AmeliaStClair BrendaMcKenna Writing2010 2/19/2014 WhatisPversusNP? Alookatthehistoryandthefutureoftheproblem Astheworldmovedforwardfromthe1990'sintothetwentyfirstcentury,theClay MathematicsInstituteofCambridge,Massachusetts(CMI)namedseven"prizeproblems"intherealm ofmathematics.These"prizeproblems"representedunsolvedmathematicalproblemsfromthetwentieth century.Withtheannouncementoftheproblemscameabounty:ifyoucansolveevenoneofthe problems,CMIwillawardyouwithonemilliondollars.Butthereismuchmoreatstakethanamillion dollars,especiallyfortheproblemtitled:PversusNP.Besidesthemilliondollars,ifPversusNPis solved,therewillbenumerousadvancementsnotonlyinthefieldofmath,butalsoinallofcomputer science.Thisessayisalookatwhathascomesincetheformationofthequestion,andwhatstandsto begainedinthefutureifthequestionevercametobesolved.

PversusNP ThequestionofPversusNPasksif,whentheworldalreadyknowsthateveryPclassproblem isaNPclassproblem,iseveryNPclassproblemisaPclassproblem?Ifthatcaseistrue,thenP versusNPwouldbecomeP=NP.Ifthatcaseturnsouttobefalse,thentheproblemwouldbecomeP NP.Butinordertofullyunderstandthequestion,onemustunderstanditsorigins. TherootsofPversusNPstartedgrowinginthemiddleofthe1900swhenAlanTuring introducedtheideaoftheTuringmachine,animaginarymathematicaldevicethatfollowsalistof

commandsonestepatatime,whichturnedintosomeoftheveryfirstcomputers.Withitcamethe questionofhowmuchTuringsmachinecoulddo.Themachinescouldaccomplishadditionand subtraction,evenmultiplication.Undercomplexitytheorythetheoryofclassifyingthingsbasedonhow difficulttheyaretosolve,theseproblemsandmanymoreweredubbedPproblems(Complexity Theory).ThePstandsforpolynomialtime,whichmeansthatusingacomputertofindthesolutionto aproblemcanbedonerelativelyfast(inpolynomialtime),andinthelifetimeofthepersonwhoentered theproblemintothecomputer.Pproblemsaregenerallydenotedaseasy. ApartfromeasyPproblems,thereisalsothemoredifficultproblems,titledNPproblems. NPproblemsaresolvableinpolynomialtimebyanondeterministicturingmachine,(aturingmachine whichcandomanydifferentstepsintheproblematonce,andthuswouldbeabletosolveproblems muchfaster).Butbecausetherearenonondeterministicturingmachinesinexistence,thetimerequired tosolvejustoneNPproblemusingatraditionalturingmachinewouldtake,attheveryleast,centuries. In1971,anotheradvancementsurroundingtheproblemtookplace.Amanbythenameof StephenCookpublishedapapertitledTheComplexityofTheoremProvingProcedures,inwhichhe introducedsomethinghecalledNPcompleteness(Devlin111).NPcompleteproblems,(thatis, problemsthatexhibitNPcompleteness)havetoexhibittwocharacteristics.Thefirstisthatitmustbea NPproblem,andcanbesolvedbyanondeterministicturingmachine.Thesecondisthattheproblem mustbeNPhard.NPhardmeansthatanalgorithmforsolving[theproblem]canbetranslatedinto oneforsolvinganyNPproblem(NPHardProblem).Asignificantnumberofthingsare NPcomplete,rangingfromsudokupuzzlestodeterminingifamathematicalstatementhasashort proof(Fortnow80).Thatmeansthatoncesomebodycansolvejustoneoftheseproblems,therest

