69 Search Results for "Cai, Jin-Yi"

Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.FUN.2026.31
A Demigod’s Number for the Rubik’s Cube

Authors: Arturo Merino and Bernardo Subercaseaux

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 366, 13th International Conference on Fun with Algorithms (FUN 2026)

Abstract
It is by now well-known that any state of the 3× 3 × 3 Rubik’s Cube can be solved in at most 20 moves, a result often referred to as "God’s Number". However, this result took Rokicki et al. around 35 CPU years to prove and is therefore very challenging to reproduce. We provide a novel approach to obtain a worse bound of 36 moves with high confidence, but that offers two main advantages: (i) it is easy to understand, reproduce, and verify, and (ii) our main idea generalizes to bounding the diameter of other vertex-transitive graphs by at most twice its true value, hence the name "demigod number". Our approach is based on the fact that, for vertex-transitive graphs, the diameter at most twice the average distance (of which we give a much simpler proof than in the literature). Then, by sampling uniformly random states and using a modern solver to obtain upper bounds on their distance, a standard concentration bound allows us to confidently state that the average distance is around 18.32 ± 0.18, from where the diameter is at most 36.
Cite as

Arturo Merino and Bernardo Subercaseaux. A Demigod’s Number for the Rubik’s Cube. In 13th International Conference on Fun with Algorithms (FUN 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 366, pp. 31:1-31:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{merino_et_al:LIPIcs.FUN.2026.31,
  author =	{Merino, Arturo and Subercaseaux, Bernardo},
  title =	{{A Demigod’s Number for the Rubik’s Cube}},
  booktitle =	{13th International Conference on Fun with Algorithms (FUN 2026)},
  pages =	{31:1--31:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-417-8},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{366},
  editor =	{Iacono, John},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.FUN.2026.31},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-257505},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.FUN.2026.31},
  annote =	{Keywords: Diameter, Rubik’s Cube, Experimental mathematics}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/OASIcs.NINeS.2026.19
Simulate Before Sending: Rethinking Transport in Datacenter Networks

Authors: Dan Straussman, Isaac Keslassy, Alexander Shpiner, and Liran Liss

Published in: OASIcs, Volume 139, 1st New Ideas in Networked Systems (NINeS 2026)

Abstract
Existing transport protocols in commodity datacenter networks struggle to provide low collective completion times (CCTs) to AI training collectives, as packet losses and retransmissions significantly degrade performance. We propose dcSim, an efficient transport that achieves low CCTs and practically lossless performance with commodity switches. In dcSim, each packet first employs a small simulation probe to traverse the network and explore congestion along a candidate path. Only packets whose simulation probes succeed are then transmitted, expecting to succeed as well. Evaluations confirm that dcSim achieves faster CCTs than existing schemes, with small queues and virtually zero packet loss. Finally, dcSim also excels in adverse conditions, including oversubscribed topologies.
Cite as

Dan Straussman, Isaac Keslassy, Alexander Shpiner, and Liran Liss. Simulate Before Sending: Rethinking Transport in Datacenter Networks. In 1st New Ideas in Networked Systems (NINeS 2026). Open Access Series in Informatics (OASIcs), Volume 139, pp. 19:1-19:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{straussman_et_al:OASIcs.NINeS.2026.19,
  author =	{Straussman, Dan and Keslassy, Isaac and Shpiner, Alexander and Liss, Liran},
  title =	{{Simulate Before Sending: Rethinking Transport in Datacenter Networks}},
  booktitle =	{1st New Ideas in Networked Systems (NINeS 2026)},
  pages =	{19:1--19:22},
  series =	{Open Access Series in Informatics (OASIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-414-7},
  ISSN =	{2190-6807},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{139},
  editor =	{Argyraki, Katerina and Panda, Aurojit},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/OASIcs.NINeS.2026.19},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-256044},
  doi =		{10.4230/OASIcs.NINeS.2026.19},
  annote =	{Keywords: Datacenter networks, transport protocols, AI training, lossless networks}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/OASIcs.NINeS.2026.24
SwiftQueue: Optimizing Low-Latency Applications with Swift Packet Queuing

