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Track A: Algorithms, Complexity and Games

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.16

Fully Dynamic Algorithms for Coloring Triangle-Free Graphs

Authors: Sepehr Assadi and Helia Yazdanyar

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 374, 53rd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2026)

Abstract

A celebrated result of Johansson in graph theory states that every triangle-free graph of maximum degree Δ can be properly colored with O(Δ/lnΔ) colors, improving upon the "greedy bound" of Δ+1 coloring in general graphs. This coloring can also be found in polynomial time. We present an algorithm for maintaining an O(Δ/lnΔ) coloring of a dynamically changing triangle-free graph that undergoes edge insertions and deletions. The algorithm is randomized and on n-vertex graphs has amortized update time of Δ^o(1) log(n) per update with high probability, even against an adaptive adversary. A key to the analysis of our algorithm is an application of the entropy compression method that to our knowledge is new in the context of dynamic algorithms. This technique appears general and is likely to find other applications in dynamic problems and thus can be of its own independent interest.

Cite as

Sepehr Assadi and Helia Yazdanyar. Fully Dynamic Algorithms for Coloring Triangle-Free Graphs. In 53rd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 374, pp. 16:1-16:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{assadi_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.16,
  author =	{Assadi, Sepehr and Yazdanyar, Helia},
  title =	{{Fully Dynamic Algorithms for Coloring Triangle-Free Graphs}},
  booktitle =	{53rd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2026)},
  pages =	{16:1--16:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-428-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{374},
  editor =	{Bhattacharya, Sayan and Nanongkai, Danupon and Benedikt, Michael and Puppis, Gabriele},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.16},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-264053},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.16},
  annote =	{Keywords: Dynamic graphs - Graph coloring - Dynamic entropy compression}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SEA.2026.26

Engineering Algorithms for Dynamic Greedy Set Cover

Authors: Amitai Uzrad

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 371, 24th International Symposium on Experimental Algorithms (SEA 2026)

Abstract

In the dynamic set cover problem, the input is a dynamic universe of elements and a fixed collection of sets. As elements are inserted or deleted, the goal is to efficiently maintain an approximate minimum set cover. While the past decade has seen significant theoretical breakthroughs for this problem, a notable gap remains between theoretical design and practical performance, as no comprehensive experimental study currently exists to validate these results. In this paper, we bridge this gap by implementing and evaluating four greedy-based dynamic algorithms across a diverse range of real-world instances. We derive our implementations from state-of-the-art frameworks - such as [GKKP(STOC'17); SU(STOC'23); SUZ(FOCS'24)] - which we simplify by identifying and modifying intricate subroutines that optimize asymptotic bounds but hinder practical performance. We evaluate these algorithms based on solution quality (set cover size) and efficiency, which comprises update time - the time required to update the solution following each insertion/deletion - and recourse - the number of changes made to the solution per update. Each algorithm uses a parameter β to balance quality against efficiency; we investigate the influence of this tradeoff parameter on each algorithm and then perform a comparative analysis to evaluate the algorithms against each other. Our results provide the first practical insights into which algorithmic strategies provide the most value in realistic scenarios.

Cite as

Amitai Uzrad. Engineering Algorithms for Dynamic Greedy Set Cover. In 24th International Symposium on Experimental Algorithms (SEA 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 371, pp. 26:1-26:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{uzrad:LIPIcs.SEA.2026.26,
  author =	{Uzrad, Amitai},
  title =	{{Engineering Algorithms for Dynamic Greedy Set Cover}},
  booktitle =	{24th International Symposium on Experimental Algorithms (SEA 2026)},
  pages =	{26:1--26:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-422-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{371},
  editor =	{Aum\"{u}ller, Martin and Finocchi, Irene},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SEA.2026.26},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-260308},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SEA.2026.26},
  annote =	{Keywords: Dynamic graphs, set cover, recourse}
}

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DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.39

