29 Search Results for "Mika, Peter"


Document
Research
Native Provenance Computation for Federated and Non-Federated SPARQL Queries

Authors: Zubaria Asma, Daniel Hernández, Luis Galárraga, Giorgos Flouris, Irini Fundulaki, and Katja Hose

Published in: TGDK, Volume 4, Issue 1 (2026). Transactions on Graph Data and Knowledge, Volume 4, Issue 1


Abstract
The popularity of knowledge graphs (KGs) owes credit to their flexible data model, which is suitable for data integration from multiple sources. Several KG-based applications, such as trust assessment, view maintenance, or data valuation on dynamic data, rely on the ability to compute provenance explanations for query results. This need becomes more urgent in federated query processing systems, which allow the online consumption of heterogeneous and decentralized Web data. However, the problem of computing and interacting with provenance has received little attention, especially in the federated setting. On those grounds, this paper introduces the NPCS (Native Provenance Computation for SPARQL) approach, and its federated variant Fed-NPCS, that compute provenance for SPARQL query results. Both approaches build upon spm-semirings to annotate the results of monotonic and non-monotonic SPARQL queries with their provenance. Due to their reliance on query rewriting techniques, the approaches are directly applicable to already deployed SPARQL engines and federations using different reification schemes, including RDF-star. Our experimental evaluation shows that our novel query rewriting approach brings significant run-time improvements w.r.t. the state-of-the-art across both centralized and federated settings. In centralized settings, our tests on two popular SPARQL engines (GraphDB and Stardog) reveal substantial runtime gains over existing query rewriting solutions, enabling scalability to RDF graphs with billions of triples. In federated settings, our experiments on the FedShop benchmark with GraphDB show the viability of Fed-NPCS for federations with up to 200 sources.

Cite as

Zubaria Asma, Daniel Hernández, Luis Galárraga, Giorgos Flouris, Irini Fundulaki, and Katja Hose. Native Provenance Computation for Federated and Non-Federated SPARQL Queries. In Transactions on Graph Data and Knowledge (TGDK), Volume 4, Issue 1, pp. 4:1-4:43, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@Article{asma_et_al:TGDK.4.1.4,
  author =	{Asma, Zubaria and Hern\'{a}ndez, Daniel and Gal\'{a}rraga, Luis and Flouris, Giorgos and Fundulaki, Irini and Hose, Katja},
  title =	{{Native Provenance Computation for Federated and Non-Federated SPARQL Queries}},
  journal =	{Transactions on Graph Data and Knowledge},
  pages =	{4:1--4:43},
  ISSN =	{2942-7517},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{4},
  number =	{1},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/TGDK.4.1.4},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-259642},
  doi =		{10.4230/TGDK.4.1.4},
  annote =	{Keywords: native provenance computation, federated SPARQL queries, data provenance, NPCS, Fed-NPCS}
}
Document
Survey
Temporal Modelling in Cultural Heritage Knowledge Graphs: Use Cases, Requirements, Evaluation, and Decision Support

Authors: Oleksandra Bruns, Jörg Waitelonis, Jeff Z. Pan, and Harald Sack

Published in: TGDK, Volume 4, Issue 1 (2026). Transactions on Graph Data and Knowledge, Volume 4, Issue 1


Abstract
Our culture, history and world are in constant motion, continuously shaped by the flow of time, evolving narratives, and shifting relationships. Capturing this temporal complexity within cultural heritage (CH) knowledge graphs is essential for preserving the dynamic nature of human heritage. However, standard RDF predicates fail to effectively model the temporal aspects of cultural data, such as changing facts, evolving relationships, and temporal concepts. Over the past two decades, a variety of RDF-based approaches have been proposed to address this limitation, yet guidance is missing on which method best suits specific CH contexts. This paper presents a systematic evaluation of temporal RDF modelling approaches from a CH perspective. Based on an analysis of real-world CH use cases, core temporal requirements are identified that reflect both modelling expressivity and practical concerns. Six prominent approaches - RDF*, tRDF, Named Graphs, Singleton Property, N-ary Relations, and 4D Fluents - are assessed across these requirements. Our findings reveal that no single solution fits all scenarios, but suitable approaches can be selected based on project-specific priorities. To support practitioners, a decision-support tool is introduced to guide them in selecting the most suitable extension for their specific needs. This work provides practical guidance for CH modelling and contributes to the broader development of temporally aware Linked Data.

