21 Search Results for "Kosowski, Adrian"


Document
Optimal Deterministic Rendezvous in Labeled Lines

Authors: Yann Bourreau, Ananth Narayanan, and Alexandre Nolin

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


Abstract
In a rendezvous task, a set of mobile agents initially dispersed in a network have to gather at an arbitrary common site. We consider the rendezvous problem on the infinite labeled line, with 2 initially asleep agents, without communication, and a synchronous notion of time. Each node on the line is labeled with a unique positive integer. The initial distance between the two agents is denoted by D. Time is divided into rounds and measured from the moment an agent first wakes up. We denote by τ the delay between the two agents' wake up times. If awake in a given round T, an agent at a node v has three options: stay at the node v, take port 0, or take port 1. If it decides to stay, the agent will still be at node v in round T+1. Otherwise, it will be at one of the two neighbors of v on the infinite line, depending on the port it chose. The agents achieve rendezvous in T rounds if they are at the same node in round T. We aim for a deterministic algorithm for this problem. The problem was recently considered by Miller and Pelc [Distributed Computing, 2025]. With 𝓁_{max} the largest label of the two starting nodes, they showed that no algorithm can guarantee rendezvous in o(D log^* 𝓁_{max}) rounds. The lower bound follows from a connection with the LOCAL model of distributed computing, and holds even if the agents are guaranteed simultaneous wake-up (τ = 0) and are told their initial distance D. Miller and Pelc also gave an algorithm of optimal matching complexity O(D log^* 𝓁_{max}) when the agents know D, but only obtained the higher bound of O(D² (log^* 𝓁_{max})³) when D is unknown to the agents. In this paper, we improve this second complexity to a tight O(D log^* 𝓁_{max}), closing the gap between the best known lower and upper bounds. In fact, our algorithm achieves rendezvous in O(D log^* 𝓁_{min}) rounds, where 𝓁_{min} is the smallest label within distance O(D) of the two starting positions. We obtain this result by having the agents compute sparse subsets of the nodes to gather at (formally, ruling sets over the line), as well as some general observations about the setting of rendezvous on labeled graphs.

Cite as

Yann Bourreau, Ananth Narayanan, and Alexandre Nolin. Optimal Deterministic Rendezvous in Labeled Lines. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 18:1-18:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{bourreau_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.18,
  author =	{Bourreau, Yann and Narayanan, Ananth and Nolin, Alexandre},
  title =	{{Optimal Deterministic Rendezvous in Labeled Lines}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{18:1--18:20},
  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.2026.18},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255071},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.18},
  annote =	{Keywords: mobile agents, rendezvous, ruling set, deterministic algorithms, labeled line}
}
Document
On the Complexity of Distributed Edge Coloring and Orientation Problems

Authors: Sebastian Brandt, Fabian Kuhn, and Zahra Parsaeian

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 361, 29th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems (OPODIS 2025)


Abstract
Understanding the role of randomness when solving locally checkable labeling (LCL) problems in the LOCAL model has been one of the top priorities in the research on distributed graph algorithms in recent years. For LCL problems in bounded-degree graphs, it is known that randomness cannot help more than polynomially, except in one case: if the deterministic complexity of an LCL problem is in Ω(log n) and its randomized complexity is in o(log n), then the randomized complexity is guaranteed to be O(poly(log log n)) and it is even known to be O(log log n) in bounded-degree trees. However, the fundamental question of which problems with a deterministic complexity of Ω(log n) can be solved exponentially faster using randomization still remains wide open. We make a step towards answering this question by studying a simple, but natural class of LCL problems: so-called degree splitting problems. These problems come in two varieties: coloring problems where the edges of a graph have to be colored with 2 colors and orientation problems where each edge needs to be oriented. For an exact classification, it is most natural to consider the Δ-regular case (for Δ = O(1)), where we obtain the following results. - We exactly characterize the complexity of problems where the edges need to be colored with two colors, say red and blue. We show that for every y ∈ {0,… ,Δ-1}, the problem of red-blue coloring the edges such that every node of degree Δ has either y or y+1 red edges has randomized complexity O(log log n) in general graphs of maximum degree Δ. Any other problem, i.e., any problem that does not allow two consecutive red degrees, is already known to have randomized complexity Ω(log n) even in Δ-regular trees. We note that a set of edges F such that every node has either y or y+1 incident edges in F is also known as a {y,y+1}-factor of a graph. - For edge orientations, we show that for any two r₁ and r₂ such that r₁,r₂ ≤ Δ/2 and r₁+r₂ ≥ Δ/2, there are randomized algorithms with round complexities O(log log n) in trees and Õ(log⁴log n) in general graphs to compute an edge orientation such that all nodes have outdegree r₁ ± O(√{ΔlogΔ}) or Δ-r₂ ± O(√{ΔlogΔ}). Further, there exists a constant c > 0 such that for any 0 ≤ r₁+r₂ ≤ Δ/2, the problem of computing an edge orientation in which all outdegrees are either at most r₁-c⋅ √{Δ} or at least Δ-r₂+c⋅√{Δ} has randomized complexity Ω(log n) even in Δ-regular trees. While our results are cleanest to state for the Δ-regular case, all our algorithms naturally generalize to nodes of any degree d < Δ in general graphs of maximum degree Δ. All our algorithms also naturally generalize to the unbounded degree case and they then have a randomized complexity of Õ(Δ) ⋅ log log n (resp. Õ(Δ ⋅log⁴log n) for orienting general graphs).