Faster Approximate Linear Matroid Intersection

Authors: Tatsuya Terao

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 370, 20th Scandinavian Symposium on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2026)

Abstract

We consider a fast approximation algorithm for the linear matroid intersection problem. In this problem, we are given two r × n matrices M₁ and M₂, and the objective is to find a largest set of columns that are linearly independent in both M₁ and M₂. We design a (1 - ε)-approximation algorithm with time complexity Õ_{ε}(nnz(M₁) + nnz(M₂) + r_{*}^{ω}), where nnz(M_i) denotes the number of nonzero entries in M_i for i = 1, 2, r_{*} denotes the maximum size of a common independent set, and ω < 2.372 denotes the matrix multiplication exponent. Our approximation algorithm is faster than the exact algorithm by Harvey [FOCS'06 & SICOMP'09] and Cheung-Kwok-Lau [STOC'12 & JACM'13], which runs in Õ(nnz(M₁) + nnz(M₂) + n r_{*}^{ω - 1}) time. We also develop a fast (1 - ε)-approximation algorithm for the weighted version of the linear matroid intersection problem. In fact, we design a (1 - ε)-approximation algorithm for weighted linear matroid intersection with time complexity Õ_{ε}(nnz(M₁) + nnz(M₂) + r_{*}^{ω}). Our algorithm improves upon the (1 - ε)-approximation algorithm by Huang-Kakimura-Kamiyama [SODA'16 & Math. Program.'19], which runs in Õ_{ε}(nnz(M₁) + nnz(M₂) + nr_{*}^{ω - 1}) time. To obtain these results, we combine Quanrud’s adaptive sparsification framework [ICALP'24] with a simple yet effective method for efficiently checking whether a given vector lies in the linear span of a subset of vectors, which is of independent interest.

Cite as

Tatsuya Terao. Faster Approximate Linear Matroid Intersection. In 20th Scandinavian Symposium on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 370, pp. 39:1-39:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{terao:LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.39,
  author =	{Terao, Tatsuya},
  title =	{{Faster Approximate Linear Matroid Intersection}},
  booktitle =	{20th Scandinavian Symposium on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2026)},
  pages =	{39:1--39:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-421-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{370},
  editor =	{Fraigniaud, Pierre},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.39},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-260756},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.39},
  annote =	{Keywords: Linear matroid intersection, fast approximation algorithm}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.15

One Color Makes All the Difference in the Tractability of Partial Coloring in Semi-Streaming

Authors: Avinandan Das

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 370, 20th Scandinavian Symposium on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2026)

Abstract

This paper investigates the semi-streaming complexity of k-partial coloring, a generalization of proper graph coloring. For k ≥ 1, a k-partial coloring requires that each vertex v in an n-node graph is assigned a color such that at least min{k, deg(v)} of its neighbors are assigned colors different from its own. This framework naturally extends classical coloring problems: specifically, k-partial (k+1)-coloring and k-partial k-coloring generalize (Δ+1)-proper coloring and Δ-proper coloring, respectively. Prior works of Assadi, Chen, and Khanna [SODA 2019] and Assadi, Kumar, and Mittal [TheoretiCS 2023] show that both (Δ+1)-proper coloring and Δ-proper coloring admit one-pass randomized semi-streaming algorithms. We explore whether these efficiency gains extend to their partial coloring generalizations and reveal a sharp computational threshold: while k-partial (k+1)-coloring admits a one-pass randomized semi-streaming algorithm, the k-partial k-coloring remains semi-streaming intractable, effectively demonstrating a "dichotomy of one color" in the streaming model.