Cite as

Oleksandra Bruns, Jörg Waitelonis, Jeff Z. Pan, and Harald Sack. Temporal Modelling in Cultural Heritage Knowledge Graphs: Use Cases, Requirements, Evaluation, and Decision Support. In Transactions on Graph Data and Knowledge (TGDK), Volume 4, Issue 1, pp. 2:1-2:46, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@Article{bruns_et_al:TGDK.4.1.2,
  author =	{Bruns, Oleksandra and Waitelonis, J\"{o}rg and Pan, Jeff Z. and Sack, Harald},
  title =	{{Temporal Modelling in Cultural Heritage Knowledge Graphs: Use Cases, Requirements, Evaluation, and Decision Support}},
  journal =	{Transactions on Graph Data and Knowledge},
  pages =	{2:1--2:46},
  ISSN =	{2942-7517},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{4},
  number =	{1},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/TGDK.4.1.2},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-256871},
  doi =		{10.4230/TGDK.4.1.2},
  annote =	{Keywords: Temporal Data Representation, RDF Extensions, Cultural Heritage, Knowledge Graphs}
}
Document
Conditional Complexity Hardness: Monotone Circuit Size, Matrix Rigidity, and Tensor Rank

Authors: Nikolai Chukhin, Alexander S. Kulikov, Ivan Mihajlin, and Arina Smirnova

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


Abstract
Proving complexity lower bounds remains a challenging task: currently, we only know how to prove conditional uniform (algorithm) lower bounds and nonuniform (circuit) lower bounds in restricted circuit models. About a decade ago, Williams (STOC 2010) showed how to derive nonuniform lower bounds from uniform upper bounds: roughly, by designing a fast algorithm for checking satisfiability of circuits, one gets a lower bound for this circuit class. Since then, a number of results of this kind have been proved. For example, Jahanjou et al. (ICALP 2015) and Carmosino et al. (ITCS 2016) proved that if NSETH fails, then E^{NP} has series-parallel circuit size ω(n). One can also derive nonuniform lower bounds from nondeterministic uniform lower bounds. Perhaps the most well-known example is the Karp-Lipton theorem (STOC 1980): if Σ₂ ≠ Π₂, then NP ⊄ P/poly. Some recent examples include the following. Nederlof (STOC 2020) proved a lower bound on the matrix multiplication tensor rank under an assumption that TSP cannot be solved faster than in 2ⁿ time. Belova et al. (SODA 2024) proved that there exists an explicit polynomial family of arithmetic circuit size Ω(n^{δ}), for any δ > 0, assuming that MAX-3-SAT cannot be solved faster than in 2ⁿ nondeterministic time. Williams (FOCS 2024) proved an exponential lower bound for ETHR ∘ ETHR circuits under the Orthogonal Vectors conjecture. Whereas all the lower bounds above are proved under strong assumptions that might eventually be refuted, the revealed connections are of great interest and may still give further insights: one may be able to weaken the used assumptions or to construct generators from other fine-grained reductions. In this paper, we continue developing this line of research and show how uniform nondeterministic lower bounds can be used to construct generators of various types of combinatorial objects that are notoriously hard to analyze: Boolean functions of high circuit size, matrices of high rigidity, and tensors of high rank. Specifically, we prove the following. - If, for some ε and k, k-SAT cannot be solved in input-oblivious co-nondeterministic time O(2^{(1/2+ε)n}), then there exists a monotone Boolean function family in coNP of monotone circuit size 2^{Ω(n / log n)}. Combining this with the result above, we get win-win circuit lower bounds: either E^{NP{}} requires series-parallel circuits of size ω(n) or coNP requires monotone circuits of size 2^{Ω(n / log n)}. - If, for all ε > 0, MAX-3-SAT cannot be solved in co-nondeterministic time O(2^{(1 - ε)n}), then there exist small families of matrices with rigidity exceeding the best known constructions as well as small families of three-dimensional tensors of rank n^{1+Δ}, for some Δ > 0.