Cite as

Sebastian Brandt, Fabian Kuhn, and Zahra Parsaeian. On the Complexity of Distributed Edge Coloring and Orientation Problems. In 29th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems (OPODIS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 361, pp. 25:1-25:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{brandt_et_al:LIPIcs.OPODIS.2025.25,
  author =	{Brandt, Sebastian and Kuhn, Fabian and Parsaeian, Zahra},
  title =	{{On the Complexity of Distributed Edge Coloring and Orientation Problems}},
  booktitle =	{29th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems (OPODIS 2025)},
  pages =	{25:1--25:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-409-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{361},
  editor =	{Arusoaie, Andrei and Onica, Emanuel and Spear, Michael and Tucci-Piergiovanni, Sara},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.OPODIS.2025.25},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-251982},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.OPODIS.2025.25},
  annote =	{Keywords: LCL problems, binary labeling problems, degree splitting}
}
Document
Distributed (Δ+1)-Coloring in Graphs of Bounded Neighborhood Independence

Authors: Marc Fuchs and Fabian Kuhn

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 361, 29th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems (OPODIS 2025)


Abstract
The distributed coloring problem is arguably one of the key problems studied in the area of distributed graph algorithms. The most standard variant of the problem asks for a proper vertex coloring of a graph with Δ+1 colors, where Δ is the maximum degree of the graph. Despite an immense amount of work on distributed coloring problems in the distributed setting, determining the deterministic complexity of (Δ+1)-coloring in the standard message passing model remains one of the most important open questions of the area. In the LOCAL model, it is known that (Δ+1)-coloring requires Ω(log^* n) rounds even in paths and rings (i.e., when Δ = 2). For general graphs, the problem is known to be solvable in Õ(log^{5/3}n) rounds and in O(√{ΔlogΔ} + log^* n) rounds when expressing the complexity as a function of Δ and with an optimal dependency on n. In the present paper, we aim to improve our understanding of the deterministic complexity of (Δ+1)-coloring as a function of Δ in a special family of graphs for which significantly faster algorithms are already known. The neighborhood independence θ of a graph is the maximum number of pairwise non-adjacent neighbors of some node of the graph. Notable examples of graphs of bounded neighborhood independence are line graphs of graphs and bounded-rank hypergraphs. It is known that the (2Δ-1)-edge coloring problem and therefore the (Δ+1)-coloring problem in line graphs of graphs can be solved in O(log^{12}Δ+log^* n) rounds. In general, in graphs of neighborhood independence θ = O(1), it is known that (Δ+1)-coloring can be solved in 2^{O(√{logΔ})}+O(log^* n) rounds. In the present paper, we significantly improve the latter result, and we show that in graphs of neighborhood independence θ, a (Δ+1)-coloring can be computed in (θ⋅logΔ)^{O(log logΔ / log log logΔ)}+O(log^* n) rounds and thus in quasipolylogarithmic time in Δ as long as θ is at most polylogarithmic in Δ. Our algorithm can be seen as a generalization of an existing similar, but slightly weaker result for (2Δ-1)-edge coloring. We also show that the approach that leads to this polylogarithmic in Δ algorithm for (2Δ-1)-edge coloring already fails for edge colorings of hypergraphs of rank at least 3. At the core of the fast edge coloring algorithm is an algorithm to divide the edges of a graph into two parts so that up to a multiplicative error of 1+o(1), the maximum degree of the line graph induced by each part is at most half the maximum degree of the original line graph. We show that computing such a bipartition of the edges of the line graph of a hypergraph of rank at least 3 requires time logarithmic in n.

Cite as

Marc Fuchs and Fabian Kuhn. Distributed (Δ+1)-Coloring in Graphs of Bounded Neighborhood Independence. In 29th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems (OPODIS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 361, pp. 23:1-23:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{fuchs_et_al:LIPIcs.OPODIS.2025.23,
  author =	{Fuchs, Marc and Kuhn, Fabian},
  title =	{{Distributed (\Delta+1)-Coloring in Graphs of Bounded Neighborhood Independence}},
  booktitle =	{29th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems (OPODIS 2025)},
  pages =	{23:1--23:21},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-409-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{361},
  editor =	{Arusoaie, Andrei and Onica, Emanuel and Spear, Michael and Tucci-Piergiovanni, Sara},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.OPODIS.2025.23},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-251968},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.OPODIS.2025.23},
  annote =	{Keywords: distributed computing, distributed graph algorithms, graph coloring, list coloring, defective coloring}
}
Document
Towards Optimal Distributed Edge Coloring with Fewer Colors