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Avinandan Das. One Color Makes All the Difference in the Tractability of Partial Coloring in Semi-Streaming. In 20th Scandinavian Symposium on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 370, pp. 15:1-15:16, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{das:LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.15,
  author =	{Das, Avinandan},
  title =	{{One Color Makes All the Difference in the Tractability of Partial Coloring in Semi-Streaming}},
  booktitle =	{20th Scandinavian Symposium on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2026)},
  pages =	{15:1--15:16},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-421-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{370},
  editor =	{Fraigniaud, Pierre},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.15},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-260515},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.15},
  annote =	{Keywords: Graph Coloring, Semi-streaming algorithms, Lower bounds}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.21

Dynamic MIS Revisited: Incremental, Fault Tolerant and Fully Dynamic

Authors: Manoj Gupta, Shahbaz Khan, and Madhu Surendra

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 370, 20th Scandinavian Symposium on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2026)

Abstract

Given a dynamic graph G, we aim to maintain a maximal independent set (MIS). This problem admits a deterministic solution in O(m^{2/3}) time [SOSA21], while randomized algorithms for oblivious adversary take O(polylog n) [FOCS19] time. Recently, Bernstein et al. [SODA26] proved a conditional lower bound of Ω(n^{1-o(1)}) amortized update time even for incremental MIS with adaptive adversary. In this paper, we establish similar deterministic bounds through the lens of incremental and fault tolerant algorithms for MIS, and show the following: 1) Incremental: MIS can be maintained under edge insertions in O(√m) amortized update time. 2) Fault Tolerant: Using O(m) preprocessing time, the MIS can be reported after k edge deletions in O(k+ ̅{n}²) time, where ̅{n} is the number of vertices on which deleted edges are incident. 3) Fully Dynamic: MIS can be maintained under fully dynamic edge updates (insertions and deletions) in O(m^{2/3}) amortized update time. Our incremental result is thus polynomially optimal even on allowing randomization with an adaptive adversary. Our fully dynamic result matches the state-of-the-art [SOSA21], and uses our incremental and fault tolerant algorithms as a black box. Although our fully dynamic algorithm does not improve the existing bounds, it provides additional insights into the harder edge-insertion case. We believe these insights may potentially be useful for improving the bounds for fully dynamic MIS in the future to match the incremental MIS bounds.

Cite as

Manoj Gupta, Shahbaz Khan, and Madhu Surendra. Dynamic MIS Revisited: Incremental, Fault Tolerant and Fully Dynamic. In 20th Scandinavian Symposium on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 370, pp. 21:1-21:11, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{gupta_et_al:LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.21,
  author =	{Gupta, Manoj and Khan, Shahbaz and Surendra, Madhu},
  title =	{{Dynamic MIS Revisited: Incremental, Fault Tolerant and Fully Dynamic}},
  booktitle =	{20th Scandinavian Symposium on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2026)},
  pages =	{21:1--21:11},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-421-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{370},
  editor =	{Fraigniaud, Pierre},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.21},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-260577},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.21},
  annote =	{Keywords: Maximal Independent Set, MIS, Incremental, Fault Tolerant, Fully dynamic}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2026.36

Upward Book Embeddings of Partitioned Digraphs

Authors: Giordano Da Lozzo, Fabrizio Frati, and Ignaz Rutter

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 367, 42nd International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2026)

Abstract

In 1999, Heath, Pemmaraju, and Trenk [SIAM J. Comput. 28(4), 1999] extended the classic notion of book embeddings to digraphs, introducing the concept of upward book embeddings, in which the vertices must appear along the spine in a topological order and the edges are partitioned into pages, so that no two edges in the same page cross. For a partitioned digraph G = (V, ⋃^k_{i=1} E_i), that is, a digraph whose edge set is partitioned into k subsets, an upward book embedding is required to assign edges to pages as prescribed by the given partition. In a companion paper, Heath and Pemmaraju [SIAM J. Comput. 28(5), 1999] proved that the problem of testing the existence of an upward book embedding of a partitioned digraph is linear-time solvable for k = 1 and recently Akitaya, Demaine, Hesterberg, and Liu [GD, 2017] have shown the problem NP-complete for k ≥ 3. In this paper, we study upward book embeddings of partitioned digraphs and focus on the unsolved case k = 2. Our first main result is a novel characterization of the upward embeddings that support an upward book embedding in two pages. We exploit this characterization in several ways, and obtain a rich picture of the complexity landscape of the problem. First, we show that the problem remains NP-complete when k = 2, thus closing the complexity gap for the problem. Second, we show that, for an n-vertex partitioned digraph with a prescribed planar embedding, the existence of an upward book embedding that respects the given planar embedding can be tested in O(n log³ n) time. Finally, leveraging the SPQ(R)-tree decomposition of biconnected graphs into triconnected components, we present a cubic-time testing algorithm for biconnected directed partial 2-trees.