Cite as

Nikolai Chukhin, Alexander S. Kulikov, Ivan Mihajlin, and Arina Smirnova. Conditional Complexity Hardness: Monotone Circuit Size, Matrix Rigidity, and Tensor Rank. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 28:1-28:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{chukhin_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.28,
  author =	{Chukhin, Nikolai and Kulikov, Alexander S. and Mihajlin, Ivan and Smirnova, Arina},
  title =	{{Conditional Complexity Hardness: Monotone Circuit Size, Matrix Rigidity, and Tensor Rank}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{28:1--28:21},
  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.2026.28},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255177},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.28},
  annote =	{Keywords: computational complexity, circuit complexity, lower bounds, conditional lower bounds, monotone circuits, matrix rigidity, tensor rank, arithmetic circuits, fine-grained complexity}
}
Document
Dynamic Pattern Matching with Wildcards

Authors: Arshia Ataee Naeini, Amir-Parsa Mobed, Masoud Seddighin, and Saeed Seddighin

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


Abstract
We study the fully dynamic pattern matching problem where the pattern may contain up to k wildcard symbols, each matching any symbol of the alphabet. Both the text and the pattern are subject to updates (insert, delete, change). We design an algorithm with 𝒪(n log² n) preprocessing and update/query time 𝒪̃(kn^{k/{k+1}} + k² log n). The bound is truly sublinear for a constant k, and sublinear when k = o(log n). We further complement our results with a conditional lower bound: assuming subquadratic preprocessing time, achieving truly sublinear update time for the case k = Ω(log n) would contradict the Strong Exponential Time Hypothesis (SETH). Finally, we develop sublinear algorithms for two special cases: - If the pattern contains w non-wildcard symbols, we give an algorithm with preprocessing time 𝒪(nw) and update time 𝒪(w + log n), which is truly sublinear whenever w is truly sublinear. - Using FFT technique combined with block decomposition, we design a deterministic truly sublinear algorithm with preprocessing time 𝒪(n^{1.8}) and update time 𝒪(n^{0.8} log n) for the case that there are at most two non-wildcards.

Cite as

Arshia Ataee Naeini, Amir-Parsa Mobed, Masoud Seddighin, and Saeed Seddighin. Dynamic Pattern Matching with Wildcards. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 68:1-68:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{naeini_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.68,
  author =	{Naeini, Arshia Ataee and Mobed, Amir-Parsa and Seddighin, Masoud and Seddighin, Saeed},
  title =	{{Dynamic Pattern Matching with Wildcards}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{68:1--68:20},
  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.2026.68},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255579},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.68},
  annote =	{Keywords: pattern matching, wildcards, dynamic algorithms, string algorithms, data structures}
}
Document
Pumping-Like Results for Copyless Cost Register Automata and Polynomially Ambiguous Weighted Automata

Authors: Filip Mazowiecki, Antoni Puch, and Daniel Smertnig

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


Abstract
In this work we consider two rich subclasses of weighted automata over fields: polynomially ambiguous weighted automata and copyless cost register automata. Primarily we are interested in understanding their expressiveness power. Over the field of rationals and 1-letter alphabets, it is known that the two classes coincide; they are equivalent to linear recurrence sequences (LRS) whose exponential bases are roots of rationals. We develop a tool we call Pumping Sequence Families, which, by exploiting the simple single-letter behaviour of the models, yields two pumping-like results over arbitrary fields with unrestricted alphabets, one for each class. As a corollary of these results, we present examples proving that the two classes become incomparable over the field of rationals with unrestricted alphabets. We complement the results by analysing the zeroness and equivalence problems. For weighted automata (even unrestricted) these problems are well understood: there are polynomial time, and even NC² algorithms. For copyless cost register automata we show that the two problems are PSpace-complete, where the difficulty is to show the lower bound.

Cite as

Filip Mazowiecki, Antoni Puch, and Daniel Smertnig. Pumping-Like Results for Copyless Cost Register Automata and Polynomially Ambiguous Weighted Automata. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 67:1-67:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{mazowiecki_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.67,
  author =	{Mazowiecki, Filip and Puch, Antoni and Smertnig, Daniel},
  title =	{{Pumping-Like Results for Copyless Cost Register Automata and Polynomially Ambiguous Weighted Automata}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{67:1--67:21},
  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.2026.67},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255568},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.67},
  annote =	{Keywords: weighted automata, cost register automata, ambiguity, linear recurrence sequences, equivalence problem}
}
Document
When Is Local Search Both Effective and Efficient?

