DROPS

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.31

Lower Bounds for Ranking-Based Pivot Rules

Authors: Yann Disser, Georg Loho, Matthew Maat, and Nils Mosis

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

Abstract

The existence of a polynomial pivot rule for the simplex method for linear programming, policy iteration for Markov decision processes, and strategy improvement for parity games each are prominent open problems in their respective fields. While numerous natural candidates for efficient rules have been eliminated, all existing lower bound constructions are tailored to individual or small sets of pivot rules. We introduce a unified framework for formalizing classes of rules according to the information about the input that they rely on. Within this framework, we show lower bounds for ranking-based classes of rules that base their decisions on orderings of the improving pivot steps induced by the underlying data. Our first result is a superpolynomial lower bound for strategy improvement, obtained via a family of sink parity games, which applies to memory-based generalizations of Bland’s rule that only access the input by comparing the ranks of improving edges in some global order. Our second result is a subexponential lower bound for policy iteration, obtained via a family of Markov decision processes, which applies to memoryless rules that only access the input by comparing improving actions according to their ranks in a global order, their reduced costs, and the associated improvements in objective value. Both results carry over to the simplex method for linear programming.

Cite as

Yann Disser, Georg Loho, Matthew Maat, and Nils Mosis. Lower Bounds for Ranking-Based Pivot Rules. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 31:1-31:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{disser_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.31,
  author =	{Disser, Yann and Loho, Georg and Maat, Matthew and Mosis, Nils},
  title =	{{Lower Bounds for Ranking-Based Pivot Rules}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{31:1--31:19},
  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.2026.31},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255207},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.31},
  annote =	{Keywords: lower bounds, Markov decision processes, parity games, pivot rules, policy iteration, simplex method}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.38

Fully Dynamic Spectral Sparsification for Directed Hypergraphs

Authors: Sebastian Forster, Gramoz Goranci, and Ali Momeni

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

Abstract

There has been a surge of interest in spectral hypergraph sparsification, a natural generalization of spectral sparsification for graphs. In this paper, we present a simple fully dynamic algorithm for maintaining spectral hypergraph sparsifiers of directed hypergraphs. Our algorithm achieves a near-optimal size of O(n² / ε ² log ⁷ m) and amortized update time of O(r² log ³ m), where n is the number of vertices, and m and r respectively upper bound the number of hyperedges and the rank of the hypergraph at any time. We also extend our approach to the parallel batch-dynamic setting, where a batch of any k hyperedge insertions or deletions can be processed with O(kr² log ³ m) amortized work and O(log ² m) depth. This constitutes the first spectral-based sparsification algorithm in this setting.

Cite as

Sebastian Forster, Gramoz Goranci, and Ali Momeni. Fully Dynamic Spectral Sparsification for Directed Hypergraphs. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 38:1-38:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{forster_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.38,
  author =	{Forster, Sebastian and Goranci, Gramoz and Momeni, Ali},
  title =	{{Fully Dynamic Spectral Sparsification for Directed Hypergraphs}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{38:1--38:20},
  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.2026.38},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255272},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.38},
  annote =	{Keywords: Spectral sparsification, Dynamic algorithms, (Directed) hypergraphs, Data structures}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.107