Cite as

Giordano Da Lozzo, Fabrizio Frati, and Ignaz Rutter. Upward Book Embeddings of Partitioned Digraphs. In 42nd International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 367, pp. 36:1-36:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{dalozzo_et_al:LIPIcs.SoCG.2026.36,
  author =	{Da Lozzo, Giordano and Frati, Fabrizio and Rutter, Ignaz},
  title =	{{Upward Book Embeddings of Partitioned Digraphs}},
  booktitle =	{42nd International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2026)},
  pages =	{36:1--36:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-418-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{367},
  editor =	{Ahn, Hee-Kap and Hoffmann, Michael and Nayyeri, Amir},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2026.36},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-258424},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2026.36},
  annote =	{Keywords: upward book embeddings, partitioned digraphs, SPQ-trees, 2-trees}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.4

Unit Interval Selection in Random Order Streams

Authors: Cezar-Mihail Alexandru, Adithya Diddapur, Magnús M. Halldórsson, Christian Konrad, and Kheeran K. Naidu

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 364, 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)

Abstract

We consider the Unit Interval Selection problem in the one-pass random order streaming model. In this setting, an algorithm is presented with a sequence of n unit-length intervals on the line that arrive in uniform random order, one at a time, and the objective is to output (an approximation of) a largest set of disjoint intervals using space linear in the size of an optimal solution. Previous work only considered adversarially ordered streams and established that, within these space constraints, a (2/3)-approximation can be achieved in such streams, and this is best possible, in that going beyond such an approximation factor requires space Ω(n) [Emek et al., TALG'16]. In this work, we show that an improved expected approximation factor can be achieved if the input stream is in uniform random order, where the expectation is taken over the stream order. More specifically, we give a one-pass streaming algorithm with expected approximation factor 0.7401 that uses space O(|OPT|), where OPT denotes an optimal solution. We also show that random order algorithms with expected approximation factor above 8/9 require space Ω(n), and algorithms that compute a better than 2/3-approximation with probability above 2/3 also require Ω(n) space. On a technical level, we design an algorithm for the restricted domain [0, Δ), for some constant Δ, and use standard techniques to obtain an algorithm for unrestricted domains. For the restricted domain [0, Δ), we run O(Δ) recursive instances of our algorithm, with each instance targeting the situation where a specific interval of an optimal solution arrives first. We establish the interesting property of our algorithm that it performs worst when the input stream consists solely of a set of independent intervals. It then remains to analyse the algorithm on these simple instances. Our lower bound is proved via communication complexity arguments, similar in spirit to the robust communication lower bounds established by [Chakrabarti et al., Theory Comput. 2016].

Cite as

Cezar-Mihail Alexandru, Adithya Diddapur, Magnús M. Halldórsson, Christian Konrad, and Kheeran K. Naidu. Unit Interval Selection in Random Order Streams. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 4:1-4:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{alexandru_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.4,
  author =	{Alexandru, Cezar-Mihail and Diddapur, Adithya and Halld\'{o}rsson, Magn\'{u}s M. and Konrad, Christian and Naidu, Kheeran K.},
  title =	{{Unit Interval Selection in Random Order Streams}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{4:1--4:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-412-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{364},
  editor =	{Mahajan, Meena and Manea, Florin and McIver, Annabelle and Thắng, Nguy\~{ê}n Kim},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.4},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-254933},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.4},
  annote =	{Keywords: Random order streaming algorithms, unit interval selection}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.27

The Communication Complexity of Combinatorial Auctions in Graphs

Authors: George Christodoulou, Elias Koutsoupias, Annamária Kovács, and Ioannis Vlachos

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 364, 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)

Abstract

We study truthful and non-truthful protocols for combinatorial auctions in which every item can be allocated to one of two agents (multigraphs), or more generally to a fixed number of agents (hypergraphs). We show some tight - both positive and impossibility - results for the communication complexity of approximating the optimal social welfare for general monotone, subadditive, or XOS valuations.

