13 Search Results for "Carlson, Charlie"


Document
Planting and MCMC Sampling from the Potts Model

Authors: Andreas Galanis, Leslie Ann Goldberg, and Paulina Smolarova

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


Abstract
We consider the problem of sampling from the ferromagnetic q-state Potts model on the random d-regular graph with parameter β > 0. A key difficulty that arises in sampling from the model is the existence of a "metastability" window β ∈ (β_u,β_u'), where roughly the distribution has two competing modes, the so-called disordered and ordered phases. This causes classical Markov-chain algorithms to be slow mixing from worst-case initialisations. Nevertheless, Helmuth, Jenssen and Perkins (SODA '19) designed a sampling algorithm that works for all β, when d ≥ 5 and q = d^{Ω(d)}, using polymers and cluster expansion methods; more recently, their analysis technique has been adapted to show that a Markov chain (random-cluster dynamics) mixes fast when initialised appropriately, in the same regime of q,d,β. Despite these positive algorithmic results, a well-known bottleneck behind cluster-expansion arguments is that they inherently only work for large q, whereas it is widely conjectured that sampling on the random d-regular graph is possible for all q,d ≥ 3. The only result so far that applies to general q,d ≥ 3 is by Blanca and Gheissari who showed that the random-cluster dynamics mixes fast in the "uniqueness" regime β < β_u where roughly only the disordered mode exists. For β ≥ β_u however, a second subdominant mode emerges creating bottlenecks and giving rise to correlations which have been hard to handle, especially for small values of q and d. Our main contribution is to perform a delicate analysis of the Potts distribution and the random-cluster dynamics that goes beyond the threshold β_u. We use planting as the main tool, a technique used in the analysis of random CSPs to capture how the space of solutions is correlated with the structure of the random instance. While planting arguments provide only weak sampling guarantees generically, here we instead combine planting with the analysis of random-cluster dynamics to obtain significantly stronger guarantees. We are thus able to show that the random-cluster dynamics initialised from all-out mixes fast for all integers q,d ≥ 3 beyond the uniqueness threshold β_u, all the way to the optimal threshold β_c ∈ (β_u,β_u') where the dominant mode switches from disordered to ordered. A more involved analysis also applies to the ordered regime β > β_c where we obtain an algorithm for all d ≥ 3 and q ≥ (5d)⁵, improving significantly upon the previous range of q,d by Carlson, Davies, Fraiman, Kolla, Potukuchi, and Yap (FOCS'22).

Cite as

Andreas Galanis, Leslie Ann Goldberg, and Paulina Smolarova. Planting and MCMC Sampling from the Potts Model. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 39:1-39:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{galanis_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.39,
  author =	{Galanis, Andreas and Goldberg, Leslie Ann and Smolarova, Paulina},
  title =	{{Planting and MCMC Sampling from the Potts Model}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{39:1--39:19},
  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.2026.39},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255280},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.39},
  annote =	{Keywords: approximate sampling, Glauber dynamics, Potts model, random cluster model}
}
Document
Cutoff for the Swendsen–Wang Dynamics on the Complete Graph

Authors: Antonio Blanca and Zhezheng Song

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


Abstract
We study the speed of convergence of the Swendsen-Wang (SW) dynamics for the q-state ferromagnetic Potts model on the n-vertex complete graph, known as the mean-field model. The SW dynamics was introduced as an attractive alternative to the local Glauber dynamics, often offering faster convergence rates to stationarity in a variety of settings. A series of works have characterized the asymptotic behavior of the speed of convergence of the mean-field SW dynamics for all q ≥ 2 and all values of the inverse temperature parameter β > 0. In particular, it is known that when β > q the mixing time of the SW dynamics is Θ(log n). We strengthen this result by showing that for all β > q, there exists a constant c(β,q) > 0 such that the mixing time of the SW dynamics is c(β,q) log n + Θ(1). This implies that the mean-field SW dynamics exhibits the cutoff phenomenon in this temperature regime, demonstrating that this Markov chain undergoes a sharp transition from "far from stationarity" to "well-mixed" within a narrow Θ(1) time window. The presence of cutoff is algorithmically significant, as simulating the chain for fewer steps than its mixing time could lead to highly biased samples.