Authors: Artem Kaznatcheev and Sofia Vazquez Alferez

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


Abstract
Combinatorial optimization problems implicitly define fitness landscapes that combine the numeric structure of the "fitness" function to be maximized with the combinatorial structure of which assignments are "adjacent". Local search starts at an assignment in this landscape and successively moves assignments until no further improvement is possible among the adjacent assignments. Classic analyses of local search algorithms have focused more on the question of effectiveness ("did we find a good solution?") and often implicitly assumed that there are no doubts about their efficiency ("did we find it quickly?"). But there are many reasons to doubt the efficiency of local search. Even if we focus on fitness landscapes on the hypercube that are single peaked on every subcube (known as semismooth fitness landscapes, completely unimodal pseudo-Boolean functions, or acyclic unique sink orientations) where effectiveness is obvious, many local search algorithms are known to be inefficient. Since fitness landscapes are unwieldy exponentially large objects, we focus on their polynomial-sized representations by instances of valued constraint satisfaction problems (VCSP). We define a "direction" for valued constraints such that directed VCSPs generate semismooth fitness landscapes. We call directed VCSPs oriented if they do not have any pair of variables with arcs in both directions. Since recognizing if a VCSP-instance is directed or oriented is coNP-complete, we generalized oriented VCSPs as conditionally-smooth fitness landscapes where the structural property of "conditionally-smooth" is recognizable in polynomial time for a VCSP-instance. We prove that many popular local search algorithms like random ascent, simulated annealing, history-based rules, jumping rules, and the Kernighan-Lin heuristic are very efficient on conditionally-smooth landscapes. But conditionally-smooth landscapes are still expressive enough so that other well-regarded local search algorithms like steepest ascent and random facet require a super-polynomial number of steps to find the fitness peak.

Cite as

Artem Kaznatcheev and Sofia Vazquez Alferez. When Is Local Search Both Effective and Efficient?. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 59:1-59:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{kaznatcheev_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.59,
  author =	{Kaznatcheev, Artem and Vazquez Alferez, Sofia},
  title =	{{When Is Local Search Both Effective and Efficient?}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{59:1--59:19},
  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.2026.59},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255480},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.59},
  annote =	{Keywords: valued constraint satisfaction problem, local search, algorithm analysis, constraint graphs, pseudo-Boolean functions, parameterized complexity}
}
Document
On the Complexity of Language Membership for Probabilistic Words

Authors: Antoine Amarilli, Mikaël Monet, Paul Raphaël, and Sylvain Salvati

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


Abstract
We study the membership problem to context-free languages L (CFLs) on probabilistic words, that specify for each position a probability distribution on the letters (assuming independence across positions). Our task is to compute, given a probabilistic word, what is the probability that a word drawn according to the distribution belongs to L. This problem generalizes the problem of counting how many words of length n belong to L, or of counting how many completions of a partial word belong to L. We show that this problem is in polynomial time for unambiguous context-free languages (uCFLs), but can be #P-hard already for unions of two linear uCFLs. More generally, we show that the problem is in polynomial time for so-called poly-slicewise-unambiguous languages, where given a length n we can tractably compute an uCFL for the words of length n in the language. This class includes some inherently ambiguous languages, and implies the tractability of bounded CFLs and of languages recognized by unambiguous polynomial-time counter automata; but we show that the problem can be #P-hard for nondeterministic counter automata, even for Parikh automata with a single counter. We then introduce classes of circuits from knowledge compilation which we use for tractable counting, and show that this covers the tractability of poly-slicewise-unambiguous languages and of some CFLs that are not poly-slicewise-unambiguous. Extending these circuits with negation further allows us to show tractability for the language of primitive words, and for the language of concatenations of two palindromes. We finally show the conditional undecidability of the meta-problem that asks, given a CFG, whether the probabilistic membership problem for that CFG is tractable or #P-hard.