Cite as

George Christodoulou, Elias Koutsoupias, Annamária Kovács, and Ioannis Vlachos. The Communication Complexity of Combinatorial Auctions in Graphs. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 27:1-27:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{christodoulou_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.27,
  author =	{Christodoulou, George and Koutsoupias, Elias and Kov\'{a}cs, Annam\'{a}ria and Vlachos, Ioannis},
  title =	{{The Communication Complexity of Combinatorial Auctions in Graphs}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{27:1--27:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-412-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{364},
  editor =	{Mahajan, Meena and Manea, Florin and McIver, Annabelle and Thắng, Nguy\~{ê}n Kim},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.27},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255163},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.27},
  annote =	{Keywords: Auctions, Communication Complexity, Mechanism Design, Graphs}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.40

A Simple and Robust Protocol for Distributed Counting

Authors: Edith Cohen, Moshe Shechner, and Uri Stemmer

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 362, 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)

Abstract

We revisit the distributed counting problem, where a server must continuously approximate the total number of events occurring across k sites while minimizing communication. The communication complexity of this problem is known to be Θ(k/(ε)log N) for deterministic protocols. Huang, Yi, and Zhang (2012) showed that randomization can reduce this to Θ((√k)/ε log N), but their analysis is restricted to the oblivious setting, where the stream of events is independent of the protocol’s outputs. Xiong, Zhu, and Huang (2023) presented a robust protocol for distributed counting that removes the oblivious assumption. However, their communication complexity is suboptimal by a polylog(k) factor and their protocol is substantially more complex than the oblivious protocol of Huang et al. (2012). This left open a natural question: could it be that the simple protocol of Huang et al. (2012) is already robust? We resolve this question with two main contributions. First, we show that the protocol of Huang et al. (2012) is itself not robust by constructing an explicit adaptive attack that forces it to lose its accuracy. Second, we present a new, surprisingly simple, robust protocol for distributed counting that achieves the optimal communication complexity of O((√k)/ε log N). Our protocol is simpler than that of Xiong et al. (2023), perhaps even simpler than that of Huang et al. (2012), and is the first to match the optimal oblivious complexity in the adaptive setting.

Cite as

Edith Cohen, Moshe Shechner, and Uri Stemmer. A Simple and Robust Protocol for Distributed Counting. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 40:1-40:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{cohen_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.40,
  author =	{Cohen, Edith and Shechner, Moshe and Stemmer, Uri},
  title =	{{A Simple and Robust Protocol for Distributed Counting}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{40:1--40:24},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.40},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253272},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.40},
  annote =	{Keywords: Distributed Streaming, Adversarial Streaming}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.51

Near-Optimal Sparsifiers for Stochastic Knapsack and Assignment Problems

Authors: Shaddin Dughmi, Yusuf Hakan Kalayci, and Xinyu Liu

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 362, 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)