Cite as

Antonio Blanca and Zhezheng Song. Cutoff for the Swendsen–Wang Dynamics on the Complete Graph. 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. 17:1-17:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{blanca_et_al:LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.17,
  author =	{Blanca, Antonio and Song, Zhezheng},
  title =	{{Cutoff for the Swendsen–Wang Dynamics on the Complete Graph}},
  booktitle =	{45th IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2025)},
  pages =	{17:1--17:21},
  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.2025.17},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-250987},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.17},
  annote =	{Keywords: Markov chains, mixing times, cutoff phenomenon, Potts model, mean-field}
}
Document
Coloring Reconfiguration Under Color Swapping

Authors: Janosch Fuchs, Rin Saito, Tatsuhiro Suga, Takahiro Suzuki, and Yuma Tamura

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


Abstract
In the Coloring Reconfiguration problem, we are given two proper k-colorings of a graph and asked to decide whether one can be transformed into the other by repeatedly applying a specified recoloring rule, while maintaining a proper coloring throughout. For this problem, two recoloring rules have been widely studied: single-vertex recoloring and Kempe chain recoloring. In this paper, we introduce a new rule, called color swapping, where two adjacent vertices may exchange their colors, so that the resulting coloring remains proper, and study the computational complexity of the problem under this rule. We first establish a complexity dichotomy with respect to k: the problem is solvable in polynomial time for k ≤ 2, and is PSPACE-complete for k ≥ 3. We further show that the problem remains PSPACE-complete even on restricted graph classes, including bipartite graphs, split graphs, and planar graphs of bounded degree. In contrast, we present polynomial-time algorithms for several graph classes: for paths when k = 3, for split graphs when k is fixed, and for cographs when k is arbitrary.

Cite as

Janosch Fuchs, Rin Saito, Tatsuhiro Suga, Takahiro Suzuki, and Yuma Tamura. Coloring Reconfiguration Under Color Swapping. In 36th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 359, pp. 33:1-33:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{fuchs_et_al:LIPIcs.ISAAC.2025.33,
  author =	{Fuchs, Janosch and Saito, Rin and Suga, Tatsuhiro and Suzuki, Takahiro and Tamura, Yuma},
  title =	{{Coloring Reconfiguration Under Color Swapping}},
  booktitle =	{36th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2025)},
  pages =	{33:1--33:21},
  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.2025.33},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-249411},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2025.33},
  annote =	{Keywords: Combinatorial reconfiguration, graph coloring, PSPACE-complete, graph algorithm}
}
Document
RANDOM
Rapid Mixing via Coupling Independence for Spin Systems with Unbounded Degree

Authors: Xiaoyu Chen and Weiming Feng

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 353, Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)


Abstract
We develop a new framework to prove the mixing or relaxation time for the Glauber dynamics on spin systems with unbounded degree. It works for general spin systems including both 2-spin and multi-spin systems. As applications for this approach: - We prove the optimal O(n) relaxation time for the Glauber dynamics of random q-list-coloring on an n-vertices triangle-tree graph with maximum degree Δ such that q/Δ > α^⋆, where α^⋆ ≈ 1.763 is the unique positive solution of the equation α = exp(1/α). This improves the n^{1+o(1)} relaxation time for Glauber dynamics obtained by the previous work of Jain, Pham, and Vuong (2022). Besides, our framework can also give a near-linear time sampling algorithm under the same condition. - We prove the optimal O(n) relaxation time and near-optimal Õ(n) mixing time for the Glauber dynamics on hardcore models with parameter λ in balanced bipartite graphs such that λ < λ_c(Δ_L) for the max degree Δ_L in left part and the max degree Δ_R of right part satisfies Δ_R = O(Δ_L). This improves the previous result by Chen, Liu, and Yin (2023). At the heart of our proof is the notion of coupling independence which allows us to consider multiple vertices as a huge single vertex with exponentially large domain and do a "coarse-grained" local-to-global argument on spin systems. The technique works for general (multi) spin systems and helps us obtain some new comparison results for Glauber dynamics.

