DROPS

Volume

LIPIcs, Volume 362

17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)

ITCS 2026, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy, January 27-30, 2026

Editors: Shubhangi Saraf

Volume

LIPIcs, Volume 169

35th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2020)

CCC 2020, July 28-31, 2020, Saarbrücken, Germany (Virtual Conference)

Editors: Shubhangi Saraf

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2026.88

Integer Points in Dilates of Polytopes

Authors: Shubhangi Saraf and Narmada Varadarajan

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

Abstract

In this paper we study how the number of integer points in a polytope grows as we dilate the polytope. We prove new and essentially tight bounds on this quantity by specifically studying dilates of the Hadamard polytope. The motivation for studying this question comes from the question of understanding the maximal number of monomials in a factor of a multivariate polynomial of s monomials. A recent result by Bhargava, Saraf and Volkovich [Bhargava et al., 2020] showed that if f is an n-variate polynomial, where each variable has degree d, and f has s monomials, then any factor of f has at most s^{O(d² log n)} monomials. The key technical ingredient of their proof was to show that any polytope with s vertices, where each vertex lies in {0,..,d}ⁿ can have at most s^{O(d² log n)} integer points. The precise dependence on d of the number of integer points was left open. We show that this bound, and in particular the dependence on d is essentially tight by studying dilates of the Hadamard polytope and proving new lower bounds on its number of integer points.

Cite as

Shubhangi Saraf and Narmada Varadarajan. Integer Points in Dilates of Polytopes. In 42nd International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 367, pp. 88:1-88:9, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{saraf_et_al:LIPIcs.SoCG.2026.88,
  author =	{Saraf, Shubhangi and Varadarajan, Narmada},
  title =	{{Integer Points in Dilates of Polytopes}},
  booktitle =	{42nd International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2026)},
  pages =	{88:1--88:9},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-418-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{367},
  editor =	{Ahn, Hee-Kap and Hoffmann, Michael and Nayyeri, Amir},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2026.88},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-258948},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2026.88},
  annote =	{Keywords: Computational geometry, Complexity theory, Integer polytopes}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.45

Fairness in the k-Server Problem

Authors: Mohammadreza Daneshvaramoli, Mohammad Hajiesmaili, Shahin Kamali, Helia Karisani, and Cameron Musco

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

Abstract

We initiate a formal study of fairness for the k-server problem, where the objective is not only to minimize the total movement cost, but also to distribute the cost equitably among servers. We first define a general notion of (α,β)-fairness, where, for parameters α ≥ 1 and β ≥ 0, no server incurs more than an α/k-fraction of the total cost plus an additive term β. We then show that fairness can be achieved without a loss in competitiveness in both the offline and online settings. In the offline setting, we give a deterministic algorithm that, for any ε > 0, transforms any optimal solution into an (α,β)-fair solution for α = 1 + ε and β = O(diam ⋅ log k / ε), while increasing the cost of the solution by just an additive O(diam ⋅ k log k / ε) term. Here diam is the diameter of the underlying metric space. We give a similar result in the online setting, showing that any competitive algorithm can be transformed into a randomized online algorithm that is fair with high probability against an oblivious adversary and still competitive up to a small loss. The above results leave open a significant question: can fairness be achieved in the online setting, either with a deterministic algorithm or a randomized algorithm, against a fully adaptive adversary? We make progress towards answering this question, showing that the classic deterministic Double Coverage Algorithm (DCA) is fair on line metrics and on tree metrics when k = 2. However, we also show a negative result: DCA fails to be fair for any non-vacuous parameters on general tree metrics. We further show that on uniform metrics (i.e., the paging problem), the deterministic First-In First-Out (FIFO) algorithm is fair. We show that any "marking algorithm", including the Least Recently Used (LRU) algorithm, also satisfies a weaker, but still meaningful notion of fairness.