Cite as

Antoine Amarilli, Mikaël Monet, Paul Raphaël, and Sylvain Salvati. On the Complexity of Language Membership for Probabilistic Words. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 5:1-5:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{amarilli_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.5,
  author =	{Amarilli, Antoine and Monet, Mika\"{e}l and Rapha\"{e}l, Paul and Salvati, Sylvain},
  title =	{{On the Complexity of Language Membership for Probabilistic Words}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{5:1--5:21},
  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.2026.5},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-254943},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.5},
  annote =	{Keywords: Automaton, probabilistic words, context-free grammar, membership problem}
}
Document
New Algebrization Barriers to Circuit Lower Bounds via Communication Complexity of Missing-String

Authors: Lijie Chen, Yang Hu, and Hanlin Ren

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


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

Cite as

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


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@InProceedings{chen_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.37,
  author =	{Chen, Lijie and Hu, Yang and Ren, Hanlin},
  title =	{{New Algebrization Barriers to Circuit Lower Bounds via Communication Complexity of Missing-String}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{37:1--37:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.37},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253246},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.37},
  annote =	{Keywords: circuit lower bound, algebrization barrier, missing string, communication complexity}
}
Document
Lower Bounds Beyond DNF of Parities

Authors: Artur Riazanov, Anastasia Sofronova, and Dmitry Sokolov

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


Abstract
We consider a subclass of AC⁰[2] circuits that simultaneously captures DNF∘Xor and depth-3 AC⁰ circuits. For this class we show a technique for proving lower bounds inspired by the top-down approach. We give lower bounds for the middle slice function, inner product function, and affine dispersers.

Cite as

Artur Riazanov, Anastasia Sofronova, and Dmitry Sokolov. Lower Bounds Beyond DNF of Parities. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 112:1-112:15, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{riazanov_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.112,
  author =	{Riazanov, Artur and Sofronova, Anastasia and Sokolov, Dmitry},
  title =	{{Lower Bounds Beyond DNF of Parities}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{112:1--112:15},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.112},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253996},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.112},
  annote =	{Keywords: boolean circuits, top-down, unpredictability}
}
Document
Hardness of Range Avoidance and Proof Complexity Generators from Demi-Bits

Authors: Hanlin Ren, Yichuan Wang, and Yan Zhong

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


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

Cite as

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


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@InProceedings{ren_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.111,
  author =	{Ren, Hanlin and Wang, Yichuan and Zhong, Yan},
  title =	{{Hardness of Range Avoidance and Proof Complexity Generators from Demi-Bits}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{111:1--111:25},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.111},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253982},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.111},
  annote =	{Keywords: Range Avoidance, Proof Complexity Generators}
}
Document
Invited Paper
Explaining Reasoning Results for Description Logic Ontologies (Invited Paper)

Authors: Patrick Koopmann

Published in: OASIcs, Volume 138, Joint Proceedings of the 20th and 21st Reasoning Web Summer Schools (RW 2024 & RW 2025)


Abstract
The Web Ontology Language (OWL), grounded in description logics, enables reasoning systems to infer implicit knowledge in a transparent manner. However, the expressivity of description logics and the complexity of large ontologies often results in reasoning outcomes that are hard to understand without additional tool support. Explanations of these outcomes are essential for users to understand ontology content, communicate its structure and behavior effectively, and debug undesired or missing inferences. This chapter provides an overview of the central explanation techniques that have been developed for explaining reasoning with description logic ontologies. Here, we consider both explanations for positive entailments (explaining why something can be deduced), as well as negative entailments (why something cannot be deduced). More specifically, we discuss justifications, proofs and interpolation as a means to explain positive entailments, and abduction for explaining negative entailments, where we also have a closer look at practical algorithms as well as practical and theoretical challenges.