Cite as

Xiaoyu Chen and Weiming Feng. Rapid Mixing via Coupling Independence for Spin Systems with Unbounded Degree. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 68:1-68:17, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{chen_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.68,
  author =	{Chen, Xiaoyu and Feng, Weiming},
  title =	{{Rapid Mixing via Coupling Independence for Spin Systems with Unbounded Degree}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{68:1--68:17},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-397-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{353},
  editor =	{Ene, Alina and Chattopadhyay, Eshan},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.68},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-244345},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.68},
  annote =	{Keywords: coupling independence, Glauber dynamics, mixing times, relaxation times, spin systems}
}
Document
Track A: Algorithms, Complexity and Games
Decay of Correlation for Edge Colorings When q > 3Δ

Authors: Zejia Chen, Yulin Wang, Chihao Zhang, and Zihan Zhang

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 334, 52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025)


Abstract
We examine various perspectives on the decay of correlation for the uniform distribution over proper q-edge colorings of graphs with maximum degree Δ. First, we establish the coupling independence property when q ≥ 3Δ for general graphs. Together with the recent work of Chen, Feng, Guo, Zhang and Zou (2024), this result implies a fully polynomial-time approximation scheme (FPTAS) for counting the number of proper q-edge colorings. Next, we prove the strong spatial mixing property on trees, provided that q > (3+o(1))Δ. The strong spatial mixing property is derived from the spectral independence property of a version of the weighted edge coloring distribution, which is established using the matrix trickle-down method developed in Abdolazimi, Liu and Oveis Gharan (FOCS, 2021) and Wang, Zhang and Zhang (STOC, 2024). Finally, we show that the weak spatial mixing property holds on trees with maximum degree Δ if and only if q ≥ 2Δ-1.

Cite as

Zejia Chen, Yulin Wang, Chihao Zhang, and Zihan Zhang. Decay of Correlation for Edge Colorings When q > 3Δ. In 52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 334, pp. 54:1-54:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{chen_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.54,
  author =	{Chen, Zejia and Wang, Yulin and Zhang, Chihao and Zhang, Zihan},
  title =	{{Decay of Correlation for Edge Colorings When q \rangle 3\Delta}},
  booktitle =	{52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025)},
  pages =	{54:1--54:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-372-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{334},
  editor =	{Censor-Hillel, Keren and Grandoni, Fabrizio and Ouaknine, Jo\"{e}l 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.2025.54},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-234314},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.54},
  annote =	{Keywords: Strong Spatial Mixing, Edge Coloring, Approximate Counting}
}
Document
Track A: Algorithms, Complexity and Games
Low-Temperature Sampling on Sparse Random Graphs

Authors: Andreas Galanis, Leslie Ann Goldberg, and Paulina Smolarova

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 334, 52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025)


Abstract
We consider sampling in the so-called low-temperature regime, which is typically characterised by non-local behaviour and strong global correlations. Canonical examples include sampling independent sets on bipartite graphs and sampling from the ferromagnetic q-state Potts model. Low-temperature sampling is computationally intractable for general graphs, but recent advances based on the polymer method have made significant progress for graph families that exhibit certain expansion properties that reinforce the correlations, including for example expanders, lattices and dense graphs. One of the most natural graph classes that has so far escaped this algorithmic framework is the class of sparse Erdős-Rényi random graphs whose expansion only manifests for sufficiently large subsets of vertices; small sets of vertices on the other hand have vanishing expansion which makes them behave independently from the bulk of the graph and therefore weakens the correlations. At a more technical level, the expansion of small sets is crucial for establishing the Kotecky-Priess condition which underpins the applicability of the framework. Our main contribution is to develop the polymer method in the low-temperature regime for sparse random graphs. As our running example, we use the Potts and random-cluster models on G(n,d/n) for d = Θ(1), where we show a polynomial-time sampling algorithm for all sufficiently large q and d, at all temperatures. Our approach applies more generally for models that are monotone. Key to our result is a simple polymer definition that blends easily with the connectivity properties of the graph and allows us to show that polymers have size at most O(log n).

