Prof Jozef Skokan and Dr Robert Simon

This course is available on the MSc in Applicable Mathematics and MSc in Operations Research & Analytics. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

Students should be taking the course MA407 Algorithms and Computation or have taken an equivalent course to provide a basic knowledge of algorithms, and should have experience with proofs and proof techniques used in pure mathematics.

This course provides an introduction, for students with a mathematical background, to the applications of mathematics in information theory, coding theory, cryptography, and related areas. The course will cover mathematical aspects of the following topics: Noiseless coding, the Kraft-McMillan criterion, optimal coding, entropy, Shannon's first theorem; Noisy channels, capacity, system entropy; Error-correcting codes, decoding rules, bounds, construction and properties of linear and cyclic codes; Structure of natural languages, redundancy, the frequency table, making and breaking cryptosystems, historic examples; Public-key cryptography, complexity issues, the RSA system, authentication schemes, the ElGamal system. Subject to available time we may also cover elliptic curve cryptography and/or cryptocurrencies. 

This course is delivered through a combination of classes and lectures totalling a minimum of 30 hours across Michaelmas Term. This year, some or all of this teaching will be delivered through a combination of virtual classes and lectures delivered as online videos.

Weekly exercises are set and discussed in seminars.

Students will be expected to produce 5 exercises in the MT which will be marked.

N L Biggs, Codes, An Introduction to Information, Communication and Cryptography: G A Jones & J M Jones, Information and Coding Theory; C M Goldie & R G E Pinch, Communication Theory; D J A Welsh, Codes and Cryptography; D T Stinson, Cryptography Theory and Practice.

Exam (75%, duration: 2 hours) in the summer exam period.
Coursework (25%) in the MT.

Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.