Authors: Siddhant Ray, Xi Jiang, Jack Luo, Nick Feamster, and Junchen Jiang

Published in: OASIcs, Volume 139, 1st New Ideas in Networked Systems (NINeS 2026)

Abstract
Low Latency, Low Loss, and Scalable Throughput (L4S), as an emerging router-queue management technique, has seen steady deployment in the industry. An L4S-enabled router assigns each packet to the queue based on the packet header marking. Currently, L4S employs per-flow queue selection, i.e., all packets of a flow are marked the same way and thus use the same queues, even though each packet is marked separately. However, this may hurt tail latency and latency-sensitive applications because transient congestion and queue buildups may only affect a fraction of packets in a flow. We present SwiftQueue, a new L4S queue-selection strategy in which a sender uses a novel per-packet latency predictor to pinpoint which packets likely have latency spikes or drops. The insight is that many packet-level latency variations result from complex interactions among recent packets at shared router queues. Yet, these intricate packet-level latency patterns are hard to learn efficiently by traditional models. Instead, SwiftQueue uses a custom Transformer, which is well-studied for its expressiveness on sequential patterns, to predict the next packet’s latency based on the latencies of recently received ACKs. Based on the predicted latency of each outgoing packet, SwiftQueue’s sender dynamically marks the L4S packet header to assign packets to potentially different queues, even within the same flow. Using real network traces, we show that SwiftQueue is 45-65% more accurate in predicting latency and its variations than state-of-art methods. Based on its latency prediction, SwiftQueue reduces the tail latency for L4S-enabled flows by 36-45%, compared with the existing L4S queue-selection method.
Cite as

Siddhant Ray, Xi Jiang, Jack Luo, Nick Feamster, and Junchen Jiang. SwiftQueue: Optimizing Low-Latency Applications with Swift Packet Queuing. In 1st New Ideas in Networked Systems (NINeS 2026). Open Access Series in Informatics (OASIcs), Volume 139, pp. 24:1-24:29, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{ray_et_al:OASIcs.NINeS.2026.24,
  author =	{Ray, Siddhant and Jiang, Xi and Luo, Jack and Feamster, Nick and Jiang, Junchen},
  title =	{{SwiftQueue: Optimizing Low-Latency Applications with Swift Packet Queuing}},
  booktitle =	{1st New Ideas in Networked Systems (NINeS 2026)},
  pages =	{24:1--24:29},
  series =	{Open Access Series in Informatics (OASIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-414-7},
  ISSN =	{2190-6807},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{139},
  editor =	{Argyraki, Katerina and Panda, Aurojit},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/OASIcs.NINeS.2026.24},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-256093},
  doi =		{10.4230/OASIcs.NINeS.2026.24},
  annote =	{Keywords: Latency prediction, L4S Queue Management}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.22
Modular Counting over 3-Element and Conservative Domains

Authors: Andrei A. Bulatov and Amirhossein Kazeminia

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

Abstract
In the Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP for short) the goal is to decide the existence of a homomorphism from a given relational structure {G} to a given relational structure {H}. If the structure {H} is fixed and {G} is the only input, the problem is denoted CSP({H}). In its counting version, #CSP({H}), the task is to find the number of such homomorphisms. The CSP and #CSP have been used to model a wide variety of combinatorial problems and have received a tremendous amount of attention from researchers from multiple disciplines. In this paper we consider the modular version of the counting CSPs, that is, problems of the form #_pCSP({H}) of counting the number of homomorphisms to {H} modulo a fixed prime number p. Modular counting has been intensively studied during the last decade, although mainly in the case of graph homomorphisms. Here we continue the program of systematic research of modular counting of homomorphisms to general relational structures. The main results of the paper include a new way of reducing modular counting problems to smaller domains and a study of the complexity of such problems over 3-element domains and over conservative domains, that is, relational structures that allow to express (in a certain exact way) every possible unary predicate.
Cite as

Andrei A. Bulatov and Amirhossein Kazeminia. Modular Counting over 3-Element and Conservative Domains. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 22:1-22:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{bulatov_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.22,
  author =	{Bulatov, Andrei A. and Kazeminia, Amirhossein},
  title =	{{Modular Counting over 3-Element and Conservative Domains}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{22:1--22:20},
  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.2026.22},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255114},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.22},
  annote =	{Keywords: Constraint Satisfaction Problem, Modular Counting}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.23
Simple Circuit Extensions for XOR in PTIME

