Polynomial evaluation

This example demonstrates how to evaluate polynomials homomorphically using PVAC-HFHE. You can compute polynomial functions on encrypted values without decrypting them.

Overview

Polynomial evaluation is a fundamental operation in homomorphic encryption with applications in:

Private function evaluation
Approximating non-linear functions
Machine learning activation functions
Statistical computations

Basic polynomial: f(x) = x³ + 2x² + 3x + 4

Let’s evaluate a cubic polynomial at x = 5:

Encrypt the input and coefficients

First, encrypt the input value and any coefficients needed:

#include <pvac/pvac.hpp>
using namespace pvac;

// Setup
Params prm;
PubKey pk;
SecKey sk;
keygen(prm, pk, sk);

// Encrypt input x = 5
uint64_t x = 5;
Cipher cx = enc_value(pk, sk, x);

// Encrypt coefficients
Cipher c2 = enc_value(pk, sk, 2);
Cipher c3 = enc_value(pk, sk, 3);
Cipher c4 = enc_value(pk, sk, 4);

Compute powers of x

Calculate x², x³ homomorphically:

// x^2
Cipher cx2 = ct_mul(pk, cx, cx);

// x^3 = x^2 * x
Cipher cx3 = ct_mul(pk, cx2, cx);

Evaluate the polynomial

Combine the terms using homomorphic operations:

// f(x) = x^3 + 2*x^2 + 3*x + 4
Cipher term1 = cx3;                      // x^3
Cipher term2 = ct_mul(pk, c2, cx2);      // 2*x^2
Cipher term3 = ct_mul(pk, c3, cx);       // 3*x
Cipher term4 = c4;                       // 4

// Sum all terms
Cipher result = ct_add(pk, ct_add(pk, ct_add(pk, term1, term2), term3), term4);

You can also write this more compactly as a single nested expression.

Decrypt and verify

Decrypt the result and verify correctness:

uint64_t poly_result = dec_value(pk, sk, result).lo;
uint64_t expected = x*x*x + 2*x*x + 3*x + 4;  // = 125 + 50 + 15 + 4 = 194

std::cout << "f(5) = " << poly_result << std::endl;  // 194
assert(poly_result == expected);

Complete example

Here’s the full code for evaluating f(x) = x³ + 2x² + 3x + 4:

#include <iostream>
#include <pvac/pvac.hpp>

using namespace pvac;

int main() {
    // Key generation
    Params prm;
    PubKey pk;
    SecKey sk;
    keygen(prm, pk, sk);
    
    // Encrypt input and coefficients
    uint64_t x = 5;
    Cipher cx = enc_value(pk, sk, x);
    Cipher c2 = enc_value(pk, sk, 2);
    Cipher c3 = enc_value(pk, sk, 3);
    Cipher c4 = enc_value(pk, sk, 4);
    
    // Compute powers
    Cipher cx2 = ct_mul(pk, cx, cx);
    Cipher cx3 = ct_mul(pk, cx2, cx);
    
    // Evaluate polynomial: x^3 + 2*x^2 + 3*x + 4
    Cipher result = ct_add(pk,
                       ct_add(pk,
                           ct_add(pk, cx3, ct_mul(pk, c2, cx2)),
                           ct_mul(pk, c3, cx)),
                       c4);
    
    // Decrypt and verify
    uint64_t poly_result = dec_value(pk, sk, result).lo;
    uint64_t expected = x*x*x + 2*x*x + 3*x + 4;  // 194
    
    std::cout << "f(" << x << ") = " << poly_result << std::endl;
    std::cout << "Expected: " << expected << std::endl;
    std::cout << "Match: " << (poly_result == expected ? "YES" : "NO") << std::endl;
    
    return 0;
}

Optimizing polynomial evaluation

Using Horner’s method

For better efficiency, use Horner’s method to reduce the number of multiplications:

// f(x) = x^3 + 2*x^2 + 3*x + 4
// Horner: f(x) = ((x + 2)*x + 3)*x + 4

Cipher result = ct_add(pk, cx, c2);           // x + 2
result = ct_mul(pk, result, cx);              // (x + 2)*x
result = ct_add(pk, result, c3);              // (x + 2)*x + 3
result = ct_mul(pk, result, cx);              // ((x + 2)*x + 3)*x
result = ct_add(pk, result, c4);              // ((x + 2)*x + 3)*x + 4

Horner’s method reduces circuit depth and the number of operations, improving performance for high-degree polynomials.

Using constant multiplication

When coefficients are public, use ct_mul_const for better performance:

// Coefficients are public constants
Cipher term2 = ct_mul_const(pk, cx2, 2);      // 2*x^2
Cipher term3 = ct_mul_const(pk, cx, 3);       // 3*x

Cipher result = ct_add(pk, ct_add(pk, ct_add(pk, cx3, term2), term3), c4);

Higher-degree polynomials

Computing high powers efficiently

Use repeated squaring for efficient power computation:

// Compute x^8 with only 3 multiplications
Cipher cx_1 = enc_value(pk, sk, 2);
Cipher cx_2 = ct_mul(pk, cx_1, cx_1);  // x^2
Cipher cx_4 = ct_mul(pk, cx_2, cx_2);  // x^4
Cipher cx_8 = ct_mul(pk, cx_4, cx_4);  // x^8

assert(dec_value(pk, sk, cx_8).lo == 256);  // 2^8 = 256

// Can go even higher
Cipher cx_16 = ct_mul(pk, cx_8, cx_8);  // x^16
assert(dec_value(pk, sk, cx_16).lo == 65536);  // 2^16 = 65536

The circuit depth grows logarithmically with the exponent when using repeated squaring, making it practical to compute high powers.