Cite as

Mohammadreza Daneshvaramoli, Mohammad Hajiesmaili, Shahin Kamali, Helia Karisani, and Cameron Musco. Fairness in the k-Server Problem. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 45:1-45:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{daneshvaramoli_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.45,
  author =	{Daneshvaramoli, Mohammadreza and Hajiesmaili, Mohammad and Kamali, Shahin and Karisani, Helia and Musco, Cameron},
  title =	{{Fairness in the k-Server Problem}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{45:1--45:21},
  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.2026.45},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253328},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.45},
  annote =	{Keywords: k-server problem, online algorithms, fairness, competitive analysis}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.46

Symmetric Algebraic Circuits and Homomorphism Polynomials

Authors: Anuj Dawar, Benedikt Pago, and Tim Seppelt

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

Abstract

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

Cite as

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

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@InProceedings{dawar_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.46,
  author =	{Dawar, Anuj and Pago, Benedikt and Seppelt, Tim},
  title =	{{Symmetric Algebraic Circuits and Homomorphism Polynomials}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{46:1--46:15},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.46},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253330},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.46},
  annote =	{Keywords: algebraic complexity, finite model theory, symmetric circuits, homomorphism counting, graph homomorphism, treewidth, counting width, first-order logic with counting quantifiers}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.40

A Simple and Robust Protocol for Distributed Counting

Authors: Edith Cohen, Moshe Shechner, and Uri Stemmer

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

Abstract

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

Cite as

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

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

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.41

The Curious Case of "XOR Repetition" of Monogamy-Of-Entanglement Games

Authors: Andrea Coladangelo, Qipeng Liu, and Ziyi Xie

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

Abstract

In this work, we consider "decision" variants of a well-known monogamy-of-entanglement game by Tomamichel, Fehr, Kaniewski, and Wehner [New Journal of Physics '13]. In its original "search" variant, Alice prepares a (possibly entangled) state on registers ABC; register 𝖠, consisting of n qubits, is sent to a Referee, while 𝖡 and 𝖢 are sent to Bob and Charlie; the Referee then measures each qubit in the standard or Hadamard basis (chosen uniformly at random). The basis choices are sent to Bob and Charlie, whose goal is to simultaneously guess the Referee’s n-bit measurement outcome string x. Tomamichel et al. show that the optimal winning probability is cos^{2n}(π/8), following a perfect parallel repetition theorem. We consider the following "decision" variants of this game: - Variant 1, "XOR repetition": Bob and Charlie’s goal is to guess the XOR of all the bits of x. Ananth et al. [Asiacrypt '24] conjectured that the optimal advantage over random guessing decays exponentially in n. Surprisingly, we show that this conjecture is false, and, in fact, there is no decay at all: there exists a strategy that wins with probability cos²(π/8) ≈ 0.85 for any n. Moreover, this strategy does not involve any entanglement between Alice, Bob, and Charlie! - Variant 2, "Goldreich-Levin": The Referee additionally samples a uniformly random n-bit string r that is sent to Bob and Charlie along with the basis choices. Their goal is to guess the parity of r⋅ x. We show that the optimal advantage over random guessing decays exponentially in n for the restricted class of adversaries that do not share entanglement. A similar result was already shown by Champion et al. and Çakan et al.; we give a more direct proof. Showing that Variant 2 is "secure" (i.e., that the optimal winning probability is exponentially close to 1/2) against general adversaries would imply the existence of an information-theoretically "unclonable bit". We put forward a reasonably concrete conjecture that is equivalent to the general security of Variant 2.

Cite as

Andrea Coladangelo, Qipeng Liu, and Ziyi Xie. The Curious Case of "XOR Repetition" of Monogamy-Of-Entanglement Games. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 41:1-41:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{coladangelo_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.41,
  author =	{Coladangelo, Andrea and Liu, Qipeng and Xie, Ziyi},
  title =	{{The Curious Case of "XOR Repetition" of Monogamy-Of-Entanglement Games}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{41:1--41:20},
  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.2026.41},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253281},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.41},
  annote =	{Keywords: quantum information, monogamy of entanglement, unclonable encryption}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.47

Dudeney’s Dissection Is Optimal

Authors: Erik D. Demaine, Tonan Kamata, and Ryuhei Uehara

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

Abstract

In 1907, Henry Ernest Dudeney posed a puzzle: "cut any equilateral triangle ... into as few pieces as possible that will fit together and form a perfect square" (without overlap, via translation and rotation). Four weeks later, Dudeney demonstrated a beautiful four-piece solution, which today remains perhaps the most famous example of dissection. In this paper (over a century later), we finally solve Dudeney’s puzzle, by proving that the equilateral triangle and square have no common dissection with three or fewer polygonal pieces. We reduce the problem to the analysis of discrete graph structures representing the correspondence between the edges and the vertices of the pieces forming each polygon.

