# Understanding Cryptography by Christof Paar and Jan Pelzl - Chapter 4 Solutions - Ex4.7

- 2 mins

## Exercise 4.7

We consider the field $GF(2^4)$, with $P(x) = x^4 + x + 1$ being the irreducible polynomial. Find the inverses of $A(x) = x$ and $B(x) = x^2 + x$. You can find the inverses either by trial and error, i.e., brute-force search, or by applying the Euclidean algorithm for polynomials. (However, the Euclidean algorithm is only sketched in this chapter.) Verify your answer by multiplying the inverses you determined by A and B, respectively.

### Solution

This solution is verified as correct by the official Solutions for Odd-Numbered Questions manual.

Rather than implementing the Extended Euclidian Algorithm, I will instead just be finding them via trial and error using the code I wrote for Ex4.3. The number of possiblities to check is only 16 ($2^4$) for each of the two subquestions, so it’s more time-efficient to check manually:

The multiplicative inverse is therefore $x^3 + 1$. This answer can be verified as correct (assuming my code is correct) by placing the following python code in the __main__ section of the script written for Ex4.3:

The multiplicative inverse is therefore $x^2 + x + 1$. This answer can be verified as correct (assuming my code is correct) by placing the following python code in the __main__ section of the script written for Ex4.3: