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Distributed Complexity of P_k-Freeness: Decision and Certification

Author Masayuki Miyamoto

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LIPIcs.ISAAC.2025.51.pdf
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  • Theory of computation → Distributed algorithms
Keywords
  • subgraph detection
  • CONGEST model
  • local certification

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Abstract

The class of graphs that do not contain a path on k nodes as an induced subgraph (P_k-free graphs) has rich applications in the theory of graph algorithms. This paper explores the problem of deciding P_k-freeness from the viewpoint of distributed computing. 
For specific small values of k, we present the first CONGEST algorithms specified for P_k-freeness, utilizing structural properties of P_k-free graphs in a novel way. Specifically, we show that P_k-freeness can be decided in Õ(1) rounds for k = 4 in the broadcast CONGEST model, and in Õ(n) rounds for k = 5 in the CONGEST model, where n is the number of nodes in the network and Õ(⋅) hides a polylog(n) factor. The main technical contribution is a novel technique used in our algorithm for P₅-freeness to distinguish induced 5-paths from non-induced ones, which is potentially applicable to other induced subgraphs. This technique also enables the construction of a local certification of P₅-freeness with certificates of size Õ(n). This improves Õ(n^{3/2}) by Bousquet and Zeitoun (TCS 2025), and is nearly optimal, given our Ω(n^{1-o(1)}) lower bound on certificate size. 
For general k, we establish the first CONGEST lower bound, which is of the form n^{2-1/Θ(k)}. The n^{1/Θ(k)} factor is unavoidable, in view of the O(n^{2-2/(3k+2)}) upper bound by Eden et al. (Dist. Comp. 2022). Additionally, our approach yields the first superlinear lower bound on certificate size for local certification. This partially answers the conjecture on the optimal certificate size of P_k-freeness, asked by Bousquet et al. (arXiv:2402.12148). 
Finally, we propose a novel variant of the problem called ordered P_k detection. We show that in the CONGEST model, the round complexity of ordered P_k detection is Ω̃(n) for k ≥ 5, and in contrast, proving any nontrivial lower bound for ordered P₃ detection implies a strong circuit lower bound. As a byproduct, we establish a circuit-complexity barrier for Ω(n^{1/2+ε}) quantum CONGEST lower bounds for induced 4-cycle detection. This is complemented by our Õ(n^{3/4}) quantum upper bound, which surpasses the classical Ω̃(n) lower bound by Le Gall and Miyamoto (ISAAC 2021).

Cite As Get BibTex

Masayuki Miyamoto. Distributed Complexity of P_k-Freeness: Decision and Certification. In 36th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 359, pp. 51:1-51:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025) https://doi.org/10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2025.51

Author Details

Masayuki Miyamoto
  • University of Tsukuba, Japan

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank François Le Gall for discussions and for commenting on an earlier version of this paper. The author also acknowledges the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.

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