Authors: Marco Carmosino, Ngu Dang, and Tim Jackman

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

Abstract
The Minimum Circuit Size Problem for Partial Functions (MCSP^*) is hard assuming the Exponential Time Hypothesis (ETH) (Ilango, 2020). This breakthrough result leveraged a characterization of the optimal {∧, ∨, ¬} circuits for n-bit OR (OR_n) and a reduction from the partial f-Simple Extension Problem where f = OR_n. It remains open to extend that reduction to show ETH-hardness of total MCSP. However, Ilango observed that the total f-Simple Extension Problem is easy whenever f is computed by read-once formulas (like OR_n). Therefore, extending Ilango’s proof to total MCSP would require replacing OR_n with a more complex but similarly well-understood Boolean function. This work shows that the f-Simple Extension problem remains easy when f is the next natural candidate: XOR_n. We first develop a fixed-parameter tractable algorithm for the f-Simple Extension Problem that is efficient whenever the optimal circuits for f are (1) linear in size, (2) polynomially "few" and efficiently enumerable in the truth-table size (up to isomorphism and permutation of inputs), and (3) all have constant bounded fan-out. XOR_n satisfies all three of these conditions. When ¬ gates count towards circuit size, optimal XOR_n circuits are binary trees of n-1 subcircuits computing (¬)XOR₂ (Kombarov, 2011). We extend this characterization when ¬ gates do not contribute the circuit size. Thus, the XOR-Simple Extension Problem is in polynomial time under both measures of circuit complexity. We conclude by discussing conjectures about the complexity of the f-Simple Extension problem for each explicit function f with known and unrestricted circuit lower bounds over the DeMorgan basis. Examining the conditions under which our Simple Extension Solver is efficient, we argue that multiplexer functions (MUX) are the most promising candidate for ETH-hardness of a Simple Extension Problem, towards proving ETH-hardness of total MCSP.
Cite as

Marco Carmosino, Ngu Dang, and Tim Jackman. Simple Circuit Extensions for XOR in PTIME. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 23:1-23:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{carmosino_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.23,
  author =	{Carmosino, Marco and Dang, Ngu and Jackman, Tim},
  title =	{{Simple Circuit Extensions for XOR in PTIME}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{23:1--23:20},
  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.2026.23},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255127},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.23},
  annote =	{Keywords: Minimum Circuit Size Problem, Circuit Lower Bounds, Exponential Time Hypothesis}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2026.36
A Game for Counting Logic Formula Size and an Application to Linear Orders

Authors: Grégoire Fournier and György Turán

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 363, 34th EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2026)

Abstract
Ehrenfeucht-Fraïssé (EF) games are a basic tool in finite model theory for proving definability lower bounds, with many applications in complexity theory and related areas. They have been applied to study various logics, giving insights on quantifier rank and other logical complexity measures. In this paper, we present an EF game to capture formula size in counting logic with a bounded number of variables. The game combines games introduced previously for counting logic quantifier rank due to Immerman and Lander, and for first-order formula size due to Adler and Immerman, and Hella and Väänänen. The game is used to prove an extension of a formula size lower bound of Grohe and Schweikardt for distinguishing linear orders, from 3-variable first-order logic to 3-variable counting logic.
Cite as

Grégoire Fournier and György Turán. A Game for Counting Logic Formula Size and an Application to Linear Orders. In 34th EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 363, pp. 36:1-36:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{fournier_et_al:LIPIcs.CSL.2026.36,
  author =	{Fournier, Gr\'{e}goire and Tur\'{a}n, Gy\"{o}rgy},
  title =	{{A Game for Counting Logic Formula Size and an Application to Linear Orders}},
  booktitle =	{34th EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2026)},
  pages =	{36:1--36:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-411-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{363},
  editor =	{Guerrini, Stefano and K\"{o}nig, Barbara},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2026.36},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-254612},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2026.36},
  annote =	{Keywords: Finite Model Theory, Logical Aspects of Computational Complexity}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.111
Hardness of Range Avoidance and Proof Complexity Generators from Demi-Bits