Cite as

Patrick Koopmann. Explaining Reasoning Results for Description Logic Ontologies (Invited Paper). In Joint Proceedings of the 20th and 21st Reasoning Web Summer Schools (RW 2024 & RW 2025). Open Access Series in Informatics (OASIcs), Volume 138, pp. 6:1-6:29, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{koopmann:OASIcs.RW.2024/2025.6,
  author =	{Koopmann, Patrick},
  title =	{{Explaining Reasoning Results for Description Logic Ontologies}},
  booktitle =	{Joint Proceedings of the 20th and 21st Reasoning Web Summer Schools (RW 2024 \& RW 2025)},
  pages =	{6:1--6:29},
  series =	{Open Access Series in Informatics (OASIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-405-5},
  ISSN =	{2190-6807},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{138},
  editor =	{Artale, Alessandro and Bienvenu, Meghyn and Garc{\'\i}a, Yazm{\'\i}n Ib\'{a}\~{n}ez and Murlak, Filip},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/OASIcs.RW.2024/2025.6},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-250514},
  doi =		{10.4230/OASIcs.RW.2024/2025.6},
  annote =	{Keywords: Explanations, Justifications, Proofs, Craig Interpolation, Contrastive Explanations}
}
Document
Complexity Landscape for Local Certification

Authors: Nicolas Bousquet, Laurent Feuilloley, and Sébastien Zeitoun

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


Abstract
An impressive recent line of work has charted the complexity landscape of distributed graph algorithms. For many settings, it has been determined which time complexities exist, and which do not (in the sense that no local problem could have an optimal algorithm with that complexity). In this paper, we initiate the study of the landscape for space complexity of distributed graph algorithms. More precisely, we focus on the local certification setting, where a prover assigns certificates to nodes to certify a property, and where the space complexity is measured by the size of the certificates. Already for anonymous paths and cycles, we unveil a surprising landscape: - There is a gap between complexity O(1) and Θ(log log n) in paths. This is the first gap established in local certification. - There exists a property that has complexity Θ(log log n) in paths, a regime that was not known to exist for a natural property. - There is a gap between complexity O(1) and Θ(log n) in cycles, hence a gap that is exponentially larger than for paths. We then generalize our result for paths to the class of trees. Namely, we show that there is a gap between complexity O(1) and Θ(log log d) in trees, where d is the diameter. We finally describe some settings where there are no gaps at all. To prove our results we develop a new toolkit, based on various results of automata theory and arithmetic, which is of independent interest.

Cite as

Nicolas Bousquet, Laurent Feuilloley, and Sébastien Zeitoun. Complexity Landscape for Local Certification. In 39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 356, pp. 18:1-18:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{bousquet_et_al:LIPIcs.DISC.2025.18,
  author =	{Bousquet, Nicolas and Feuilloley, Laurent and Zeitoun, S\'{e}bastien},
  title =	{{Complexity Landscape for Local Certification}},
  booktitle =	{39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025)},
  pages =	{18:1--18:21},
  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.2025.18},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-248350},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.18},
  annote =	{Keywords: Local certification, proof-labeling schemes, locally checkable proofs, space complexity, distributed graph algorithms, complexity gap}
}
Document
RANDOM
Fooling Near-Maximal Decision Trees

Authors: William M. Hoza and Zelin Lv

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


Abstract
For any constant α > 0, we construct an explicit pseudorandom generator (PRG) that fools n-variate decision trees of size m with error ε and seed length (1 + α) ⋅ log₂ m + O(log(1/ε) + log log n). For context, one can achieve seed length (2 + o(1)) ⋅ log₂ m + O(log(1/ε) + log log n) using well-known constructions and analyses of small-bias distributions, but such a seed length is trivial when m ≥ 2^{n/2}. Our approach is to develop a new variant of the classic concept of almost k-wise independence, which might be of independent interest. We say that a distribution X over {0, 1}ⁿ is k-wise ε-probably uniform if every Boolean function f that depends on only k variables satisfies 𝔼[f(X)] ≥ (1 - ε) ⋅ 𝔼[f]. We show how to sample a k-wise ε-probably uniform distribution using a seed of length (1 + α) ⋅ k + O(log(1/ε) + log log n). Meanwhile, we also show how to construct a set H ⊆ 𝔽₂ⁿ such that every feasible system of k linear equations in n variables over 𝔽₂ has a solution in H. The cardinality of H and the time complexity of enumerating H are at most 2^{k + o(k) + polylog n}, whereas small-bias distributions would give a bound of 2^{2k + O(log(n/k))}. By combining our new constructions with work by Chen and Kabanets (TCS 2016), we obtain nontrivial PRGs and hitting sets for linear-size Boolean circuits. Specifically, we get an explicit PRG with seed length (1 - Ω(1)) ⋅ n that fools circuits of size 2.99 ⋅ n over the U₂ basis, and we get a hitting set with time complexity 2^{(1 - Ω(1)) ⋅ n} for circuits of size 2.49 ⋅ n over the B₂ basis.