Authors: Manuel Jakob, Yannic Maus, and Florian Schager

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


Abstract
There is a huge difference in techniques and runtimes of distributed algorithms for problems that can be solved by a sequential greedy algorithm and those that cannot. A prime example of this contrast appears in the edge coloring problem: while (2Δ-1)-edge coloring - where Δ is the maximum degree - can be solved in 𝒪(log^{∗}(n)) rounds on constant-degree graphs, the seemingly minor reduction to (2Δ-2) colors leads to an Ω(log n) lower bound [Chang, He, Li, Pettie & Uitto, SODA'18]. Understanding this sharp divide between very local problems and inherently more global ones remains a central open question in distributed computing and it is a core focus of this paper. As our main contribution we design a deterministic distributed 𝒪(log n)-round reduction from the (2Δ-2)-edge coloring problem to the much easier (2Δ-1)-edge coloring problem. This reduction is optimal, as the (2Δ-2)-edge coloring problem admits an Ω(log n) lower bound that even holds on the class of constant-degree graphs, whereas the 2Δ-1-edge coloring problem can be solved in 𝒪(log^{∗}n) rounds. By plugging in the (2Δ-1)-edge coloring algorithms from [Balliu, Brandt, Kuhn & Olivetti, PODC'22] running in 𝒪(log^{12}Δ + log^{∗} n) rounds, we obtain an optimal runtime of 𝒪(log n) rounds as long as Δ = 2^{𝒪(log^{1/12} n)}. Previously, such an optimal algorithm was only known for the class of constant-degree graphs [Brandt, Maus, Narayanan, Schager & Uitto, SODA'25]. Furthermore, on general graphs our reduction improves the runtime from 𝒪̃(log³ n) to 𝒪̃(log^{5/3} n). In addition, we also obtain an optimal 𝒪(log log n)-round randomized reduction of (2Δ - 2)-edge coloring to (2Δ - 1)-edge coloring. This leads to a 𝒪̃(log^{5/3} log n)-round (2Δ-2)-edge coloring algorithm, which beats the (very recent) previous state-of-the-art taking 𝒪̃(log^{8/3}log n) rounds from [Bourreau, Brandt & Nolin, STOC'25]. Lastly, we obtain an 𝒪(log_Δ n)-round reduction from the (2Δ-1)-edge coloring, albeit to the somewhat harder maximal independent set (MIS) problem.

Cite as

Manuel Jakob, Yannic Maus, and Florian Schager. Towards Optimal Distributed Edge Coloring with Fewer Colors. In 39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 356, pp. 37:1-37:26, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{jakob_et_al:LIPIcs.DISC.2025.37,
  author =	{Jakob, Manuel and Maus, Yannic and Schager, Florian},
  title =	{{Towards Optimal Distributed Edge Coloring with Fewer Colors}},
  booktitle =	{39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025)},
  pages =	{37:1--37:26},
  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.2025.37},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-248547},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.37},
  annote =	{Keywords: distributed graph algorithms, edge coloring, LOCAL model}
}
Document
New Limits on Distributed Quantum Advantage: Dequantizing Linear Programs

Authors: Alkida Balliu, Corinna Coupette, Antonio Cruciani, Francesco d'Amore, Massimo Equi, Henrik Lievonen, Augusto Modanese, Dennis Olivetti, and Jukka Suomela

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


Abstract
In this work, we give two results that put new limits on distributed quantum advantage in the context of the LOCAL model of distributed computing: 1) We show that there is no distributed quantum advantage for any linear program. Put otherwise, if there is a quantum-LOCAL algorithm 𝒜 that finds an α-approximation of some linear optimization problem Π in T communication rounds, we can construct a classical, deterministic LOCAL algorithm 𝒜' that finds an α-approximation of Π in T rounds. As a corollary, all classical lower bounds for linear programs, including the KMW bound, hold verbatim in quantum-LOCAL. 2) Using the above result, we show that there exists a locally checkable labeling problem (LCL) for which quantum-LOCAL is strictly weaker than the classical deterministic SLOCAL model. Our results extend from quantum-LOCAL to finitely dependent and non-signaling distributions, and one of the corollaries of our work is that the non-signaling model and the SLOCAL model are incomparable in the context of LCL problems: By prior work, there exists an LCL problem for which SLOCAL is strictly weaker than the non-signaling model, and our work provides a separation in the opposite direction.

Cite as

Alkida Balliu, Corinna Coupette, Antonio Cruciani, Francesco d'Amore, Massimo Equi, Henrik Lievonen, Augusto Modanese, Dennis Olivetti, and Jukka Suomela. New Limits on Distributed Quantum Advantage: Dequantizing Linear Programs. In 39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 356, pp. 11:1-11:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{balliu_et_al:LIPIcs.DISC.2025.11,
  author =	{Balliu, Alkida and Coupette, Corinna and Cruciani, Antonio and d'Amore, Francesco and Equi, Massimo and Lievonen, Henrik and Modanese, Augusto and Olivetti, Dennis and Suomela, Jukka},
  title =	{{New Limits on Distributed Quantum Advantage: Dequantizing Linear Programs}},
  booktitle =	{39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025)},
  pages =	{11:1--11:22},
  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.2025.11},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-248280},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.11},
  annote =	{Keywords: linear programming, distributed quantum advantage, quantum-LOCAL model, SLOCAL model, online-LOCAL model, non-signaling distributions, locally checkable labeling problems, dequantization}
}
Document
Distributed Computation with Local Advice