Authors: Hanlin Ren, Yichuan Wang, and Yan Zhong

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

Abstract
Given a circuit G: {0, 1}ⁿ → {0, 1}^m with m > n, the range avoidance problem (Avoid) asks to output a string y ∈ {0, 1}^m that is not in the range of G. Besides its profound connection to circuit complexity and explicit construction problems, this problem is also related to the existence of proof complexity generators - circuits G: {0, 1}ⁿ → {0, 1}^m where m > n but for every y ∈ {0, 1}^m, it is infeasible to prove the statement "y ̸ ∈ Range(G)" in a given propositional proof system. This paper connects these two problems with the existence of demi-bits generators, a fundamental cryptographic primitive against nondeterministic adversaries introduced by Rudich (RANDOM '97). - We show that the existence of demi-bits generators implies Avoid is hard for nondeterministic algorithms. This resolves an open problem raised by Chen and Li (STOC '24). Furthermore, assuming the demi-hardness of certain LPN-style generators or Goldreich’s PRG, we prove the hardness of Avoid even when the instances are constant-degree polynomials over 𝔽₂. - We show that the dual weak pigeonhole principle is unprovable in Cook’s theory PV₁ under the existence of demi-bits generators secure against AM/_{O(1)}, thereby separating Jeřábek’s theory APC₁ from PV₁. Previously, Ilango, Li, and Williams (STOC '23) obtained the same separation under different (and arguably stronger) cryptographic assumptions. - We transform demi-bits generators to proof complexity generators that are pseudo-surjective in certain parameter regime. Pseudo-surjectivity is the strongest form of hardness considered in the literature for proof complexity generators. Our constructions are inspired by the recent breakthroughs on the hardness of Avoid by Ilango, Li, and Williams (STOC '23) and Chen and Li (STOC '24). We use randomness extractors to significantly simplify the construction and the proof.
Cite as

Hanlin Ren, Yichuan Wang, and Yan Zhong. Hardness of Range Avoidance and Proof Complexity Generators from Demi-Bits. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 111:1-111:25, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{ren_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.111,
  author =	{Ren, Hanlin and Wang, Yichuan and Zhong, Yan},
  title =	{{Hardness of Range Avoidance and Proof Complexity Generators from Demi-Bits}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{111:1--111:25},
  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.2026.111},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253982},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.111},
  annote =	{Keywords: Range Avoidance, Proof Complexity Generators}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.46
Symmetric Algebraic Circuits and Homomorphism Polynomials

Authors: Anuj Dawar, Benedikt Pago, and Tim Seppelt

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

Abstract
The central open question of algebraic complexity is whether VP ≠ VNP, which is saying that the permanent cannot be represented by families of polynomial-size algebraic circuits. For symmetric algebraic circuits, this has been confirmed by Dawar and Wilsenach (2020), who showed exponential lower bounds on the size of symmetric circuits for the permanent. In this work, we set out to develop a more general symmetric algebraic complexity theory. Our main result is that a family of symmetric polynomials admits small symmetric circuits if and only if they can be written as a linear combination of homomorphism counting polynomials of graphs of bounded treewidth. We also establish a relationship between the symmetric complexity of subgraph counting polynomials and the vertex cover number of the pattern graph. As a concrete example, we examine the symmetric complexity of immanant families (a generalisation of the determinant and permanent) and show that a known conditional dichotomy due to Curticapean (2021) holds unconditionally in the symmetric setting.
Cite as

Anuj Dawar, Benedikt Pago, and Tim Seppelt. Symmetric Algebraic Circuits and Homomorphism Polynomials. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 46:1-46:15, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{dawar_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.46,
  author =	{Dawar, Anuj and Pago, Benedikt and Seppelt, Tim},
  title =	{{Symmetric Algebraic Circuits and Homomorphism Polynomials}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{46:1--46:15},
  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.2026.46},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253330},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.46},
  annote =	{Keywords: algebraic complexity, finite model theory, symmetric circuits, homomorphism counting, graph homomorphism, treewidth, counting width, first-order logic with counting quantifiers}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.32
Vanishing Signatures, Orbit Closure, and the Converse of the Holant Theorem