Cite as

Erik D. Demaine, Tonan Kamata, and Ryuhei Uehara. Dudeney’s Dissection Is Optimal. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 47:1-47:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{demaine_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.47,
  author =	{Demaine, Erik D. and Kamata, Tonan and Uehara, Ryuhei},
  title =	{{Dudeney’s Dissection Is Optimal}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{47:1--47:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.47},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253345},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.47},
  annote =	{Keywords: Geometric Dissection, Dudeney Dissection, Dissection with Fewest Pieces}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.49

Debordering Closure Results in Determinantal and Pfaffian Ideals

Authors: Anakin Dey and Zeyu Guo

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

Abstract

One important question in algebraic complexity is understanding the complexity of polynomial ideals (Grochow, Bulletin of EATCS 131, 2020). Andrews and Forbes (STOC 2022) studied the determinantal ideals I^{det}_{n,m,r} generated by the r× r minors of n× m matrices. Over fields of characteristic zero or of sufficiently large characteristic, they showed that for any nonzero f ∈ I^{det}_{n,m,r}, the determinant of a t × t matrix of variables with t = Θ{r^{1/3}} is approximately computed by a constant-depth, polynomial-size f-oracle algebraic circuit, in the sense that the determinant lies in the border of such circuits. An analogous result was also obtained for Pfaffians in the same paper. In this work, we deborder the result of Andrews and Forbes by showing that when f has polynomial degree, the determinant is in fact exactly computed by a constant-depth, polynomial-size f-oracle algebraic circuit. We further establish an analogous result for Pfaffian ideals. Our results are established using the isolation lemma, combined with a careful analysis of straightening-law expansions of polynomials in determinantal and Pfaffian ideals.

Cite as

Anakin Dey and Zeyu Guo. Debordering Closure Results in Determinantal and Pfaffian Ideals. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 49:1-49:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{dey_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.49,
  author =	{Dey, Anakin and Guo, Zeyu},
  title =	{{Debordering Closure Results in Determinantal and Pfaffian Ideals}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{49:1--49:24},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.49},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253363},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.49},
  annote =	{Keywords: Algebraic circuit complexity, Isolation lemma, Debordering}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.42

Time and Space Efficient Deterministic List Decoding

Authors: Joshua Cook and Dana Moshkovitz

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

Abstract

Error correcting codes encode messages by codewords in such a way that even if some of the codeword is corrupted, the message can be decoded. Typical decoding algorithms for error correcting codes either use linear space or quadratic time. A natural question is whether codes can be decoded in near-linear time and sub-linear space simultaneously. A recent result by Cook and Moshkovitz gave efficient decoders that can uniquely decode Reed-Muller and other codes from a constant fraction (less than half) of corruption. In this work, we address the problem of list decoding in near-linear time and sub-linear space. In the list decoding setting, most of the codeword is corrupted, and one wants to output a short list of potential messages that contains the true message. For any constants γ, τ > 0, we give decoders for Reed-Muller codes that can decode from 1-γ fraction of corruptions in time n^{1+τ} and space n^{τ}. Our decoders work by extending the iterative correction technique of Cook and Moshkovitz. However, that technique, which gradually decreases the number of corruptions in the message, was tailored to the unique decoding setting. We first identify an intermediate problem, codewords list recovery, for which we can make iterative correction work. We then show how to reduce general list decoding to the codewords list recovery problem in efficient time and space. The reduction relies on local correction and testing. In the codewords list recovery problem, the input consists of n unordered lists containing exactly the symbols from L codewords, where a small fraction of the lists is corrupted. The goal is to find the L codewords. In addition, we prove that any linear code with time-space efficient encoding or decoding must be local, in the sense that the codewords satisfy a local linear constraint. This rules out codes like Reed-Solomon from having time-space efficient encoding or decoding.