Cite as

Andreas Galanis, Leslie Ann Goldberg, and Paulina Smolarova. Low-Temperature Sampling on Sparse Random Graphs. In 52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 334, pp. 83:1-83:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{galanis_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.83,
  author =	{Galanis, Andreas and Goldberg, Leslie Ann and Smolarova, Paulina},
  title =	{{Low-Temperature Sampling on Sparse Random Graphs}},
  booktitle =	{52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025)},
  pages =	{83:1--83:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-372-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{334},
  editor =	{Censor-Hillel, Keren and Grandoni, Fabrizio and Ouaknine, Jo\"{e}l 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.2025.83},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-234606},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.83},
  annote =	{Keywords: approximate counting, Glauber dynamics, random cluster model, approximate sampling, Erd\H{o}s-R\'{e}nyi Graphs}
}
Document
Sampling List Packings

Authors: Evan Camrud, Ewan Davies, Alex Karduna, and Holden Lee

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 325, 16th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2025)


Abstract
We initiate the study of approximately counting the number of list packings of a graph. The analogous problem for usual vertex coloring and list coloring has attracted substantial attention. For list packing the setup is similar, but we seek a full decomposition of the lists of colors into pairwise-disjoint proper list colorings. The existence of a list packing implies the existence of a list coloring, but the converse is false. Recent works on list packing have focused on existence or extremal results of on the number of list packings, but here we turn to the algorithmic aspects of counting and sampling. In graphs of maximum degree Δ and when the number of colors is at least Ω(Δ²), we give a fully polynomial-time randomized approximation scheme (FPRAS) based on rapid mixing of a natural Markov chain (the Glauber dynamics) which we analyze with the path coupling technique. Some motivation for our work is the investigation of an atypical spin system, one where the number of spins for each vertex is much larger than the graph degree.

Cite as

Evan Camrud, Ewan Davies, Alex Karduna, and Holden Lee. Sampling List Packings. In 16th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 325, pp. 24:1-24:15, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{camrud_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2025.24,
  author =	{Camrud, Evan and Davies, Ewan and Karduna, Alex and Lee, Holden},
  title =	{{Sampling List Packings}},
  booktitle =	{16th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2025)},
  pages =	{24:1--24:15},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-361-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{325},
  editor =	{Meka, Raghu},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2025.24},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-226528},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2025.24},
  annote =	{Keywords: List packing, Graph colouring, Markov chains, Path coupling}
}
Document
Hardness of Sampling for the Anti-Ferromagnetic Ising Model on Random Graphs

Authors: Neng Huang, Will Perkins, and Aaron Potechin

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 325, 16th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2025)


Abstract
We prove a hardness of sampling result for the anti-ferromagnetic Ising model on random graphs of average degree d for large constant d, proving that when the normalized inverse temperature satisfies β > 1 (asymptotically corresponding to the condensation threshold), then w.h.p. over the random graph there is no stable sampling algorithm that can output a sample close in W₂ distance to the Gibbs measure. The results also apply to a fixed-magnetization version of the model, showing that there are no stable sampling algorithms for low but positive temperature max and min bisection distributions. These results show a gap in the tractability of search and sampling problems: while there are efficient algorithms to find near optimizers, stable sampling algorithms cannot access the Gibbs distribution concentrated on such solutions. Our techniques involve extensions of the interpolation technique relating behavior of the mean field Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model to behavior of Ising models on random graphs of average degree d for large d. While previous interpolation arguments compared the free energies of the two models, our argument compares the average energies and average overlaps in the two models.