Abstract

When uncertainty meets costly information gathering, a fundamental question emerges: which data points should we probe to unlock near-optimal solutions? Sparsification of stochastic packing problems addresses this trade-off. The existing notions of sparsification measure the level of sparsity, called degree, as the ratio of queried items to the optimal solution size. While effective for matching and matroid-type problems with uniform structures, this cardinality-based approach fails for knapsack-type constraints where feasible sets exhibit dramatic structural variation. We introduce a polyhedral sparsification framework that measures the degree as the smallest scalar needed to embed the query set within a scaled feasibility polytope, naturally capturing redundancy without relying on cardinality. Our main contribution establishes that knapsack, multiple knapsack, and generalized assignment problems admit (1-ε)-approximate sparsifiers with degree polynomial in 1/p and 1/ε - where p denotes the independent activation probability of each element - remarkably independent of problem dimensions. The key insight involves grouping items with similar weights and deploying a charging argument: when our query set misses an optimal item, we either substitute it directly with a queried item from the same group or leverage that group’s excess contribution to compensate for the loss. This reveals an intriguing complexity-theoretic separation - while the multiple knapsack problem lacks an FPTAS and generalized assignment is APX-hard, their sparsification counterparts admit efficient (1-ε)-approximation algorithms that identify polynomial degree query sets. Finally, we raise an open question: can such sparsification extend to general integer linear programs with degree independent of problem dimensions?

Cite as

Shaddin Dughmi, Yusuf Hakan Kalayci, and Xinyu Liu. Near-Optimal Sparsifiers for Stochastic Knapsack and Assignment Problems. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 51:1-51:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{dughmi_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.51,
  author =	{Dughmi, Shaddin and Kalayci, Yusuf Hakan and Liu, Xinyu},
  title =	{{Near-Optimal Sparsifiers for Stochastic Knapsack and Assignment Problems}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{51:1--51:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.51},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253386},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.51},
  annote =	{Keywords: Packing Problems, Assignment Problems, Stochastic Selection, Sparsification}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.54

Testable Algorithms for Approximately Counting Edges and Triangles in Sublinear Time and Space

Authors: Talya Eden, Ronitt Rubinfeld, and Arsen Vasilyan

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 362, 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)

Abstract

We consider the fundamental problems of approximately counting the numbers of edges and triangles in a graph in sublinear time. Previous algorithms for these tasks are significantly more efficient under a promise that the arboricity of the graph is bounded by some parameter ̅α. However, when this promise is violated, the estimates given by these algorithms are no longer guaranteed to be correct. For the triangle counting task, we give an algorithm that requires no promise on the input graph G, and computes a (1±ε)-approximation for the number of triangles t in G in time O^*((m⋅ α(G))/t + m/(t^{2/3)}), where α(G) is the arboricity of the graph. The algorithm can be used on any graph G (no prior knowledge of the arboricity α(G) is required), and the algorithm adapts its run-time on the fly based on the graph G. We accomplish this by trying a sequence of candidate values α̃ for α(G) and using a novel algorithm in the framework of testable algorithms. This ensures that wrong candidates α̃ cannot lead to wrong estimates: if the advice is incorrect, the algorithm either succeeds despite this or detects this and continues with a new candidate. Once the algorithm accepts the candidate, its output is guaranteed to be correct with high probability. We prove that this approach preserves - up to an additive overhead - the dramatic efficiency gains obtainable when good arboricity bounds are known in advance, while ensuring robustness against misleading advice. We further complement this result with a lower bound, showing that such an overhead is unavoidable whenever the advice may be faulty. We further demonstrate implications of our results for triangle counting in the streaming model.

Cite as

Talya Eden, Ronitt Rubinfeld, and Arsen Vasilyan. Testable Algorithms for Approximately Counting Edges and Triangles in Sublinear Time and Space. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 54:1-54:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{eden_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.54,
  author =	{Eden, Talya and Rubinfeld, Ronitt and Vasilyan, Arsen},
  title =	{{Testable Algorithms for Approximately Counting Edges and Triangles in Sublinear Time and Space}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{54:1--54:24},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.54},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253417},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.54},
  annote =	{Keywords: Sublinear Algorithms, Triangle Counting, Edge Counting, Arboricity}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.67

Query Lower Bounds for Correlation Clustering Under Memory Constraints

Authors: Sumegha Garg, Songhua He, and Periklis A. Papakonstantinou

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 362, 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)