Cite as

Joshua Cook and Dana Moshkovitz. Time and Space Efficient Deterministic List Decoding. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 42:1-42:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{cook_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.42,
  author =	{Cook, Joshua and Moshkovitz, Dana},
  title =	{{Time and Space Efficient Deterministic List Decoding}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{42:1--42:24},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.42},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253292},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.42},
  annote =	{Keywords: Reed-Muller code, local correction, local testing}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.50

On the PTAS Complexity of Multidimensional Knapsack

Authors: Ilan Doron-Arad, Ariel Kulik, and Pasin Manurangsi

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

Abstract

We study the d-dimensional knapsack problem. We are given a set of items, each with a d-dimensional cost vector and a profit, along with a d-dimensional budget vector. The goal is to select a set of items that do not exceed the budget in all dimensions and maximize the total profit. A polynomial-time approximation scheme (PTAS) with running time n^{Θ(d/{ε})} has long been known for this problem, where {ε} is the error parameter and n is the encoding size. Despite decades of active research, the best running time of a PTAS has remained O(n^{⌈ d/{ε} ⌉ - d}). Unfortunately, existing lower bounds only cover the special case with two dimensions d = 2, and do not answer whether there is a n^{o(d/({ε)})}-time PTAS for larger values of d. In this work, we show that the running times of the best-known PTAS cannot be improved up to a polylogarithmic factor assuming the Exponential Time Hypothesis (ETH). Our techniques are based on a robust reduction from 2-CSP, which embeds 2-CSP constraints into a desired number of dimensions. Then, using a recent result of [Bafna Karthik and Minzer, STOC'25], we succeed in exhibiting tight trade-off between d and {ε} for all regimes of the parameters assuming d is sufficiently large. Informally, our result also shows that under ETH, for any function f there is no f(d/({ε)}) ⋅ n^{õ(d/({ε)})}-time (1-{ε})-approximation for d-dimensional knapsack, where n is the number of items and õ hides polylogarithmic factors in d/({ε)}.

Cite as

Ilan Doron-Arad, Ariel Kulik, and Pasin Manurangsi. On the PTAS Complexity of Multidimensional Knapsack. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 50:1-50:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{doronarad_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.50,
  author =	{Doron-Arad, Ilan and Kulik, Ariel and Manurangsi, Pasin},
  title =	{{On the PTAS Complexity of Multidimensional Knapsack}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{50:1--50:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.50},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253377},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.50},
  annote =	{Keywords: d-dimensional Knapsack, Multidimensional Knapsack, PTAS, CSP}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.44

Higher-Order Delsarte Dual LPs: Lifting, Constructions and Completeness

Authors: Leonardo Nagami Coregliano, Fernando Granha Jeronimo, Chris Jones, Nati Linial, and Elyassaf Loyfer

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

Abstract

A central and longstanding open problem in coding theory is the rate-versus-distance trade-off for binary error-correcting codes. In a seminal work, Delsarte introduced a family of linear programs establishing relaxations on the size of optimum codes. To date, the state-of-the-art upper bounds for binary codes come from dual feasible solutions to these LPs. Still, these bounds are exponentially far from the best-known existential constructions. Recently, hierarchies of linear programs extending and strengthening Delsarte’s original LPs were introduced for linear codes, which we refer to as higher-order Delsarte LPs. These new hierarchies were shown to provably converge to the actual value of optimum codes, namely, they are complete hierarchies. Therefore, understanding them and their dual formulations becomes a valuable line of investigation. Nonetheless, their higher-order structure poses challenges. In fact, analysis of all known convex programming hierarchies strengthening Delsarte’s original LPs has turned out to be exceedingly difficult and essentially nothing is known, stalling progress in the area since the 1970s. Our main result is an analysis of the higher-order Delsarte LPs via their dual formulation. Although quantitatively, our current analysis only matches the best-known upper bounds, it shows, for the first time, how to tame the complexity of analyzing a hierarchy strengthening Delsarte’s original LPs. In doing so, we reach a better understanding of the structure of the hierarchy, which may serve as the foundation for further quantitative improvements. We provide two additional structural results for this hierarchy. First, we show how to explicitly lift any feasible dual solution from level k to a (suitable) larger level 𝓁 while retaining the objective value. Second, we give a novel proof of completeness using the dual formulation.

