PROOF CHECKING THE RSA PUBLIC KEY ENCRYPTION ALGORITHM

Abstract

This chapter highlights the concept of proof checking the RSA public key encryption algorithm. A formal mathematical proof is a finite sequence of formulas, each element of which is either an axiom or the result of applying one of a fixed set of mechanical rules to the previous formulas in the sequence. It is, thus, possible to write a computer program to check mechanically whether a given sequence is a formal proof. However, formal proofs are rarely used. The theorem-prover deals with a quantifier free first order logic providing equality, recursively defined functions, mathematical induction, and inductively constructed objects such as the natural numbers and finite sequences. The less ambitious motivation behind much automatic theorem-proving research is to mechanize the often mundane and tedious proofs arising in connection with computer programs. The chapter also presents the examples as evidence that proof checking mathematics is not only a theoretical but also a practical possibility.