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arXiv · 2004.06278

Squares: A Fast Counter-Based RNG

Bernard Widynski
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Abstract

In this article, we propose a new counter-based implementation of John von Neumann's middle-square random number generator (RNG). Several rounds of squaring are applied to a counter to produce a random output. We discovered that four rounds are sufficient to provide satisfactory data. Two versions of the RNG are presented, a 4-round version with 32-bit output and a 5-round version with 64-bit output. Both pass stringent tests of randomness and may be the fastest counter-based generators.

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Bernard Widynski. 2020-04-14. Squares: A Fast Counter-Based RNG. https://arxiv.org/abs/2004.06278

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