Cite as

Leonardo Nagami Coregliano, Fernando Granha Jeronimo, Chris Jones, Nati Linial, and Elyassaf Loyfer. Higher-Order Delsarte Dual LPs: Lifting, Constructions and Completeness. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 44:1-44:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{coregliano_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.44,
  author =	{Coregliano, Leonardo Nagami and Jeronimo, Fernando Granha and Jones, Chris and Linial, Nati and Loyfer, Elyassaf},
  title =	{{Higher-Order Delsarte Dual LPs: Lifting, Constructions and Completeness}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{44:1--44:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.44},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253315},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.44},
  annote =	{Keywords: Coding theory, code bounds, convex optimization, linear progamming hierarchy}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.39

Efficient Algorithms for the Disjoint Shortest Paths Problem and Its Extensions

Authors: Keerti Choudhary, Amit Kumar, and Lakshay Saggi

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

Abstract

We study the 2-Disjoint Shortest Paths (2-DSP) problem: given a directed weighted graph and two terminal pairs (s₁,t₁) and (s₂,t₂), decide whether there exist vertex-disjoint shortest paths between each pair. Building on recent advances in disjoint shortest paths for DAGs and undirected graphs (Akmal et al. 2024), we present an O(mn log n)-time algorithm for this problem in weighted directed graphs that do not contain negative or zero weight cycles. This algorithm presents a significant improvement over the previously known O(m⁵n)-time bound (Berczi et al. 2017). Our approach exploits the algebraic structure of polynomials that enumerate shortest paths between terminal pairs. A key insight is that these polynomials admit a recursive decomposition, enabling efficient evaluation via dynamic programming over fields of characteristic two. Furthermore, we demonstrate how to report the corresponding paths in O(mn² log n)-time. In addition, we extend our techniques to a more general setting: given two terminal pairs (s₁, t₁) and (s₂, t₂) in a directed graph, find the minimum possible number of vertex intersections between any shortest path from s₁ to t₁ and s₂ to t₂. We call this the Minimum 2-Disjoint Shortest Paths (Min-2-DSP) problem. We provide in this paper the first efficient algorithm for this problem, including an O(m² n³)-time algorithm for directed graphs with positive edge weights, and an O(m+n)-time algorithm for DAGs and undirected graphs. Moreover, if the number of intersecting vertices is at least one, we show that it is possible to report the paths in the same O(m+n)-time. This is somewhat surprising, as there is no known o(mn) time algorithm for explicitly reporting the paths if they are vertex-disjoint, and is left as an open problem in (Akmal et al. 2024).

Cite as

Keerti Choudhary, Amit Kumar, and Lakshay Saggi. Efficient Algorithms for the Disjoint Shortest Paths Problem and Its Extensions. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 39:1-39:23, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{choudhary_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.39,
  author =	{Choudhary, Keerti and Kumar, Amit and Saggi, Lakshay},
  title =	{{Efficient Algorithms for the Disjoint Shortest Paths Problem and Its Extensions}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{39:1--39:23},
  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.2026.39},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253267},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.39},
  annote =	{Keywords: Disjoint paths, Disjoint shortest paths, Algebraic graph algorithms}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.51

Near-Optimal Sparsifiers for Stochastic Knapsack and Assignment Problems

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

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

Abstract

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

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

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

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.43

Efficient Catalytic Graph Algorithms

Authors: James Cook and Edward Pyne

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

Abstract

We give fast, simple, and implementable catalytic logspace algorithms for two fundamental graph problems. First, a randomized catalytic algorithm for s → t connectivity running in Õ(nm) time, and a deterministic catalytic algorithm for the same running in Õ(n³ m) time. The former algorithm is the first algorithmic use of randomization in CL. The algorithm uses one register per vertex and repeatedly "pushes" values along the edges in the graph. Second, a deterministic catalytic algorithm for simulating random walks which in Õ(m T² / ε) time estimates the probability a T-step random walk ends at a given vertex within ε additive error. The algorithm uses one register for each vertex and increments it at each visit to ensure repeated visits follow different outgoing edges. Prior catalytic algorithms for both problems did not have explicit runtime bounds beyond being polynomial in n.

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James Cook and Edward Pyne. Efficient Catalytic Graph Algorithms. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 43:1-43:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{cook_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.43,
  author =	{Cook, James and Pyne, Edward},
  title =	{{Efficient Catalytic Graph Algorithms}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{43:1--43:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.43},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253305},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.43},
  annote =	{Keywords: catalytic computing, graph algorithms, catalytic logspace}
}

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