New Greedy Spanners and Applications

Authors: Elizaveta Popova and Elad Tzalik

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

Abstract

We present a simple greedy procedure to compute an (α,β)-spanner for a graph G. We then show that this procedure is useful for building fault-tolerant spanners, as well as spanners for weighted graphs. Our first main result is an algorithm that, given a multigraph G, outputs an f edge fault-tolerant (k,k-1)-spanner H of size O(fn^{1+1/k}) which is tight. To our knowledge, this is the first tight result concerning the price of fault tolerance in spanners which are not multiplicative, in any model of faults. Our second main result is a new construction of a spanner for weighted graphs. We show that any weighted graph G has a subgraph H with O(n^{1+1/k}) edges such that any path P of hop-length 𝓁 in G has a replacement path P' in H of weighted length ≤ w(P)+(2k-2)w^(1/2)(P) where w(P) is the total edge weight of P, and w^(1/2) denotes the sum of the largest ⌈𝓁/2⌉ edge weights along P. Moreover, we show such approximation is optimal for shortest paths of hop-length 2. To our knowledge, this is the first construction of a "spanner" for weighted graphs that strictly improves upon the stretch of multiplicative (2k-1)-spanners for all non-adjacent vertex pairs, while maintaining the same size bound. Our technique is based on using clustering and ball-growing, which are methods commonly used in designing spanner algorithms, to analyze simple greedy algorithms. This allows us to combine the flexibility of clustering approaches with the unique properties of the greedy algorithm to get improved bounds. In particular, our methods give a very short proof that the parallel greedy spanner adds O(kn^{1+1/k}) edges, improving upon known bounds.

Cite as

Elizaveta Popova and Elad Tzalik. New Greedy Spanners and Applications. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 107:1-107:25, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{popova_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.107,
  author =	{Popova, Elizaveta and Tzalik, Elad},
  title =	{{New Greedy Spanners and Applications}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{107:1--107:25},
  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.2026.107},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253945},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.107},
  annote =	{Keywords: Graph Spanners, Greedy Algorithms}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.102

Smoothed Analysis of Dynamic Graph Algorithms

Authors: Uri Meir and Ami Paz

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

Abstract

Recent years have seen significant progress in the study of dynamic graph algorithms, and most notably, the introduction of strong lower bound techniques for them (e.g., Henzinger, Krinninger, Nanongkai and Saranurak, STOC 2015; Larsen and Yu, FOCS 2023). As worst-case analysis (adversarial inputs) may lead to the necessity of high running times, a natural question arises: in which cases are high running times really necessary, and in which cases these inputs merely manifest unique pathological cases? Early attempts to tackle this question were made by Nikoletseas, Reif, Spirakis and Yung (ICALP 1995) and by Alberts and Henzinger (Algorithmica 1998), who considered models with very little adversarial control over the inputs, and showed fast algorithms exist for them. The question was then overlooked for decades, until Henzinger, Lincoln and Saha (SODA 2022) recently addressed uniformly random inputs, and presented algorithms and impossibility results for several subgraph counting problems. To tackle the above question more thoroughly, we employ smoothed analysis, a celebrated framework introduced by Spielman and Teng (J. ACM, 2004). An input is proposed by an adversary but then a noisy version of it is processed by the algorithm instead. This model of inputs is parameterized by the amount of adversarial control, and fully interpolates between worst-case inputs and a uniformly random input. Doing so, we extend impossibility results for some problems to the smoothed model with only a minor quantitative loss. That is, we show that partially-adversarial inputs suffice to impose high running times for certain problems. In contrast, we show that other problems become easy even with the slightest amount of noise. In addition, we study the interplay between the adversary and the noise, leading to three natural models of smoothed inputs, for which we show a hierarchy of increasing difficulty stretching between the average-case and the worst-case complexities.

Cite as

Uri Meir and Ami Paz. Smoothed Analysis of Dynamic Graph Algorithms. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 102:1-102:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{meir_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.102,
  author =	{Meir, Uri and Paz, Ami},
  title =	{{Smoothed Analysis of Dynamic Graph Algorithms}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{102:1--102:20},
  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.2026.102},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253896},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.102},
  annote =	{Keywords: Dynamic graph algorithms, Smoothed analysis, Shortest paths}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.7

An Unholy Trinity: TFNP, Polynomial Systems, and the Quantum Satisfiability Problem