canbesolvedsoonafterwords. Toputitalltogether,considerthisexampleofaonewayfunctionfeaturedonBrainsetmanus youtubevideoseriestitledThePversusNPProblem.Imagineasimplemultiplicationproblem,with twothreedigitnumberssuchas743and294.Ifyoutellacomputertomultiplythosetwonumbers together,itwillhavetheanswerof218,442foryouinmilliseconds.ThatwouldbeaPproblem. However,ifyoustartedwith218,442andyouaskedacomputertofactorthatnumberandfindwhat twonumbersmultipliedtogetherwouldmakeit.Thecomputer,inordertofindthosetwonumbers,goes throughaprocessofmultiplyingeverypossibilitytogetheronebyoneuntilitfindstherightanswer.This wouldbemuchmorelikeaNPproblem.Brainsetmanusstatesthatittakeslongerforthecomputerto factor218,422,butitdoesnottakemuchmorethanafewseconds,orevenlessthanthatformost moderncomputers.AtrueNPproblemhowever,wouldtakemuchlonger,suchifyouaskeda computertofactor3.0543*10^5854668.(BrainsetmanusPart4).Themoredigitsyouaddtothe numbers,themorecomplexthenumbergetsandthelongerittakestosolveit,untilitbecomesless likelythatthepersonwhoinputsthecommandwouldstillbealivebythetimethecomputerfindsthe solution. Anotherexamplewouldbeifinacollege,astudentistoldtoassigngroupsoftenoutoffive hundredcomputerscienceundergraduatesforpresentationsonthehistoryofthecomputer.However, thestudentisalsogivenalistoftwohundreddifferentpairsofpeoplewhowontworkwelltogether, andhavetobeinseparategroups.Ononehand,itiseasytocheckifthestudenthasalistofgroups thatwillworkwelltogether(aPproblem),bysimplycomparingyourlisttothelistofunacceptable pairs.Ontheotherhand,itismuchmorecomplicatedtocomeupwiththesolutionfromtheoriginal problem(thiswouldbeclassifiedasaNPproblem).Foracomputer,itwouldhavetocomeupwith

everypossiblecombinationofgroups,anditwouldhavetocheckeachgroupuntilitfoundthesolution. Asmoreundergraduatesareaddedtotheequation,thelongerittakesforthecomputertocomeup withthesolution. TheFutureoftheProblem TherearetwodifferentfuturestoconsiderwhenlookingatPversusNP.Inonefuture,Pdoes equalNP,whileintheother,PdoesnotequalNP. IfPdoesinfactequalNPmanythingsintheworldwouldchange.InthewordsofLance Fortnow,WhatwewouldgainfromP=NPwillmakethewholeInternetlooklikeafootnotein history(80).Efficiencywouldhaveawholenewmeaning,asthingsthatwouldrelyonchancecould nowbeconfirmedbymath.Busschedules,shipments,andmanufacturingcouldbeoptimizedtogivethe bestresultsusingtheleastresources.Predictionmethodsofnaturaldisastersandweatherwould improvedramatically.Andtheresmore.Researchinjustaboutanyareaofsciencecouldbeadvanced duetothesolutionoftheproblem.Chemistscouldexpandmedicancialresearchtenfold,biologists couldworkmuchfasteronDNAcombinations,andPhysicistscouldworkmuchfasterthanthey currentlydo.TheworldstandstoadvancefarmoreintothefutureifPdidinfactequalNP. PerhapsthemostdependentonthequestionofPversusNPiscryptography.Cryptography dependsgreatlyonPproblemsnotbeingequaltoNPproblems.Anditisforonesimplereason. Muchofmoderncryptographyreliesonthefactthatfactoringorsimilarproblemsdonothaveefficient algorithms(Fortnow84).SecurityovertheinternetusesNPproblemssuchasfactoringtoprotect information,simplybecauseinordertobreakintotheinformationwouldtake,intermsofthelifespanof amodernperson,forever.Inorderforthecomputertosolvetheproblemandaccesstheinformation,it

wouldhavetodoexactlythesamethingasifitweresolvingthecomputersciencestudentsproblem: onestepandatimeuntilithappensupontherightanswer. WhenmanyrespondtothequestionoftheimportancePversusNPistocryptography,their replythatthecurrentdependenceofthewesterneconomiesonsecureelectroniccommunicationsover theInternetdemonstratesjusthowhigharetheP=NPstakesisnounderstatement(Devlin127).If PproblemswereproventoequalNPproblems,therewouldeffectivelybenothingsecuringthe majorityoftheinternet,becausethemostefficientwaystofactorandtosolvesimilarproblemswould beknown.Afterall,thecypher(whatprotectstheinformationbeingsecured),isonlyasstrongasthe lengthoftimeittakestobreak(Parker).Thecomplexityofthefactoringproblemsareliterallythe protectiveskinaroundinternettransactionsandthelike.Ratherthanamilliondollarsatstakeforsolving theproblem,billionsofdollarswouldbeatstakeifP=NP. Conclusion Sinceitsformation,thequestionofPversusNPhashadadramaticeffectontheworldandwill continuetoaslongasthequestionstillexists.Whetheritisprovenordisproven,withthatproofwill comechangeinmanyforms.Fromthestart,cameturingmachineswhichsoonleadtocomputers.And now,inwhatisperhapsthemiddle,comeswonder.Afterall,thePversusNPproblemcontinuesto inspireandbogglethemindandcontinuedexplorationofthisproblemwillleadustoyetevennew complexitiesinthattrulymysteriousprocesswecallcomputation(Fortnow86).Theworldcanonly takewhatithasfoundinthepastandworkontheprobleminthepresent.Whatcomesaftercanstillbe leftuptotheimagination.