Authors: Jin-Yi Cai and Ben Young

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

Abstract
Valiant’s Holant theorem is a powerful tool for algorithms and reductions for counting problems. It states that if two sets ℱ and 𝒢 of tensors (a.k.a. constraint functions or signatures) are related by a holographic transformation, then ℱ and 𝒢 are Holant-indistinguishable, i.e., every tensor network using tensors from ℱ, respectively from 𝒢, contracts to the same value. Xia (ICALP 2010) conjectured the converse of the Holant theorem, but a counterexample was found based on vanishing signatures, those which are Holant-indistinguishable from 0. We prove two near-converses of the Holant theorem using techniques from invariant theory. (I) Holant-indistinguishable ℱ and 𝒢 always admit two sequences of holographic transformations mapping them arbitrarily close to each other, i.e., their GL_q-orbit closures intersect. (II) We show that vanishing signatures are the only true obstacle to a converse of the Holant theorem. As corollaries of the two theorems we obtain the first characterization of homomorphism-indistinguishability over graphs of bounded degree, a long standing open problem, and show that two graphs with invertible adjacency matrices are isomorphic if and only if they are homomorphism-indistinguishable over graphs with maximum degree at most three. We also show that Holant-indistinguishability is complete for a complexity class TOCI introduced by Lysikov and Walter [Vladimir Lysikov and Michael Walter, 2024], and hence hard for graph isomorphism.
Cite as

Jin-Yi Cai and Ben Young. Vanishing Signatures, Orbit Closure, and the Converse of the Holant Theorem. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 32:1-32:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{cai_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.32,
  author =	{Cai, Jin-Yi and Young, Ben},
  title =	{{Vanishing Signatures, Orbit Closure, and the Converse of the Holant Theorem}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{32:1--32:20},
  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.2026.32},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253198},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.32},
  annote =	{Keywords: Holant, Orbit Closure Intersection, Homomorphism Indistinguishability, Tensor Network}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.37
New Algebrization Barriers to Circuit Lower Bounds via Communication Complexity of Missing-String

Authors: Lijie Chen, Yang Hu, and Hanlin Ren

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

Abstract
The algebrization barrier, proposed by Aaronson and Wigderson (STOC '08, ToCT '09), captures the limitations of many complexity-theoretic techniques based on arithmetization. Notably, several circuit lower bounds that overcome the relativization barrier (Buhrman-Fortnow-Thierauf, CCC '98; Vinodchandran, TCS '05; Santhanam, STOC '07, SICOMP '09) remain subject to the algebrization barrier. In this work, we establish several new algebrization barriers to circuit lower bounds by studying the communication complexity of the following problem, called XOR-Missing-String: For m < 2^{n/2}, Alice gets a list of m strings x₁, … , x_m ∈ {0, 1}ⁿ, Bob gets a list of m strings y₁, … , y_m ∈ {0, 1}ⁿ, and the goal is to output a string s ∈ {0, 1}ⁿ that is not equal to x_i⊕ y_j for any i, j ∈ [m]. 1) We construct an oracle A₁ and its multilinear extension A₁̃ such that PostBPE^{A₁̃} has linear-size A₁-oracle circuits on infinitely many input lengths. That is, proving PostBPE ̸ ⊆ i.o.- SIZE[O(n)] requires non-algebrizing techniques. This barrier follows from a PostBPP communication lower bound for XOR-Missing-String. This is in contrast to the well-known algebrizing lower bound MA_E (⊆ PostBPE) ̸ ⊆ P/_poly. 2) We construct an oracle A₂ and its multilinear extension A₂̃ such that BPE^{A₂̃} has linear-size A₂-oracle circuits on all input lengths. Previously, a similar barrier was demonstrated by Aaronson and Wigderson, but in their result, A₂̃ is only a multiquadratic extension of A₂. Our results show that communication complexity is more useful than previously thought for proving algebrization barriers, as Aaronson and Wigderson wrote that communication-based barriers were "more contrived". This serves as an example of how XOR-Missing-String forms new connections between communication lower bounds and algebrization barriers. 3) Finally, we study algebrization barriers to circuit lower bounds for MA_E. Buhrman, Fortnow, and Thierauf proved a sub-half-exponential circuit lower bound for MA_E via algebrizing techniques. Toward understanding whether the half-exponential bound can be improved, we define a natural subclass of MA_E that includes their hard MA_E language, and prove the following result: For every super-half-exponential function h(n), we construct an oracle A₃ and its multilinear extension A₃̃ such that this natural subclass of MA_E^{A₃̃} has h(n)-size A₃-oracle circuits on all input lengths. This suggests that half-exponential might be the correct barrier for MA_E circuit lower bounds w.r.t. algebrizing techniques.
Cite as