Authors: Marco Aldi, Sevag Gharibian, and Dorian Rudolph

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

Abstract

The theory of Total Function NP (TFNP) and its subclasses says that, even if one is promised an efficiently verifiable proof exists for a problem, finding this proof can be intractable. Despite the success of the theory at showing intractability of problems such as computing Brouwer fixed points and Nash equilibria, subclasses of TFNP remain arguably few and far between. In this work, we define two new subclasses of TFNP borne of the study of complex polynomial systems: Multi-homogeneous Systems (MHS) and Sparse Fundamental Theorem of Algebra (SFTA). The first of these is based on Bézout’s theorem from algebraic geometry, marking the first TFNP subclass based on an algebraic geometric principle. At the heart of our study is the computational problem known as Quantum SAT (QSAT) with a System of Distinct Representatives (SDR), first studied by [Laumann, Läuchli, Moessner, Scardicchio, and Sondhi 2010]. Among other results, we show that QSAT with SDR is MHS-complete, thus giving not only the first link between quantum complexity theory and TFNP, but also the first TFNP problem whose classical variant (SAT with SDR) is easy but whose quantum variant is hard. We also show how to embed the roots of a sparse, high-degree, univariate polynomial into QSAT with SDR, obtaining that SFTA is contained in a zero-error version of MHS. We conjecture this construction also works in the low-error setting, which would imply SFTA ⊆ MHS.

Cite as

Marco Aldi, Sevag Gharibian, and Dorian Rudolph. An Unholy Trinity: TFNP, Polynomial Systems, and the Quantum Satisfiability Problem. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 7:1-7:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{aldi_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.7,
  author =	{Aldi, Marco and Gharibian, Sevag and Rudolph, Dorian},
  title =	{{An Unholy Trinity: TFNP, Polynomial Systems, and the Quantum Satisfiability Problem}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{7:1--7:24},
  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.2026.7},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-252946},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.7},
  annote =	{Keywords: quantum complexity theory, Quantum Merlin Arthur (QMA), Quantum Satisfiability Problem (QSAT), total function NP (TFNP)}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.12

Semi-Random Graphs, Robust Asymmetry, and Reconstruction

Authors: Julian Asilis, Xi Chen, Dutch Hansen, and Shang-Hua Teng

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

Abstract

The Graph Reconstruction Conjecture famously posits that any undirected graph on at least three vertices is determined up to isomorphism by its family of (unlabeled) induced subgraphs. At present, the conjecture admits partial resolutions of two types: 1) casework-based demonstrations of reconstructibility for families of graphs satisfying certain structural properties, and 2) probabilistic arguments establishing reconstructibility of random graphs by leveraging average-case phenomena. While results in the first category capture the worst-case nature of the conjecture, they play a limited role in understanding the general case. Results in the second category address much larger graph families, but it remains unclear how heavily the necessary arguments rely on optimistic distributional properties. Drawing on the algorithmic notions of smoothed and semi-random analysis, we study the robustness of what are arguably the two most fundamental properties in this latter line of work: asymmetry and uniqueness of subgraphs. Notably, we find that various natural semi-random graph distributions exhibit these properties asymptotically, much like their Erdős-Rényi counterparts. In particular, Bollobás [Bollob{á}s, 1990] demonstrated that almost all Erdős-Rényi random graphs G = (V, E) ∼ G(n, p) enjoy the property that their induced subgraphs on n - Θ(1) vertices are asymmetric and mutually non-isomorphic, for 1 - p, p = Ω(log(n) / n). As our primary result, we demonstrate that this property is robust against perturbation - even when an adversary is permitted to add/remove each vertex pair in V^{(2)} with (independent) arbitrarily large constant probability. Exploiting this result, we derive asymptotic characterizations of asymmetry in random graphs with large planted structure and bounded adversarial corruptions, along with improved bounds on the probability mass of nonreconstructible graphs in G(n, p).