Abstract

This work initiates the study of memory–query tradeoffs for graph problems, with a focus on correlation clustering. Correlation clustering asks for a partition of the vertices that minimizes disagreements: non‑edges inside clusters plus edges across clusters. Our first result is a tight query lower bound: to output a partition whose cost approximates the optimum up to an additive error of ε n², any algorithm requires Ω(n/ε²) adjacency-matrix queries. Under memory constraints, we show that even for the seemingly easier task of approximating the optimal clustering cost (without producing a partition), any algorithm in the random query model must make ≫ n/ε² adjacency-matrix queries. Finally, we prove the first general graph model query lower bound for correlation clustering, where algorithms are allowed adjacency-matrix, neighbor, and degree queries. The latter two bounds are not yet tight, leaving room for sharper results.

Cite as

Sumegha Garg, Songhua He, and Periklis A. Papakonstantinou. Query Lower Bounds for Correlation Clustering Under Memory Constraints. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 67:1-67:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{garg_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.67,
  author =	{Garg, Sumegha and He, Songhua and Papakonstantinou, Periklis A.},
  title =	{{Query Lower Bounds for Correlation Clustering Under Memory Constraints}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{67:1--67:24},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.67},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253542},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.67},
  annote =	{Keywords: correlation clustering, query-space complexity, information theory}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.110

Optimal Two-Round Communication Lower Bound for Graph Connectivity via Pointer Chasing

Authors: Jaikumar Radhakrishnan, Chaitanya Reddy, and Rakesh Venkat

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 362, 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)

Abstract

We consider the communication complexity of the graph connectivity problem, where the edges of an n-vertex undirected graph G are distributed between two parties Alice and Bob, who are then required to communicate to determine if G is connected. We show that in any randomized protocol with two-rounds of communication, Alice and Bob must exchange Ω(nlog n) bits; such a lower bound for one-round protocols was shown by Sun and Woodruff (APPROX/RANDOM 2015). A one-round deterministic protocol, where Alice sends O(n log n) bits and Bob determines the answer, was observed by Hajnal, Maass and Turan (STOC 1988); they also showed a matching lower bound of Ω(n log n) bits for deterministic protocols with unbounded rounds of communication. For randomized protocols, a reduction from the set disjointness problem due to Babai, Frankl and Simon (FOCS 1986) implies a randomized lower bound of Ω(n) even with unbounded rounds of communication. Whether this lower bound can be improved to Ω(n log n) has been an outstanding open question, whose algorithmic implications were recently emphasized by Apers, Efron, Gawrychowski, Lee, Mukopadhyay and Nanongkai (FOCS 2022). Our lower bound for randomized two-round protocols is based on a reduction from a restricted version of the two-player pointer chasing problem originally studied by Papadimitriou and Sipser (JCSS 1984). Using this reduction, we show an ω(n) lower bounds on graph connectivity for any constant number of rounds by extending deterministic lower bounds shown by Ponzio, Radhakrishnan and Venkatesh (JCSS 2001) to the randomized setting.

Cite as

Jaikumar Radhakrishnan, Chaitanya Reddy, and Rakesh Venkat. Optimal Two-Round Communication Lower Bound for Graph Connectivity via Pointer Chasing. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 110:1-110:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{radhakrishnan_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.110,
  author =	{Radhakrishnan, Jaikumar and Reddy, Chaitanya and Venkat, Rakesh},
  title =	{{Optimal Two-Round Communication Lower Bound for Graph Connectivity via Pointer Chasing}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{110:1--110:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.110},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253974},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.110},
  annote =	{Keywords: Communication complexity}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.40

On the Randomized Locality of Matching Problems in Regular Graphs

Authors: Seri Khoury, Manish Purohit, Aaron Schild, and Joshua R. Wang

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 356, 39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025)