Lijie Chen, Yang Hu, and Hanlin Ren. New Algebrization Barriers to Circuit Lower Bounds via Communication Complexity of Missing-String. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 37:1-37:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{chen_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.37,
  author =	{Chen, Lijie and Hu, Yang and Ren, Hanlin},
  title =	{{New Algebrization Barriers to Circuit Lower Bounds via Communication Complexity of Missing-String}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{37:1--37:20},
  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.2026.37},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253246},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.37},
  annote =	{Keywords: circuit lower bound, algebrization barrier, missing string, communication complexity}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/DagMan.11.1.19
Conversational Agents: A Framework for Evaluation (CAFE) (Dagstuhl Perspectives Workshop 24352)

Authors: Christine Bauer, Li Chen, Nicola Ferro, Norbert Fuhr, Avishek Anand, Timo Breuer, Guglielmo Faggioli, Ophir Frieder, Hideo Joho, Jussi Karlgren, Johannes Kiesel, Bart P. Knijnenburg, Aldo Lipani, Lien Michiels, Andrea Papenmeier, Maria Soledad Pera, Mark Sanderson, Scott Sanner, Benno Stein, Johanne R. Trippas, Karin Verspoor, and Martijn C. Willemsen

Published in: Dagstuhl Manifestos, Volume 11, Issue 1 (2025)

Abstract
During the workshop, we deeply discussed what CONversational Information ACcess (CONIAC) is and its unique features, proposing a world model abstracting it, and defined the Conversational Agents Framework for Evaluation (CAFE) for the evaluation of CONIAC systems, consisting of six major components: 1) goals of the system’s stakeholders, 2) user tasks to be studied in the evaluation, 3) aspects of the users carrying out the tasks, 4) evaluation criteria to be considered, 5) evaluation methodology to be applied, and 6) measures for the quantitative criteria chosen.
Cite as

Christine Bauer, Li Chen, Nicola Ferro, Norbert Fuhr, Avishek Anand, Timo Breuer, Guglielmo Faggioli, Ophir Frieder, Hideo Joho, Jussi Karlgren, Johannes Kiesel, Bart P. Knijnenburg, Aldo Lipani, Lien Michiels, Andrea Papenmeier, Maria Soledad Pera, Mark Sanderson, Scott Sanner, Benno Stein, Johanne R. Trippas, Karin Verspoor, and Martijn C. Willemsen. Conversational Agents: A Framework for Evaluation (CAFE) (Dagstuhl Perspectives Workshop 24352). In Dagstuhl Manifestos, Volume 11, Issue 1, pp. 19-67, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@Article{bauer_et_al:DagMan.11.1.19,
  author =	{Bauer, Christine and Chen, Li and Ferro, Nicola and Fuhr, Norbert and Anand, Avishek and Breuer, Timo and Faggioli, Guglielmo and Frieder, Ophir and Joho, Hideo and Karlgren, Jussi and Kiesel, Johannes and Knijnenburg, Bart P. and Lipani, Aldo and Michiels, Lien and Papenmeier, Andrea and Pera, Maria Soledad and Sanderson, Mark and Sanner, Scott and Stein, Benno and Trippas, Johanne R. and Verspoor, Karin and Willemsen, Martijn C.},
  title =	{{Conversational Agents: A Framework for Evaluation (CAFE) (Dagstuhl Perspectives Workshop 24352)}},
  pages =	{19--67},
  journal =	{Dagstuhl Manifestos},
  ISSN =	{2193-2433},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{11},
  number =	{1},
  editor =	{Bauer, Christine and Chen, Li and Ferro, Nicola and Fuhr, Norbert and Anand, Avishek and Breuer, Timo and Faggioli, Guglielmo and Frieder, Ophir and Joho, Hideo and Karlgren, Jussi and Kiesel, Johannes and Knijnenburg, Bart P. and Lipani, Aldo and Michiels, Lien and Papenmeier, Andrea and Pera, Maria Soledad and Sanderson, Mark and Sanner, Scott and Stein, Benno and Trippas, Johanne R. and Verspoor, Karin and Willemsen, Martijn C.},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/DagMan.11.1.19},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-252722},
  doi =		{10.4230/DagMan.11.1.19},
  annote =	{Keywords: Conversational Agents, Evaluation, Information Access}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.IPEC.2025.24
A Note on the Parameterised Complexity of Coverability in Vector Addition Systems

