Investigating the Wedge Map on SNOVA

Po-En Tseng; Lih-Chung Wang; Peigen Li; Yen-Liang Kuan

Paper 2026/260

Investigating the Wedge Map on SNOVA

Po-En Tseng, National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan; Hon Hai Research Institute, Taiwan

Lih-Chung Wang, National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan; Hon Hai Research Institute, Taiwan

Peigen Li, Beijing Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Applications, China

Yen-Liang Kuan, National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan

Abstract

This paper investigates the algebraic structure of SNOVA, a NIST PQC Round 2 candidate, with a specific focus on the kernel dimension of the wedge map. We employ lifting techniques to transform the public key from the matrix ring $\mathbb{F}_q^{l \times l}$ to an equivalent representation over the extension field $\mathbb{F}_{q^l}$, establishing that the rank of the wedge map is a structural invariant. A key contribution of this work is the derivation of a generating function that explicitly characterizes the wedge map's kernel dimension. This algebraic analysis provides a rigorous understanding of SNOVA's geometry, verifying the safety of specific parameter sets and enabling future refined adjustments to guarantee structural security.

Metadata

Available format(s): PDF
Category: Public-key cryptography
Publication info: Preprint.
Contact author(s): briantseng0320 @ gmail com
lcwang @ gms ndhu edu tw
lpg22 @ bimsa cn
ylkuan @ gms ndhu edu tw
History: 2026-02-25: revised; 2026-02-14: received; See all versions
Short URL: https://ia.cr/2026/260
License: CC BY

BibTeX

@misc{cryptoeprint:2026/260,
      author = {Po-En Tseng and Lih-Chung Wang and Peigen Li and Yen-Liang Kuan},
      title = {Investigating the Wedge Map on {SNOVA}},
      howpublished = {Cryptology {ePrint} Archive, Paper 2026/260},
      year = {2026},
      url = {https://eprint.iacr.org/2026/260}
}