Circuit depth analysis

Different evaluation strategies result in different circuit depths:

// Direct method: depth = 3
// x^3 (depth 2) + 2*x^2 (depth 2) + 3*x (depth 1) + 4
Cipher cx2 = ct_mul(pk, cx, cx);              // depth 1
Cipher cx3 = ct_mul(pk, cx2, cx);             // depth 2
Cipher result = ct_add(pk, cx3, ...);         // depth 3

std::cout << "Layers: " << result.L.size() << std::endl;
std::cout << "Edges: " << result.E.size() << std::endl;

The L.size() field shows the number of layers (circuit depth), while E.size() shows the total number of edges in the computation graph.

Nested expressions

Evaluate complex nested expressions:

// f(a, b, c) = ((a + b) * c - a) * b
// With a=3, b=5, c=7

uint64_t va = 3, vb = 5, vc = 7;
Cipher cva = enc_value(pk, sk, va);
Cipher cvb = enc_value(pk, sk, vb);
Cipher cvc = enc_value(pk, sk, vc);

Cipher result = ct_mul(pk,
                   ct_sub(pk,
                       ct_mul(pk,
                           ct_add(pk, cva, cvb),  // (a + b)
                           cvc),                  // * c
                       cva),                      // - a
                   cvb);                          // * b

uint64_t computed = dec_value(pk, sk, result).lo;
uint64_t expected = ((va + vb) * vc - va) * vb;  // ((3 + 5) * 7 - 3) * 5 = 275

assert(computed == expected);

Multivariate polynomials

Evaluate polynomials with multiple variables:

// f(x, y) = x^2 + 2*x*y + y^2 = (x + y)^2

uint64_t x = 7, y = 3;
Cipher cx = enc_value(pk, sk, x);
Cipher cy = enc_value(pk, sk, y);

// Method 1: Direct expansion
Cipher cx2 = ct_mul(pk, cx, cx);
Cipher cy2 = ct_mul(pk, cy, cy);
Cipher cxy = ct_mul(pk, cx, cy);
Cipher c2xy = ct_add(pk, cxy, cxy);
Cipher result1 = ct_add(pk, ct_add(pk, cx2, c2xy), cy2);

// Method 2: Using (x + y)^2
Cipher cxpy = ct_add(pk, cx, cy);
Cipher result2 = ct_mul(pk, cxpy, cxpy);

// Both methods give same result
assert(dec_value(pk, sk, result1).lo == dec_value(pk, sk, result2).lo);
assert(dec_value(pk, sk, result1).lo == 100);  // (7 + 3)^2 = 100

Applications

Activation functions in ML

Polynomials can approximate non-linear activation functions:

// Cubic activation: f(x) = x^3
Cipher activation(const PubKey& pk, const Cipher& x) {
    Cipher x2 = ct_mul(pk, x, x);
    return ct_mul(pk, x2, x);
}

// Use in neural network layer
Cipher input = enc_value(pk, sk, 5);
Cipher activated = activation(pk, input);
assert(dec_value(pk, sk, activated).lo == 125);  // 5^3 = 125

Private threshold functions

Evaluate comparison thresholds privately:

// Approximate step function using polynomial
// f(x) = x^3 - threshold*x^2
uint64_t threshold = 10;
Cipher cx = enc_value(pk, sk, x);
Cipher cthresh = enc_value(pk, sk, threshold);

Cipher cx2 = ct_mul(pk, cx, cx);
Cipher cx3 = ct_mul(pk, cx2, cx);
Cipher threshold_term = ct_mul(pk, cthresh, cx2);
Cipher result = ct_sub(pk, cx3, threshold_term);

// Sign of result indicates if x > threshold
int64_t score = dec_value(pk, sk, result).lo;

Performance considerations

Circuit depth optimization: Keep polynomial degree low to minimize circuit depth. For high-degree polynomials, consider using Horner’s method or approximating with lower-degree polynomials.

Coefficient optimization: Use ct_mul_const for public coefficients instead of encrypting them. This reduces both computation time and circuit size.

Batching: When evaluating the same polynomial on multiple inputs, reuse intermediate results where possible.

Source code

The polynomial evaluation example is part of the basic usage tests:

examples/basic_usage.cpp (lines 137-148)

Next steps

Basic usage

Learn the fundamentals of PVAC-HFHE

ML credit scoring

Apply polynomials in encrypted ML models

Get Started

Core Concepts

Guides

Examples

Polynomial evaluation

Overview

Basic polynomial: f(x) = x³ + 2x² + 3x + 4

Complete example

Optimizing polynomial evaluation

Using Horner’s method

Using constant multiplication

Higher-degree polynomials

Computing high powers efficiently

Circuit depth analysis

Nested expressions

Multivariate polynomials

Applications

Activation functions in ML

Private threshold functions

Performance considerations

Source code

Next steps

Basic usage

ML credit scoring

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Core Concepts

Guides

Examples

Documentation Index

​Overview

​Basic polynomial: f(x) = x³ + 2x² + 3x + 4

​Complete example

​Optimizing polynomial evaluation

​Using Horner’s method

​Using constant multiplication

​Higher-degree polynomials

​Computing high powers efficiently

​Circuit depth analysis

​Nested expressions

​Multivariate polynomials

​Applications

​Activation functions in ML

​Private threshold functions

​Performance considerations

​Source code

​Next steps

Basic usage

ML credit scoring

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Basic polynomial: f(x) = x³ + 2x² + 3x + 4

Complete example

Optimizing polynomial evaluation

Using Horner’s method

Using constant multiplication

Higher-degree polynomials

Computing high powers efficiently

Circuit depth analysis

Nested expressions

Multivariate polynomials

Applications

Activation functions in ML

Private threshold functions

Performance considerations

Source code

Next steps