Authors: Michał Pilipczuk, Sylvain Schmitz, and Henry Sinclair-Banks

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 358, 20th International Symposium on Parameterized and Exact Computation (IPEC 2025)

Abstract
We investigate the parameterised complexity of the classic coverability problem for vector addition systems (VAS): V ⊆ ℤ^d, an initial configuration s ∈ ℕ^d, and a target configuration t ∈ ℕ^d, decide whether starting from s, one can iteratively add vectors from V to ultimately arrive at a configuration that is larger than or equal to t on every coordinate, while not observing any negative value on any coordinate along the way. We consider two natural parameters for the problem: the dimension d and the size of V, defined as the total bitsize of its encoding. We present several results charting the complexity of those two parameterisations, among which the highlight is that coverability for VAS parameterised by the dimension and with all the numbers in the input encoded in unary is complete for the class XNL under PL-reductions. We also discuss open problems in the topic, most notably the question about fixed-parameter tractability for the parameterisation by the size of V.
Cite as

Michał Pilipczuk, Sylvain Schmitz, and Henry Sinclair-Banks. A Note on the Parameterised Complexity of Coverability in Vector Addition Systems. In 20th International Symposium on Parameterized and Exact Computation (IPEC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 358, pp. 24:1-24:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{pilipczuk_et_al:LIPIcs.IPEC.2025.24,
  author =	{Pilipczuk, Micha{\l} and Schmitz, Sylvain and Sinclair-Banks, Henry},
  title =	{{A Note on the Parameterised Complexity of Coverability in Vector Addition Systems}},
  booktitle =	{20th International Symposium on Parameterized and Exact Computation (IPEC 2025)},
  pages =	{24:1--24:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-407-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{358},
  editor =	{Agrawal, Akanksha and van Leeuwen, Erik Jan},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.IPEC.2025.24},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-251563},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.IPEC.2025.24},
  annote =	{Keywords: vector addition system, Petri net, parameterised complexity, coverability}
}
Document
Research
DOI: 10.4230/TGDK.3.3.4
Mining Inter-Document Argument Structures in Scientific Papers for an Argument Web

Authors: Florian Ruosch, Cristina Sarasua, and Abraham Bernstein

Published in: TGDK, Volume 3, Issue 3 (2025). Transactions on Graph Data and Knowledge, Volume 3, Issue 3

Abstract
In Argument Mining, predicting argumentative relations between texts (or spans) remains one of the most challenging aspects, even more so in the cross-document setting. This paper makes three key contributions to advance research in this domain. We first extend an existing dataset, the Sci-Arg corpus, by annotating it with explicit inter-document argumentative relations, thereby allowing arguments to be distributed over several documents forming an Argument Web; these new annotations are published using Semantic Web technologies (RDF, OWL). Second, we explore and evaluate three automated approaches for predicting these inter-document argumentative relations, establishing critical baselines on the new dataset. We find that a simple classifier based on discourse indicators with access to context outperforms neural methods. Third, we conduct a comparative analysis of these approaches for both intra- and inter-document settings, identifying statistically significant differences in results that indicate the necessity of distinguishing between these two scenarios. Our findings highlight significant challenges in this complex domain and open crucial avenues for future research on the Argument Web of Science, particularly for those interested in leveraging Semantic Web technologies and knowledge graphs to understand scholarly discourse. With this, we provide the first stepping stones in the form of a benchmark dataset, three baseline methods, and an initial analysis for a systematic exploration of this field relevant to the Web of Data and Science.
Cite as