Cite as

William M. Hoza and Zelin Lv. Fooling Near-Maximal Decision Trees. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 35:1-35:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{hoza_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.35,
  author =	{Hoza, William M. and Lv, Zelin},
  title =	{{Fooling Near-Maximal Decision Trees}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{35:1--35:24},
  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.2025.35},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-244019},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.35},
  annote =	{Keywords: almost k-wise independence, decision trees, pseudorandom generators}
}
Document
The Complexity of Reachability Problems in Strongly Connected Finite Automata

Authors: Stefan Kiefer and Andrew Ryzhikov

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


Abstract
Several reachability problems in finite automata, such as completeness of NFAs and synchronisation of total DFAs, correspond to fundamental properties of sets of nonnegative matrices. In particular, the two mentioned properties correspond to matrix mortality and ergodicity, which ask whether there exists a product of the input matrices that is equal to, respectively, the zero matrix and a matrix with a column of strictly positive entries only. The case where the input automaton is strongly connected (that is, the corresponding set of nonnegative matrices is irreducible) frequently appears in applications and often admits better properties than the general case. In this paper, we address the existence of such properties from the computational complexity point of view, and develop a versatile technique to show that several NL-complete problems remain NL-complete in the strongly connected case. In particular, we show that deciding if a binary total DFA is synchronising is NL-complete even if it is promised to be strongly connected, and that deciding completeness of a binary unambiguous NFA with very limited nondeterminism is NL-complete under the same promise.

Cite as

Stefan Kiefer and Andrew Ryzhikov. The Complexity of Reachability Problems in Strongly Connected Finite Automata. In 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 345, pp. 62:1-62:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{kiefer_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.62,
  author =	{Kiefer, Stefan and Ryzhikov, Andrew},
  title =	{{The Complexity of Reachability Problems in Strongly Connected Finite Automata}},
  booktitle =	{50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)},
  pages =	{62:1--62:19},
  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.2025.62},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-241690},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.62},
  annote =	{Keywords: unambiguous automata, nonnegative matrices, irreducible matrix sets, strongly connected automata, matrix monoids, mortality, completeness, synchronisation, ergodicity}
}
Document
Explainability is a Game for Probabilistic Bisimilarity Distances

Authors: Emily Vlasman, Anto Nanah Ji, James Worrell, and Franck van Breugel

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 348, 36th International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2025)


Abstract
We revisit a game from the literature that characterizes the probabilistic bisimilarity distances of a labelled Markov chain. We illustrate how an optimal policy of the game can explain these distances. Like the games that characterize bisimilarity and probabilistic bisimilarity, the game is played on pairs of states and matches transitions of those states. To obtain more convincing and interpretable explanations than those provided by generic optimal policies, we restrict to optimal policies that delay reaching observably inequivalent state pairs for as long as possible (called 1-maximal) while quickly reaching equivalent ones (called 0-minimal). We present iterative algorithms that compute 1-maximal and 0-minimal policies and prove an exponential lower bound for the number of iterations of the algorithm that computes 1-maximal policies.

Cite as

Emily Vlasman, Anto Nanah Ji, James Worrell, and Franck van Breugel. Explainability is a Game for Probabilistic Bisimilarity Distances. In 36th International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 348, pp. 36:1-36:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{vlasman_et_al:LIPIcs.CONCUR.2025.36,
  author =	{Vlasman, Emily and Nanah Ji, Anto and Worrell, James and van Breugel, Franck},
  title =	{{Explainability is a Game for Probabilistic Bisimilarity Distances}},
  booktitle =	{36th International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2025)},
  pages =	{36:1--36:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-389-8},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{348},
  editor =	{Bouyer, Patricia and van de Pol, Jaco},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2025.36},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-239861},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2025.36},
  annote =	{Keywords: probabilistic bisimilarity distance, labelled Markov chain, game, policy, explainability}
}
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