Cite as

Neng Huang, Will Perkins, and Aaron Potechin. Hardness of Sampling for the Anti-Ferromagnetic Ising Model on Random Graphs. In 16th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 325, pp. 61:1-61:23, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{huang_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2025.61,
  author =	{Huang, Neng and Perkins, Will and Potechin, Aaron},
  title =	{{Hardness of Sampling for the Anti-Ferromagnetic Ising Model on Random Graphs}},
  booktitle =	{16th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2025)},
  pages =	{61:1--61:23},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-361-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{325},
  editor =	{Meka, Raghu},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2025.61},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-226899},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2025.61},
  annote =	{Keywords: Random graph, spin glass, sampling algorithm}
}
Document
Fast, Fair and Truthful Distributed Stable Matching for Common Preferences

Authors: Juho Hirvonen and Sara Ranjbaran

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 324, 28th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems (OPODIS 2024)


Abstract
Stable matching is a fundamental problem studied both in economics and computer science. The task is to find a matching between two sides of agents that have preferences over who they want to be matched with. A matching is stable if no pair of agents prefer each other over their current matches. The deferred acceptance algorithm of Gale and Shapley solves this problem in polynomial time. Further, it is a mechanism: the proposing side in the algorithm is always incentivised to report their preferences truthfully. The deferred acceptance algorithm has a natural interpretation as a distributed algorithm (and thus a distributed mechanism). However, the algorithm is slow in the worst case and it is known that the stable matching problem cannot be solved efficiently in the distributed setting. In this work we study a natural special case of the stable matching problem where all agents on one of the two sides share common preferences. We show that in this case the deferred acceptance algorithm does yield a fast and truthful distributed mechanism for finding a stable matching. We show how algorithms for sampling random colorings can be used to break ties fairly and extend the results to fractional stable matching.

Cite as

Juho Hirvonen and Sara Ranjbaran. Fast, Fair and Truthful Distributed Stable Matching for Common Preferences. In 28th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems (OPODIS 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 324, pp. 30:1-30:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)


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@InProceedings{hirvonen_et_al:LIPIcs.OPODIS.2024.30,
  author =	{Hirvonen, Juho and Ranjbaran, Sara},
  title =	{{Fast, Fair and Truthful Distributed Stable Matching for Common Preferences}},
  booktitle =	{28th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems (OPODIS 2024)},
  pages =	{30:1--30:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-360-7},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{324},
  editor =	{Bonomi, Silvia and Galletta, Letterio and Rivi\`{e}re, Etienne and Schiavoni, Valerio},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.OPODIS.2024.30},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-225666},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.OPODIS.2024.30},
  annote =	{Keywords: stable matching, deferred acceptance, local algorithm, mechanism design}
}
Document
Track A: Algorithms, Complexity and Games
A Spectral Approach to Approximately Counting Independent Sets in Dense Bipartite Graphs

Authors: Charlie Carlson, Ewan Davies, Alexandra Kolla, and Aditya Potukuchi

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 297, 51st International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2024)


Abstract
We give a randomized algorithm that approximates the number of independent sets in a dense, regular bipartite graph - in the language of approximate counting, we give an FPRAS for #BIS on the class of dense, regular bipartite graphs. Efficient counting algorithms typically apply to "high-temperature" problems on bounded-degree graphs, and our contribution is a notable exception as it applies to dense graphs in a low-temperature setting. Our methods give a counting-focused complement to the long line of work in combinatorial optimization showing that CSPs such as Max-Cut and Unique Games are easy on dense graphs via spectral arguments. Our contributions include a novel extension of the method of graph containers that differs considerably from other recent low-temperature algorithms. The additional key insights come from spectral graph theory and have previously been successful in approximation algorithms. As a result, we can overcome some limitations that seem inherent to the aforementioned class of algorithms. In particular, we exploit the fact that dense, regular graphs exhibit a kind of small-set expansion (i.e., bounded threshold rank), which, via subspace enumeration, lets us enumerate small cuts efficiently.