Abstract

The main goal in distributed symmetry-breaking is to understand the locality of problems: the radius of the neighborhood that a node must explore to determine its part of a global solution. In this work, we study the locality of matching problems in the family of regular graphs, which is one of the main benchmarks for establishing lower bounds on the locality of symmetry-breaking problems, as well as for obtaining classification results. Our main results are summarized as follows: 1) Approximate matching: We develop randomized algorithms to show that (1 + ε)-approximate matching in regular graphs is truly local, i.e., the locality depends only on ε and is independent of all other graph parameters. Furthermore, as long as the degree Δ is not very small (namely, as long as Δ ≥ poly(1/ε)), this dependence is only logarithmic in 1/ε. This stands in sharp contrast to maximal matching in regular graphs which requires some dependence on the number of nodes n or the degree Δ. 2) Maximal matching: Our techniques further allow us to establish a strong separation between the node-averaged complexity and worst-case complexity of maximal matching in regular graphs, by showing that the former is only O(1). Central to our main technical contribution is a novel martingale-based analysis for the ≈ 40-year-old algorithm by Luby. In particular, our analysis shows that applying one round of Luby’s algorithm on the line graph of a Δ-regular graph results in an almost Δ/2-regular graph.

Cite as

Seri Khoury, Manish Purohit, Aaron Schild, and Joshua R. Wang. On the Randomized Locality of Matching Problems in Regular Graphs. In 39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 356, pp. 40:1-40:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{khoury_et_al:LIPIcs.DISC.2025.40,
  author =	{Khoury, Seri and Purohit, Manish and Schild, Aaron and Wang, Joshua R.},
  title =	{{On the Randomized Locality of Matching Problems in Regular Graphs}},
  booktitle =	{39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025)},
  pages =	{40:1--40:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-402-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{356},
  editor =	{Kowalski, Dariusz R.},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.40},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-248570},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.40},
  annote =	{Keywords: regular graphs, maximum matching, augmenting paths, distributed algorithms, Luby’s algorithm, martingales}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.22

The Complexity Landscape of Dynamic Distributed Subgraph Finding

Authors: Yi-Jun Chang, Lyuting Chen, Yanyu Chen, Gopinath Mishra, and Mingyang Yang

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 356, 39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025)

Abstract

Bonne and Censor-Hillel (ICALP 2019) initiated the study of distributed subgraph finding in dynamic networks of limited bandwidth. For the case where the target subgraph is a clique, they determined the tight bandwidth complexity bounds in nearly all settings. However, several open questions remain, and very little is known about finding subgraphs beyond cliques. In this work, we consider these questions and explore subgraphs beyond cliques in the deterministic setting. For finding cliques, we establish an Ω(log log n) bandwidth lower bound for one-round membership-detection under edge insertions only and an Ω(log log log n) bandwidth lower bound for one-round detection under both edge insertions and node insertions. Moreover, we demonstrate new algorithms to show that our lower bounds are tight in bounded-degree networks when the target subgraph is a triangle. Prior to our work, no lower bounds were known for these problems. For finding subgraphs beyond cliques, we present a complete characterization of the bandwidth complexity of the membership-listing problem for every target subgraph, every number of rounds, and every type of topological change: node insertions, node deletions, edge insertions, and edge deletions. We also show partial characterizations for one-round membership-detection and listing.

Cite as

Yi-Jun Chang, Lyuting Chen, Yanyu Chen, Gopinath Mishra, and Mingyang Yang. The Complexity Landscape of Dynamic Distributed Subgraph Finding. In 39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 356, pp. 22:1-22:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{chang_et_al:LIPIcs.DISC.2025.22,
  author =	{Chang, Yi-Jun and Chen, Lyuting and Chen, Yanyu and Mishra, Gopinath and Yang, Mingyang},
  title =	{{The Complexity Landscape of Dynamic Distributed Subgraph Finding}},
  booktitle =	{39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025)},
  pages =	{22:1--22:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-402-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{356},
  editor =	{Kowalski, Dariusz R.},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.22},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-248399},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.22},
  annote =	{Keywords: Distributed algorithms, dynamic algorithms, subgraph finding}
}

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