Cite as

Julian Asilis, Xi Chen, Dutch Hansen, and Shang-Hua Teng. Semi-Random Graphs, Robust Asymmetry, and Reconstruction. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 12:1-12:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{asilis_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.12,
  author =	{Asilis, Julian and Chen, Xi and Hansen, Dutch and Teng, Shang-Hua},
  title =	{{Semi-Random Graphs, Robust Asymmetry, and Reconstruction}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{12:1--12:21},
  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.2026.12},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-252993},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.12},
  annote =	{Keywords: Graph reconstruction, random graphs}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.80

FPT Approximations for Connected Maximum Coverage

Authors: Tanmay Inamdar, Satyabrata Jana, Madhumita Kundu, Daniel Lokshtanov, Saket Saurabh, and Meirav Zehavi

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

Abstract

We revisit connectivity-constrained coverage through a unifying model, Partial Connected Red-Blue Dominating Set (PartialConRBDS). Given a bipartite graph G = (R∪ B,E) with red vertices R and blue vertices B, an auxiliary connectivity graph G_{conn} on R, and integers k,t, the task is to find a set S ⊆ R with |S| ≤ k such that G_{conn}[S] is connected and S dominates at least t blue vertices. This formulation captures connected variants of Maximum Coverage [Hochbaum-Rao, Inf. Proc. Lett., 2020; D'Angelo-Delfaraz, AAMAS 2025], Partial Vertex Cover, and Partial Dominating Set [Khuller et al., SODA 2014; Lamprou et al., TCS 2021] via standard encodings. Limits to parameterized tractability. PartialConRBDS is W[1]-hard parameterized by k even under strong restrictions: it remains hard when G_{conn} is a clique or a star and the incidence graph G is 3-degenerate, or when G is K_{2,2}-free. Inapproximability. For every ε > 0, there is no polynomial-time (1, 1-1/e+ε)-approximation unless 𝖯 = NP. Moreover, under ETH, no algorithm running in f(k)⋅ n^{o(k)} time achieves an g(k)-approximation for k for any computable function g(⋅), or for any ε > 0, a (1-1/e+ε)-approximation for t. Graphical special cases. Partial Connected Dominating Set is W[2]-hard parameterized by k and inherits the same ETH-based f(k)⋅ n^{o(k)} inapproximability bound as above; Partial Connected Vertex Cover is W[1]-hard parameterized by k. These hardness boundaries delineate a natural "sweet spot" for study: within appropriate structural restrictions on the incidence graph, one can still aim for fine-grained (FPT) approximations. Our algorithms. We solve PartialConRBDS exactly by reducing it to Relaxed Directed Steiner Out-Tree in time (2e)^t ⋅ n^{𝒪(1)}. For biclique-free incidences (i.e., when G excludes K_{d,d} as an induced subgraph), we obtain two complementary parameterized schemes: - An Efficient Parameterized Approximation Scheme (EPAS) running in time 2^{𝒪(k² d/ε)}⋅ n^{𝒪(1)} that either returns a connected solution of size at most k covering at least (1-ε)t blue vertices, or correctly reports that no connected size-k solution covers t; and - A Parameterized Approximation Scheme (PAS) running in time 2^{𝒪(kd(k²+log d))}⋅ n^{𝒪(1/ε)} that either returns a connected solution of size at most (1+ε)k covering at least t blue vertices, or correctly reports that no connected size-k solution covers t. Together, these results chart the boundary between hardness and FPT-approximability for connectivity-constrained coverage.

Cite as

Tanmay Inamdar, Satyabrata Jana, Madhumita Kundu, Daniel Lokshtanov, Saket Saurabh, and Meirav Zehavi. FPT Approximations for Connected Maximum Coverage. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 80:1-80:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{inamdar_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.80,
  author =	{Inamdar, Tanmay and Jana, Satyabrata and Kundu, Madhumita and Lokshtanov, Daniel and Saurabh, Saket and Zehavi, Meirav},
  title =	{{FPT Approximations for Connected Maximum Coverage}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{80:1--80:24},
  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.2026.80},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253674},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.80},
  annote =	{Keywords: Partial Dominating Set, Connectivity, Maximum Coverage, FPT Approximation, Fixed-parameter Tractability}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.55

