thus a way to calculate two numbers which share a factor with n, it is then easy to use a classical computer to find the GCD and thus a factor of B. =head1 The steps of the algorithm =head2 1. Remove early trivial cases We have efficient classical methods for finding that 2 is a factor of 26, so we do not need to use this method for this. =head2 2. Pick an integer Chose a number B so that C, this is done on a classical computer. (This is the size we will use for our quantum register.) =head2 3. Select at random a number coprime to n Think of some number less than B so that B and B do not share a common factor (if they do, we already know the answer...). =head2 4. Fill a quantum register with integers from 0..q-1 This is where we create our first entangled variable, and is the first non-classical step in this algorithm. =head2 5. Calculate F, store in a second register We now calculate C< F(a) = x**a % n> where a represents the superposition of states in our first register, we store the result of this in our second register. =head2 6. Look at register2 We now look at the value of register two and get some value B, this forces register1 into a state which can only collapse into values satisfying the equation x**a % n = k The probability amplitudes for the remaining states are now all equal to zero, note that we have not yet looked directly at register1. =head2 7. Find period of register1 We now apply a fourier transform to the amplitudes of the states in register1, storing the result as the probability amplitudes for a new state with the values of register1. This causes there to be a high probability that the register will collapse to a value which is some multiple of C. =head2 8. Observe register1 We now observe register1, and use the result to calculate a likely value for B. From this we can easily calculate two numbers, one of which will have a factor in common with n, by applying an efficient classical algoirthm for finding the greatest common denominator, we will be able to find a value which could be a factor of B. =head1 Things to remember This algorithm does not claim to produce a factor of our number the first time that it is run, there are various conditions which will cause it to halt mid-way, for instance, the FT step can give a result of 0 which is clearly useless. The algorithm is better than any known classical one because the expectation value of the time required to get a correct answer is still O(n). This also cannot factor a number which is prime (it being, as it were, prime) and also cannot factor something which is a prime power (25, say). =head1 COPYRIGHT This code is copyright (c) Alex Gough (alex@rcon.org )2001. This is free software, you may use, modify and redistribute it under the same terms as Perl itself. =head1 BUGS This is slow, being run on classical computers, ah well. =cut