Florian Ruosch, Cristina Sarasua, and Abraham Bernstein. Mining Inter-Document Argument Structures in Scientific Papers for an Argument Web. In Transactions on Graph Data and Knowledge (TGDK), Volume 3, Issue 3, pp. 4:1-4:33, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@Article{ruosch_et_al:TGDK.3.3.4,
  author =	{Ruosch, Florian and Sarasua, Cristina and Bernstein, Abraham},
  title =	{{Mining Inter-Document Argument Structures in Scientific Papers for an Argument Web}},
  journal =	{Transactions on Graph Data and Knowledge},
  pages =	{4:1--4:33},
  ISSN =	{2942-7517},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{3},
  number =	{3},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/TGDK.3.3.4},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-252159},
  doi =		{10.4230/TGDK.3.3.4},
  annote =	{Keywords: Argument Mining, Large Language Models, Knowledge Graphs, Link Prediction}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.47
The Algebraic Cost of a Boolean Sum

Authors: Ian Orzel, Srikanth Srinivasan, Sébastien Tavenas, and Amir Yehudayoff

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 360, 45th IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2025)

Abstract
It is a well-known fact that the permanent polynomial is complete for the complexity class VNP, and it is largely suspected that the determinant does not share this property, despite its similar expression. We study the question of why the VNP-completeness proof of the permanent fails for the determinant. We isolate three fundamental properties that are sufficient to prove a polynomial sequence is VNP-hard, of which two are shared by both the permanent and the determinant. We proceed to show that the permanent satisfies the third property, which we refer to as the "cost of a boolean sum", while the determinant does not, showcasing the fundamental difference between the polynomial families. We further note that this differentiation also applies in the border complexity setting and that our results apply for counting complexity.
Cite as

Ian Orzel, Srikanth Srinivasan, Sébastien Tavenas, and Amir Yehudayoff. The Algebraic Cost of a Boolean Sum. In 45th IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 360, pp. 47:1-47:13, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{orzel_et_al:LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.47,
  author =	{Orzel, Ian and Srinivasan, Srikanth and Tavenas, S\'{e}bastien and Yehudayoff, Amir},
  title =	{{The Algebraic Cost of a Boolean Sum}},
  booktitle =	{45th IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2025)},
  pages =	{47:1--47:13},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-406-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{360},
  editor =	{Aiswarya, C. and Mehta, Ruta and Roy, Subhajit},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.47},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-251271},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.47},
  annote =	{Keywords: Algebraic Complexity, Computational Complexity, Permanent, Determinant}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2025.50
Matchgate Signatures Under Variable Permutations

Authors: Boning Meng and Yicheng Pan

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 359, 36th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2025)

Abstract
In this work, we introduce the concept of permutable matchgate signatures and leverage it to establish dichotomy theorems for #CSP and #R_D-CSP (D ≥ 3) on planar graphs without the variable ordering restriction. We also present a complete characterization of permutable matchgate signatures and their relationship to symmetric signatures. Besides, we give a sufficient and necessary condition for determining whether a matchgate signature retains its property under a certain variable permutation, which can be checked in polynomial time. In addition, we prove a dichotomy for Pl-#R_D-CSP (D ≥ 3), where the variable ordering restriction exists.
Cite as

Boning Meng and Yicheng Pan. Matchgate Signatures Under Variable Permutations. In 36th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 359, pp. 50:1-50:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{meng_et_al:LIPIcs.ISAAC.2025.50,
  author =	{Meng, Boning and Pan, Yicheng},
  title =	{{Matchgate Signatures Under Variable Permutations}},
  booktitle =	{36th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2025)},
  pages =	{50:1--50:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-408-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{359},
  editor =	{Chen, Ho-Lin and Hon, Wing-Kai and Tsai, Meng-Tsung},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2025.50},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-249587},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2025.50},
  annote =	{Keywords: Computational Complexity, Matchgate Signature, Counting CSP}
}
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