What is the mathematical representation of the decryption process for RSA?

In the RSA encryption scheme, the decryption process involves using the private key to retrieve the plaintext from the ciphertext. The mathematical representation for this decryption operation is expressed as P = C^d % n.

Here, P represents the plaintext message that needs to be recovered, C is the ciphertext that was generated during the encryption process, d is the private exponent, and n is the modulus, which is a product of two prime numbers used in both the encryption and decryption processes.

This formula indicates that to decrypt the ciphertext (C), you raise it to the power of the private exponent (d) and then take the result modulo n. This mathematical operation is fundamental to RSA because it leverages the properties of modular arithmetic and large prime numbers to ensure that only someone with access to the private key can decrypt the message.

The other options do not accurately represent the decryption process in RSA. For instance, one option mentions the ciphertext as M raised to the power of e which aligns more with the encryption process rather than decryption, while another option seems to misinterpret the variables altogether. Thus, the correct representation of the RSA decryption process is indeed P = C^d % n.