Authors: Alkida Balliu, Sebastian Brandt, Fabian Kuhn, Krzysztof Nowicki, Dennis Olivetti, Eva Rotenberg, and Jukka Suomela

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


Abstract
Algorithms with advice have received ample attention in the distributed and online settings, and they have recently proven useful also in dynamic settings. In this work we study local computation with advice: the goal is to solve a graph problem Π with a distributed algorithm in T(Δ) communication rounds, for some function T that only depends on the maximum degree Δ of the graph, and the key question is how many bits of advice per node are needed. Some of our results regard Locally Checkable Labeling problems (LCLs), which is an important family of problems that includes various coloring and orientation problems on finite-degree graphs. These are constraint-satisfaction graph problems that can be defined with a finite set of valid input/output-labeled neighborhoods. Our main results are: 1) Any locally checkable labeling problem can be solved with only 1 bit of advice per node in graphs with sub-exponential growth (the number of nodes within radius r is sub-exponential in r; for example, grids are such graphs). Moreover, we can make the set of nodes that carry advice bits arbitrarily sparse. As a corollary, any locally checkable labeling problem admits a locally checkable proof with 1 bit per node in graphs with sub-exponential growth. 2) The assumption of sub-exponential growth is complemented by a conditional lower bound: assuming the Exponential-Time Hypothesis, there are locally checkable labeling problems that cannot be solved in general with any constant number of bits per node. 3) In any graph we can find an almost-balanced orientation (indegrees and outdegrees differ by at most one) with 1 bit of advice per node, and again we can make the advice arbitrarily sparse. As a corollary, we can also compress an arbitrary subset of edges so that a node of degree d stores only d/2 + 2 bits, and we can decompress it locally, in T(Δ) rounds. 4) In any graph of maximum degree Δ, we can find a Δ-coloring (if it exists) with 1 bit of advice per node, and again, we can make the advice arbitrarily sparse. 5) In any 3-colorable graph, we can find a 3-coloring with 1 bit of advice per node. As a corollary, in bounded-degree graphs there is a locally checkable proof that certifies 3-colorability with 1 bit of advice per node, while prior work shows that this is not possible with a proof labeling scheme (PLS), which is a more restricted setting where the verifier can only see up to distance 1. Our work shows that for many problems the key threshold is not whether we can achieve 1 bit of advice per node, but whether we can make the advice arbitrarily sparse. To formalize this idea, we develop a general framework of composable schemas that enables us to build algorithms for local computation with advice in a modular fashion: once we have (1) a schema for solving Π₁ and (2) a schema for solving Π₂ assuming an oracle for Π₁, we can also compose them and obtain (3) a schema that solves Π₂ without the oracle. It turns out that many natural problems admit composable schemas, all of them can be solved with only 1 bit of advice, and we can make the advice arbitrarily sparse.

Cite as

Alkida Balliu, Sebastian Brandt, Fabian Kuhn, Krzysztof Nowicki, Dennis Olivetti, Eva Rotenberg, and Jukka Suomela. Distributed Computation with Local Advice. In 39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 356, pp. 12:1-12:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{balliu_et_al:LIPIcs.DISC.2025.12,
  author =	{Balliu, Alkida and Brandt, Sebastian and Kuhn, Fabian and Nowicki, Krzysztof and Olivetti, Dennis and Rotenberg, Eva and Suomela, Jukka},
  title =	{{Distributed Computation with Local Advice}},
  booktitle =	{39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025)},
  pages =	{12:1--12:19},
  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.2025.12},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-248295},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.12},
  annote =	{Keywords: Distributed graph algorithms, LOCAL model, computation with advice, locally checkable labeling problems, proof labeling schemes, locally checkable proofs, graph coloring, exponential-time hypothesis}
}
Document
Towards Fully Automatic Distributed Lower Bounds

Authors: Alkida Balliu, Sebastian Brandt, Fabian Kuhn, Dennis Olivetti, and Joonatan Saarhelo

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


Abstract
In the past few years, a successful line of research has led to lower bounds for several fundamental local graph problems in the distributed setting. These results were obtained via a technique called round elimination. On a high level, the round elimination technique can be seen as a recursive application of a function that takes as input a problem Π and outputs a problem Π' that is one round easier than Π. Applying this function recursively to concrete problems of interest can be highly nontrivial, which is one of the reasons that has made the technique difficult to approach. The contribution of our paper is threefold. Firstly, we develop a new and fully automatic method for finding so-called fixed point relaxations under round elimination. The detection of a non-0-round solvable fixed point relaxation of a problem Π immediately implies lower bounds of Ω(log_Δ n) and Ω(log_Δ log n) rounds for deterministic and randomized algorithms for Π, respectively. Secondly, we show that this automatic method is indeed useful, by obtaining lower bounds for defective coloring problems. More precisely, as an application of our procedure, we show that the problem of coloring the nodes of a graph with 3 colors and defect at most (Δ - 3)/2 requires Ω(log_Δ n) rounds for deterministic algorithms and Ω(log_Δ log n) rounds for randomized ones. Additionally, we provide a simplified proof for an existing defective coloring lower bound. We note that lower bounds for coloring problems are notoriously challenging to obtain, both in general, and via the round elimination technique. {Both the first and (indirectly) the second contribution build on our third contribution: a new method to compute the one-round easier problem Π' in the round elimination framework. This method heavily simplifies the usage of the round elimination technique, and in fact it has been successfully exploited in a recent work in order to prove quantum advantage in the distributed setting [STOC '25].}

