Advanced Topics in Computer Science: Cryptographic Proof Systems

The notion of a proof in computer science has been radically re-imagined over the last forty years, now allowing for "proof systems" that make crucial use of the following resources:(1) randomization (2) interaction, and (3) computational intractability.We study proof systems in the cryptographic setting, focusing on two fundamental properties: "zero-knowledge," which is the ability to prove a statement without conveying any information beyond its validity, and "succinctness," which is the ability to provide extremely short (and easy-to-check) proofs of long and complex statements.