Cite as

Charlie Carlson, Ewan Davies, Alexandra Kolla, and Aditya Potukuchi. A Spectral Approach to Approximately Counting Independent Sets in Dense Bipartite Graphs. In 51st International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 297, pp. 35:1-35:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)


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@InProceedings{carlson_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2024.35,
  author =	{Carlson, Charlie and Davies, Ewan and Kolla, Alexandra and Potukuchi, Aditya},
  title =	{{A Spectral Approach to Approximately Counting Independent Sets in Dense Bipartite Graphs}},
  booktitle =	{51st International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2024)},
  pages =	{35:1--35:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-322-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2024},
  volume =	{297},
  editor =	{Bringmann, Karl and Grohe, Martin and Puppis, Gabriele and Svensson, Ola},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2024.35},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-201782},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2024.35},
  annote =	{Keywords: approximate counting, independent sets, bipartite graphs, graph containers}
}
Document
Improved Distributed Algorithms for Random Colorings

Authors: Charlie Carlson, Daniel Frishberg, and Eric Vigoda

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 286, 27th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems (OPODIS 2023)


Abstract
Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms are a widely-used algorithmic tool for sampling from high-dimensional distributions, a notable example is the equilibirum distribution of graphical models. The Glauber dynamics, also known as the Gibbs sampler, is the simplest example of an MCMC algorithm; the transitions of the chain update the configuration at a randomly chosen coordinate at each step. Several works have studied distributed versions of the Glauber dynamics and we extend these efforts to a more general family of Markov chains. An important combinatorial problem in the study of MCMC algorithms is random colorings. Given a graph G of maximum degree Δ and an integer k ≥ Δ+1, the goal is to generate a random proper vertex k-coloring of G. Jerrum (1995) proved that the Glauber dynamics has O(nlog{n}) mixing time when k > 2Δ. Fischer and Ghaffari (2018), and independently Feng, Hayes, and Yin (2018), presented a parallel and distributed version of the Glauber dynamics which converges in O(log{n}) rounds for k > (2+ε)Δ for any ε > 0. We improve this result to k > (11/6-δ)Δ for a fixed δ > 0. This matches the state of the art for randomly sampling colorings of general graphs in the sequential setting. Whereas previous works focused on distributed variants of the Glauber dynamics, our work presents a parallel and distributed version of the more general flip dynamics presented by Vigoda (2000) (and refined by Chen, Delcourt, Moitra, Perarnau, and Postle (2019)), which recolors local maximal two-colored components in each step.

Cite as

Charlie Carlson, Daniel Frishberg, and Eric Vigoda. Improved Distributed Algorithms for Random Colorings. In 27th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems (OPODIS 2023). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 286, pp. 13:1-13:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)


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@InProceedings{carlson_et_al:LIPIcs.OPODIS.2023.13,
  author =	{Carlson, Charlie and Frishberg, Daniel and Vigoda, Eric},
  title =	{{Improved Distributed Algorithms for Random Colorings}},
  booktitle =	{27th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems (OPODIS 2023)},
  pages =	{13:1--13:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-308-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2024},
  volume =	{286},
  editor =	{Bessani, Alysson and D\'{e}fago, Xavier and Nakamura, Junya and Wada, Koichi and Yamauchi, Yukiko},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.OPODIS.2023.13},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-195030},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.OPODIS.2023.13},
  annote =	{Keywords: Distributed Graph Algorithms, Local Algorithms, Coloring, Glauber Dynamics, Sampling, Markov Chains}
}
Document
Rapid Mixing for the Hardcore Glauber Dynamics and Other Markov Chains in Bounded-Treewidth Graphs

Authors: David Eppstein and Daniel Frishberg

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 283, 34th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2023)