Cite as

Alkida Balliu, Sebastian Brandt, Fabian Kuhn, Dennis Olivetti, and Joonatan Saarhelo. Towards Fully Automatic Distributed Lower Bounds. In 39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 356, pp. 13:1-13:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{balliu_et_al:LIPIcs.DISC.2025.13,
  author =	{Balliu, Alkida and Brandt, Sebastian and Kuhn, Fabian and Olivetti, Dennis and Saarhelo, Joonatan},
  title =	{{Towards Fully Automatic Distributed Lower Bounds}},
  booktitle =	{39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025)},
  pages =	{13:1--13:19},
  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.2025.13},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-248308},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.13},
  annote =	{Keywords: round elimination, lower bounds, defective coloring}
}
Document
Deterministic Synchronous Self-Stabilizing BFS Construction with Constant Space Complexity

Authors: Lélia Blin, Franck Petit, and Sébastien Tixeuil

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


Abstract
In this paper, we resolve a long-standing open problem in self-stabilization asking whether it is possible to construct a spanning tree using constant memory per node in a synchronous semi-uniform networks, i.e., networks in which one node is distinguished. We design a synchronous self-stabilizing algorithm that constructs a breadth-first search (BFS) tree in any anonymous semi-uniform network using only a constant number of bits of memory per node. Crucially, our approach operates without any prior knowledge of global network parameters such as maximum degree, diameter, or number of nodes. In contrast to traditional self-stabilizing methods - such as pointer-to-neighbors, distance-to-root, or identifiers - that are unsuitable under strict memory constraints, our solution employs an innovative constant-space token dissemination mechanism. This mechanism effectively eliminates cycles and rectifies errors in the BFS structure, ensuring both correctness and memory efficiency. The proposed algorithm not only meets the stringent requirements of memory-constrained distributed systems, but also opens new avenues for research in the design of self-stabilizing protocols under severe resource limitations: constant space-complexity may not systematically prevent the existence of self-stabilizing algorithms for important non-trivial tasks.

Cite as

Lélia Blin, Franck Petit, and Sébastien Tixeuil. Deterministic Synchronous Self-Stabilizing BFS Construction with Constant Space Complexity. In 39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 356, pp. 17:1-17:15, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{blin_et_al:LIPIcs.DISC.2025.17,
  author =	{Blin, L\'{e}lia and Petit, Franck and Tixeuil, S\'{e}bastien},
  title =	{{Deterministic Synchronous Self-Stabilizing BFS Construction with Constant Space Complexity}},
  booktitle =	{39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025)},
  pages =	{17:1--17:15},
  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.2025.17},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-248349},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.17},
  annote =	{Keywords: Distributed algorithms, fault-tolerance, transient faults, self-stabilization, memory optimization}
}
Document
Perpetual Exploration in Anonymous Synchronous Networks with a Byzantine Black Hole

Authors: Adri Bhattacharya, Pritam Goswami, Evangelos Bampas, and Partha Sarathi Mandal

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


Abstract
In this paper, we investigate the following question: "How can a group of initially co-located mobile agents perpetually explore an unknown graph, when one stationary node occasionally behaves maliciously, under the control of an adversary?" This malicious node is termed as "Byzantine black hole (BBH)" and at any given round it may choose to destroy all visiting agents, or none of them. While investigating this question, we found out that this subtle power turns out to drastically undermine even basic exploration strategies which have been proposed in the context of a classical, always active, black hole. We study this perpetual exploration problem in the presence of at most one BBH, without initial knowledge of the network size. Since the underlying graph may be 1-connected, perpetual exploration of the entire graph may be infeasible. Accordingly, we define two variants of the problem, termed as PerpExploration-BBH and PerpExploration-BBH-Home. In the former, the agents are tasked to perform perpetual exploration of at least one component, obtained after the exclusion of the BBH. In the latter, the agents are tasked to perform perpetual exploration of the component which contains the home node, where agents are initially co-located. Naturally, PerpExploration-BBH-Home is a special case of PerpExploration-BBH. The mobile agents are controlled by a synchronous scheduler, and they communicate via face-to-face model of communication. The main objective in this paper is to determine the minimum number of agents necessary and sufficient to solve these problems. We first consider the problems in acyclic networks, and we obtain optimal algorithms that solve PerpExploration-BBH with 4 agents, and PerpExploration-BBH-Home with 6 agents in trees. The lower bounds hold even in path graphs. In general graphs, we give a non-trivial lower bound of 2Δ-1 agents for PerpExploration-BBH, and an upper bound of 3Δ+3 agents for PerpExploration-BBH-Home. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper that studies a variant of a black hole in arbitrary networks, without initial topological knowledge about the network.