Universally Optimal Streaming Algorithm for Random Walks in Dense Graphs

Authors: Klim Efremenko, Gillat Kol, Raghuvansh R. Saxena, and Zhijun Zhang

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

Abstract

Sampling a random walk is a fundamental primitive in many graph applications. In the streaming model, it is known that sampling an L-step random walk on an n-vertex directed graph requires Ω(n L) space, implying that no sublinear-space streaming algorithm exists for general graphs. We show that sublinear algorithms are possible for the case of dense graphs, where every vertex has out-degree at least Ω(n). In particular, we give a one-pass turnstile streaming algorithm that uses only 𝒪̃(L) memory for such graphs. More broadly, for graphs with minimum out-degree at least d, our streaming algorithm samples a random walk using 𝒪̃(n/d ⋅ L) memory. We show that our algorithm is optimal in a strong "beyond worst-case" sense. To formalize this, we introduce the notion of universal optimality for graph streaming algorithms. Informally, a streaming algorithm is universally optimal if it performs (almost) as well as possible on every graph, assuming a worst-case choice of the streaming order. This notion of universal optimality is a key conceptual contribution of our work.

Cite as

Klim Efremenko, Gillat Kol, Raghuvansh R. Saxena, and Zhijun Zhang. Universally Optimal Streaming Algorithm for Random Walks in Dense Graphs. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 55:1-55:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{efremenko_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.55,
  author =	{Efremenko, Klim and Kol, Gillat and Saxena, Raghuvansh R. and Zhang, Zhijun},
  title =	{{Universally Optimal Streaming Algorithm for Random Walks in Dense Graphs}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{55:1--55:20},
  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.2026.55},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253423},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.55},
  annote =	{Keywords: Random Walk, streaming Algorithm, universal Optimality}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.94

Smoothed Analysis of Online Metric Matching with a Single Sample: Beyond Metric Distortion

Authors: Yingxi Li, Ellen Vitercik, and Mingwei Yang

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

Abstract

In the online metric matching problem, n servers and n requests lie in a metric space. Servers are available upfront, and requests arrive sequentially. An arriving request must be matched immediately and irrevocably to an available server, incurring a cost equal to their distance. The goal is to minimize the total matching cost. We study this problem in [0, 1]^d with the Euclidean metric, when servers are adversarial and requests are independently drawn from distinct distributions that satisfy a mild smoothness condition. Our main result is an O(1)-competitive algorithm for d ≠ 2 that requires no distributional knowledge, relying only on a single sample from each request distribution. To our knowledge, this is the first algorithm to achieve an o(log n) competitive ratio for non-trivial metrics beyond the i.i.d. setting. Our approach bypasses the Ω(log n) barrier introduced by probabilistic metric embeddings: instead of analyzing the embedding distortion and the algorithm separately, we directly bound the cost of the algorithm on the target metric space of a simple deterministic embedding. We then combine this analysis with lower bounds on the offline optimum for Euclidean metrics, derived via majorization arguments, to obtain our guarantees.

Cite as

Yingxi Li, Ellen Vitercik, and Mingwei Yang. Smoothed Analysis of Online Metric Matching with a Single Sample: Beyond Metric Distortion. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 94:1-94:23, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{li_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.94,
  author =	{Li, Yingxi and Vitercik, Ellen and Yang, Mingwei},
  title =	{{Smoothed Analysis of Online Metric Matching with a Single Sample: Beyond Metric Distortion}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{94:1--94:23},
  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.2026.94},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253815},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.94},
  annote =	{Keywords: Online algorithm, Metric matching, Competitive analysis, Smoothed analysis}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.89