Abstract
We give a new rapid mixing result for a natural random walk on the independent sets of a graph G. We show that when G has bounded treewidth, this random walk - known as the Glauber dynamics for the hardcore model - mixes rapidly for all fixed values of the standard parameter λ > 0, giving a simple alternative to existing sampling algorithms for these structures. We also show rapid mixing for analogous Markov chains on dominating sets, b-edge covers, b-matchings, maximal independent sets, and maximal b-matchings. (For b-matchings, maximal independent sets, and maximal b-matchings we also require bounded degree.) Our results imply simpler alternatives to known algorithms for the sampling and approximate counting problems in these graphs. We prove our results by applying a divide-and-conquer framework we developed in a previous paper, as an alternative to the projection-restriction technique introduced by Jerrum, Son, Tetali, and Vigoda. We extend this prior framework to handle chains for which the application of that framework is not straightforward, strengthening existing results by Dyer, Goldberg, and Jerrum and by Heinrich for the Glauber dynamics on q-colorings of graphs of bounded treewidth and bounded degree.

Cite as

David Eppstein and Daniel Frishberg. Rapid Mixing for the Hardcore Glauber Dynamics and Other Markov Chains in Bounded-Treewidth Graphs. In 34th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2023). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 283, pp. 30:1-30:13, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2023)


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@InProceedings{eppstein_et_al:LIPIcs.ISAAC.2023.30,
  author =	{Eppstein, David and Frishberg, Daniel},
  title =	{{Rapid Mixing for the Hardcore Glauber Dynamics and Other Markov Chains in Bounded-Treewidth Graphs}},
  booktitle =	{34th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2023)},
  pages =	{30:1--30:13},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-289-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2023},
  volume =	{283},
  editor =	{Iwata, Satoru and Kakimura, Naonori},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2023.30},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-193324},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2023.30},
  annote =	{Keywords: Glauber dynamics, mixing time, projection-restriction, multicommodity flow}
}
Document
Approximation Algorithm for Norm Multiway Cut

Authors: Charlie Carlson, Jafar Jafarov, Konstantin Makarychev, Yury Makarychev, and Liren Shan

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 274, 31st Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2023)


Abstract
We consider variants of the classic Multiway Cut problem. Multiway Cut asks to partition a graph G into k parts so as to separate k given terminals. Recently, Chandrasekaran and Wang (ESA 2021) introduced 𝓁_p-norm Multiway Cut, a generalization of the problem, in which the goal is to minimize the 𝓁_p norm of the edge boundaries of k parts. We provide an O(log^{1/2} nlog^{1/2+1/p} k) approximation algorithm for this problem, improving upon the approximation guarantee of O(log^{3/2} n log^{1/2} k) due to Chandrasekaran and Wang. We also introduce and study Norm Multiway Cut, a further generalization of Multiway Cut. We assume that we are given access to an oracle, which answers certain queries about the norm. We present an O(log^{1/2} n log^{7/2} k) approximation algorithm with a weaker oracle and an O(log^{1/2} n log^{5/2} k) approximation algorithm with a stronger oracle. Additionally, we show that without any oracle access, there is no n^{1/4-ε} approximation algorithm for every ε > 0 assuming the Hypergraph Dense-vs-Random Conjecture.

Cite as

Charlie Carlson, Jafar Jafarov, Konstantin Makarychev, Yury Makarychev, and Liren Shan. Approximation Algorithm for Norm Multiway Cut. In 31st Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2023). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 274, pp. 32:1-32:14, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2023)


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@InProceedings{carlson_et_al:LIPIcs.ESA.2023.32,
  author =	{Carlson, Charlie and Jafarov, Jafar and Makarychev, Konstantin and Makarychev, Yury and Shan, Liren},
  title =	{{Approximation Algorithm for Norm Multiway Cut}},
  booktitle =	{31st Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2023)},
  pages =	{32:1--32:14},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-295-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2023},
  volume =	{274},
  editor =	{G{\o}rtz, Inge Li and Farach-Colton, Martin and Puglisi, Simon J. and Herman, Grzegorz},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2023.32},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-186854},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2023.32},
  annote =	{Keywords: Multiway cut, Approximation algorithms}
}
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