Cite as

Adri Bhattacharya, Pritam Goswami, Evangelos Bampas, and Partha Sarathi Mandal. Perpetual Exploration in Anonymous Synchronous Networks with a Byzantine Black Hole. In 39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 356, pp. 16:1-16:17, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{bhattacharya_et_al:LIPIcs.DISC.2025.16,
  author =	{Bhattacharya, Adri and Goswami, Pritam and Bampas, Evangelos and Mandal, Partha Sarathi},
  title =	{{Perpetual Exploration in Anonymous Synchronous Networks with a Byzantine Black Hole}},
  booktitle =	{39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025)},
  pages =	{16:1--16:17},
  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.2025.16},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-248333},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.16},
  annote =	{Keywords: mobile agents, perpetual exploration, malicious host, Byzantine black hole}
}
Document
Universality Frontier for Asynchronous Cellular Automata

Authors: Ivan Baburin, Matthew Cook, Florian Grötschla, Andreas Plesner, and Roger Wattenhofer

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 345, 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)


Abstract
In this work, we investigate computational aspects of asynchronous cellular automata (ACAs), a modification of cellular automata in which cells update independently, following an asynchronous update schedule. We introduce flip automata networks (FANs), a simple modification of automata networks that remain robust under any asynchronous updating order. By using FANs as a middleman, we show that asynchronous automata can efficiently simulate their synchronous counterparts with a linear memory overhead, which improves upon the previously established quadratic bound. Additionally, we address the universality gap for (a)synchronous cellular automata-the boundary separating universal and non-universal automata, which is still not fully understood. We tighten this boundary by proving that all one-way asynchronous automata lack universal computational power. Conversely, we establish the existence of a universal asynchronous 6-state first-neighbor automaton in one dimension and a 3-state von Neumann automaton in two dimensions, which represent the smallest known universal constructions to date.

Cite as

Ivan Baburin, Matthew Cook, Florian Grötschla, Andreas Plesner, and Roger Wattenhofer. Universality Frontier for Asynchronous Cellular Automata. In 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 345, pp. 11:1-11:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{baburin_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.11,
  author =	{Baburin, Ivan and Cook, Matthew and Gr\"{o}tschla, Florian and Plesner, Andreas and Wattenhofer, Roger},
  title =	{{Universality Frontier for Asynchronous Cellular Automata}},
  booktitle =	{50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)},
  pages =	{11:1--11:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-388-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{345},
  editor =	{Gawrychowski, Pawe{\l} and Mazowiecki, Filip and Skrzypczak, Micha{\l}},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.11},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-241182},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.11},
  annote =	{Keywords: Universality, Asynchronous Cellular Automata, Automata Networks}
}
Document
Track A: Algorithms, Complexity and Games
Shared Randomness Helps with Local Distributed Problems

Authors: Alkida Balliu, Mohsen Ghaffari, Fabian Kuhn, Augusto Modanese, Dennis Olivetti, Mikaël Rabie, Jukka Suomela, and Jara Uitto

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


Abstract
By prior work, we have many wonderful results related to distributed graph algorithms for problems that can be defined with local constraints; the formal framework used in prior work is locally checkable labeling problems (LCLs), introduced by Naor and Stockmeyer in the 1990s. It is known, for example, that if we have a deterministic algorithm that solves an LCL in o(log n) rounds, we can speed it up to O(log^* n) rounds, and if we have a randomized algorithm that solves an LCL in O(log^* n) rounds, we can derandomize it for free. It is also known that randomness helps with some LCL problems: there are LCL problems with randomized complexity Θ(log log n) and deterministic complexity Θ(log n). However, so far there have not been any LCL problems in which the use of shared randomness has been necessary; in all prior algorithms it has been enough that the nodes have access to their own private sources of randomness. Could it be the case that shared randomness never helps with LCLs? Could we have a general technique that takes any distributed graph algorithm for any LCL that uses shared randomness, and turns it into an equally fast algorithm where private randomness is enough? In this work we show that the answer is no. We present an LCL problem Π such that the round complexity of Π is Ω(√n) in the usual randomized LOCAL model (with private randomness), but if the nodes have access to a source of shared randomness, then the complexity drops to O(log n). As corollaries, we also resolve several other open questions related to the landscape of distributed computing in the context of LCL problems. In particular, problem Π demonstrates that distributed quantum algorithms for LCL problems strictly benefit from a shared quantum state. Problem Π also gives a separation between finitely dependent distributions and non-signaling distributions.

