Elliptic Curves

Learn about elliptic curves and how the j-invariant is used to classify them in this lesson.

In this section, we only consider elliptic curves with char(K)2,3char(\mathbb{K}) \neq 2,3, which are popular choices for cryptographic use. We define an elliptic curve as being a smooth Weierstrass curve in the short Weierstrass form.

Elliptic curve

An elliptic curve EE over a field K\mathbb{K} with char(K)2,3char(\mathbb{K}) \neq 2,3 is the set of solutions (x,y)K2(x, y) \in \mathbb{K}^{2} to the equation

E:y2=x3+Ax+B,(1)E: y^{2}=x^{3}+A x+B, \quad \quad (1)

together with an extra point O\mathcal{O} at infinity, i.e.,

E(K)={(x,y)K×K:y2=x3+Ax+B}{O},E(\mathbb{K})=\left\{(x, y) \in \mathbb{K} \times \mathbb{K}: y^{2}=x^{3}+A x+B\right\} \cup\{\mathcal{O}\},

where AA and BB must satisfy the condition

4A3+27B20.4 A^{3}+27 B^{2} \neq 0.

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