Cite as

Alkida Balliu, Mohsen Ghaffari, Fabian Kuhn, Augusto Modanese, Dennis Olivetti, Mikaël Rabie, Jukka Suomela, and Jara Uitto. Shared Randomness Helps with Local Distributed Problems. In 52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 334, pp. 16:1-16:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{balliu_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.16,
  author =	{Balliu, Alkida and Ghaffari, Mohsen and Kuhn, Fabian and Modanese, Augusto and Olivetti, Dennis and Rabie, Mika\"{e}l and Suomela, Jukka and Uitto, Jara},
  title =	{{Shared Randomness Helps with Local Distributed Problems}},
  booktitle =	{52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025)},
  pages =	{16:1--16:18},
  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.2025.16},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-233931},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.16},
  annote =	{Keywords: Distributed computing, locally checkable labelings, shared randomness}
}
Document
Track A: Algorithms, Complexity and Games
Graph Exploration: The Impact of a Distance Constraint

Authors: Stéphane Devismes, Yoann Dieudonné, and Arnaud Labourel

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


Abstract
A mobile agent, starting from a node s of a simple undirected connected graph G = (V,E), has to explore all nodes and edges of G using the minimum number of edge traversals. To do so, the agent uses a deterministic algorithm that allows it to gain information on G as it traverses its edges. During its exploration, the agent must always respect the constraint of knowing a path of length at most D to go back to node s. The upper bound D is fixed as being equal to (1+α)r, where r is the eccentricity of node s (i.e., the maximum distance from s to any other node) and α is any positive real constant. This task has been introduced by Duncan et al. [Christian A. Duncan et al., 2006] and is known as distance-constrained exploration. The penalty of an exploration algorithm running in G is the number of edge traversals made by the agent in excess of |E|. In [Petrisor Panaite and Andrzej Pelc, 1999], Panaite and Pelc gave an algorithm for solving exploration without any constraint on the moves that is guaranteed to work in every graph G with a (small) penalty in 𝒪(|V|). Hence, a natural question is whether we can obtain a distance-constrained exploration algorithm with the same guarantee as well. In this paper, we provide a negative answer to this question. We also observe that an algorithm working in every graph G with a linear penalty in |V| cannot be obtained for the task of fuel-constrained exploration, another variant studied in the literature. This solves an open problem posed by Duncan et al. in [Christian A. Duncan et al., 2006] and shows a fundamental separation with the task of exploration without constraint on the moves.

Cite as

Stéphane Devismes, Yoann Dieudonné, and Arnaud Labourel. Graph Exploration: The Impact of a Distance Constraint. In 52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 334, pp. 68:1-68:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{devismes_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.68,
  author =	{Devismes, St\'{e}phane and Dieudonn\'{e}, Yoann and Labourel, Arnaud},
  title =	{{Graph Exploration: The Impact of a Distance Constraint}},
  booktitle =	{52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025)},
  pages =	{68:1--68:18},
  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.2025.68},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-234452},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.68},
  annote =	{Keywords: exploration, graph, mobile agent}
}
Document
On b-Matching and Fully-Dynamic Maximum k-Edge Coloring

Authors: Antoine El-Hayek, Kathrin Hanauer, and Monika Henzinger

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 330, 4th Symposium on Algorithmic Foundations of Dynamic Networks (SAND 2025)


Abstract
Given a graph G that undergoes a sequence of edge insertions and deletions, we study the Maximum k-Edge Coloring problem (MkEC): Having access to k different colors, color as many edges of G as possible such that no two adjacent edges share the same color. While this problem is different from simply maintaining a b-matching with b = k, the two problems are related. However, maximum b-matching can be solved efficiently in the static setting, whereas MkEC is NP-hard and even APX-hard for k ≥ 2. We present new results on both problems: For b-matching, we show a new integrality gap result and we adapt Wajc’s matching sparsification scheme [David Wajc, 2020] for the case where b is a constant. Using these as basis, we give three new algorithms for the dynamic MkEC problem: Our MatchO algorithm builds on the dynamic (2+ε)-approximation algorithm of Bhattacharya, Gupta, and Mohan [Sayan Bhattacharya et al., 2017] for b-matching and achieves a (2+ε)(k+1)/k-approximation in O(poly(log n, ε^-1)) update time against an oblivious adversary. Our MatchA algorithm builds on the dynamic (7+ε)-approximation algorithm by Bhattacharya, Henzinger, and Italiano [Sayan Bhattacharya et al., 2015] for fractional b-matching and achieves a (7+ε)(3k+3)/(3k-1)-approximation in O(poly(log n, ε^-1)) update time against an adaptive adversary. Moreover, our reductions use the dynamic b-matching algorithm as a black box, so any future improvement in the approximation ratio for dynamic b-matching will automatically translate into a better approximation ratio for our algorithms. Finally, we present a greedy algorithm with O(Δ+k) update time, which guarantees a 2.16 approximation factor.

Cite as

Antoine El-Hayek, Kathrin Hanauer, and Monika Henzinger. On b-Matching and Fully-Dynamic Maximum k-Edge Coloring. In 4th Symposium on Algorithmic Foundations of Dynamic Networks (SAND 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 330, pp. 4:1-4:23, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{elhayek_et_al:LIPIcs.SAND.2025.4,
  author =	{El-Hayek, Antoine and Hanauer, Kathrin and Henzinger, Monika},
  title =	{{On b-Matching and Fully-Dynamic Maximum k-Edge Coloring}},
  booktitle =	{4th Symposium on Algorithmic Foundations of Dynamic Networks (SAND 2025)},
  pages =	{4:1--4:23},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-368-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{330},
  editor =	{Meeks, Kitty and Scheideler, Christian},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SAND.2025.4},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-230571},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SAND.2025.4},
  annote =	{Keywords: dynamic algorithm, graph algorithm, matching, b-matching, edge coloring}
}
Document
Crash-Tolerant Perpetual Exploration with Myopic Luminous Robots on Rings

Authors: Fukuhito Ooshita, Naoki Kitamura, Ryota Eguchi, Michiko Inoue, Hirotsugu Kakugawa, Sayaka Kamei, Masahiro Shibata, and Yuichi Sudo

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


Abstract
We investigate crash-tolerant perpetual exploration algorithms by myopic luminous robots on ring networks. Myopic robots mean that they can observe nodes only within a certain fixed distance ϕ, and luminous robots mean that they have light devices that can emit a color from a set of colors. The goal of perpetual exploration is to ensure that robots, starting from specific initial positions and colors, move in such a way that every node is visited by at least one robot infinitely often. As a main contribution, we clarify the tight necessary and sufficient number of robots to realize perpetual exploration when at most f robots crash. In the fully synchronous model, we prove that f+2 robots are necessary and sufficient for any ϕ ≥ 1. In the semi-synchronous and asynchronous models, we prove that 3f+3 (resp., 2f+2) robots are necessary and sufficient if ϕ = 1 (resp., ϕ ≥ 2).

Cite as

Fukuhito Ooshita, Naoki Kitamura, Ryota Eguchi, Michiko Inoue, Hirotsugu Kakugawa, Sayaka Kamei, Masahiro Shibata, and Yuichi Sudo. Crash-Tolerant Perpetual Exploration with Myopic Luminous Robots on Rings. In 28th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems (OPODIS 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 324, pp. 12:1-12:16, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)


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@InProceedings{ooshita_et_al:LIPIcs.OPODIS.2024.12,
  author =	{Ooshita, Fukuhito and Kitamura, Naoki and Eguchi, Ryota and Inoue, Michiko and Kakugawa, Hirotsugu and Kamei, Sayaka and Shibata, Masahiro and Sudo, Yuichi},
  title =	{{Crash-Tolerant Perpetual Exploration with Myopic Luminous Robots on Rings}},
  booktitle =	{28th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems (OPODIS 2024)},
  pages =	{12:1--12:16},
  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.2024.12},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-225486},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.OPODIS.2024.12},
  annote =	{Keywords: mobile robots, crash faults, LCM model, exploration}
}
Document
Gathering Teams of Deterministic Finite Automata on a Line

Authors: Younan Gao and Andrzej Pelc

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


Abstract
Several mobile agents, modelled as deterministic finite automata, navigate in an infinite line in synchronous rounds. All agents start in the same round. In each round, an agent can move to one of the two neighboring nodes, or stay idle. Agents have distinct labels which are integers from the set {1,…,L}. They start in teams, each of which consists of x agents, for some fixed integer x. Agents in a team have the same starting node. The adversary decides the compositions of teams, and their starting nodes. Whenever an agent enters a node, it sees the entry port number and the states of all collocated agents; this information forms the input of the agent on the basis of which it transits to the next state and decides the current action. The aim is for all agents to gather at the same node and stop. Gathering is feasible, if this task can be accomplished for any decisions of the adversary, and its time is the worst-case number of rounds from the start till gathering. We consider the feasibility and time complexity of gathering teams of agents, and give a complete solution of this problem. It turns out that both feasibility and complexity of gathering depend on the crucial parameter x which is the size of teams. For the oriented line, gathering is impossible if x = 1, and it can be accomplished in time O(D), for x > 1, where D is the distance between the starting nodes of the most distant teams. This complexity is of course optimal. For the unoriented line, the situation is different. For x = 1, gathering is also impossible, but for x = 2, the optimal time of gathering is Θ(Dlog L), and for x ≥ 3 the optimal time of gathering is Θ(D). Solving the gathering problem for agents that are finite automata navigating in an infinite environment requires new methodological tools. Traditional gathering techniques in graphs are count driven: agents make decisions based on counting steps. Since distances between agents may be unbounded, agents have to count unbounded numbers of steps. When agents are finite automata, counting unbounded numbers of steps is impossible, hence we must use different methods. In all our gathering algorithms, changes of the agents' behavior are triggered not by counting steps but by events which are meetings between agents during which they interact. Hence our new technique is event driven. Designing the behavior of the agents based on meeting events, so as to guarantee gathering regardless of the adversary’s decisions is our main methodological contribution.

Cite as

Younan Gao and Andrzej Pelc. Gathering Teams of Deterministic Finite Automata on a Line. In 28th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems (OPODIS 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 324, pp. 11:1-11:17, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)


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@InProceedings{gao_et_al:LIPIcs.OPODIS.2024.11,
  author =	{Gao, Younan and Pelc, Andrzej},
  title =	{{Gathering Teams of Deterministic Finite Automata on a Line}},
  booktitle =	{28th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems (OPODIS 2024)},
  pages =	{11:1--11:17},
  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.2024.11},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-225478},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.OPODIS.2024.11},
  annote =	{Keywords: Gathering, deterministic finite automaton, mobile agent, team of agents, line, time}
}
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