On Solving Asymmetric Diagonally Dominant Linear Systems in Sublinear Time

Authors: Tsz Chiu Kwok, Zhewei Wei, and Mingji Yang

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

Abstract

We initiate a study of solving a row/column diagonally dominant (RDD/CDD) linear system 𝐌x = b in sublinear time, with the goal of estimating t^{⊤}x^{∗} for a given vector t ∈ ℝⁿ and a specific solution x^{∗}. This setting naturally generalizes the study of sublinear-time solvers for symmetric diagonally dominant (SDD) systems [Andoni-Krauthgamer-Pogrow, ITCS 2019] to the asymmetric case, which has remained underexplored despite extensive work on nearly-linear-time solvers for RDD/CDD systems. Our first contributions are characterizations of the problem’s mathematical structure. We express a solution x^{∗} via a Neumann series, prove its convergence, and upper bound the truncation error on this series through a novel quantity of 𝐌, termed the maximum p-norm gap. This quantity generalizes the spectral gap of symmetric matrices and captures how the structure of 𝐌 governs the problem’s computational difficulty. For systems with bounded maximum p-norm gap, we develop a collection of algorithmic results for locally approximating t^{⊤}x^{∗} under various scenarios and error measures. We derive these results by adapting the techniques of random-walk sampling, local push, and their bidirectional combination, which have proved powerful for special cases of solving RDD/CDD systems, particularly estimating PageRank and effective resistance on graphs. Our general framework yields deeper insights, extended results, and improved complexity bounds for these problems. Notably, our perspective provides a unified understanding of Forward Push and Backward Push, two fundamental approaches for estimating random-walk probabilities on graphs. Our framework also inherits the hardness results for sublinear-time SDD solvers and local PageRank computation, establishing lower bounds on the maximum p-norm gap or the accuracy parameter. We hope that our work opens the door for further study into sublinear solvers, local graph algorithms, and directed spectral graph theory.

Cite as

Tsz Chiu Kwok, Zhewei Wei, and Mingji Yang. On Solving Asymmetric Diagonally Dominant Linear Systems in Sublinear Time. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 89:1-89:25, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{kwok_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.89,
  author =	{Kwok, Tsz Chiu and Wei, Zhewei and Yang, Mingji},
  title =	{{On Solving Asymmetric Diagonally Dominant Linear Systems in Sublinear Time}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{89:1--89:25},
  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.2026.89},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253768},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.89},
  annote =	{Keywords: Spectral Graph Theory, Linear Systems, Sublinear Algorithms}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.27

Fault-Tolerant Approximate Distance Oracles with a Source Set

Authors: Dipan Dey and Telikepalli Kavitha

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

Abstract

Our input is an undirected weighted graph G = (V,E) on n vertices along with a source set S ⊆ V. The problem is to preprocess G and build a compact data structure such that upon query Qu(s,v,f) where (s,v) ∈ S×V and f is any faulty edge, we can quickly find a good estimate (i.e., within a small multiplicative stretch) of the s-v distance in G-f. We use a fault-tolerant ST-distance oracle from the work of Bilò et al. (STACS 2018) to construct an S×V approximate distance oracle or sourcewise approximate distance oracle of size Õ(|S|n + n^{3/2}) with multiplicative stretch at most 5. We construct another fault-tolerant sourcewise approximate distance oracle of size Õ(|S|n + n^{4/3}) with multiplicative stretch at most 13. Both the oracles have O(1) query answering time.

Cite as

Dipan Dey and Telikepalli Kavitha. Fault-Tolerant Approximate Distance Oracles with a Source Set. In 45th IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 360, pp. 27:1-27:15, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{dey_et_al:LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.27,
  author =	{Dey, Dipan and Kavitha, Telikepalli},
  title =	{{Fault-Tolerant Approximate Distance Oracles with a Source Set}},
  booktitle =	{45th IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2025)},
  pages =	{27:1--27:15},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-406-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{360},
  editor =	{Aiswarya, C. and Mehta, Ruta and Roy, Subhajit},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.27},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-251081},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.27},
  annote =	{Keywords: Weighted graphs, approximate distances, fault-tolerant data structures}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2025.13

Optimal Online Bipartite Matching in Degree-2 Graphs

Authors: Amey Bhangale, Arghya Chakraborty, and Prahladh Harsha

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

Abstract

Online bipartite matching is a classical problem in online algorithms and we know that both the deterministic fractional and randomized integral online matchings achieve the same competitive ratio of 1-1/e. In this work, we study classes of graphs where the online degree is restricted to 2. As expected, one can achieve a competitive ratio of better than 1-1/e in both the deterministic fractional and randomized integral cases, but surprisingly, these ratios are not the same. It was already known that for fractional matching, a 0.75 competitive ratio algorithm is optimal. We show that the folklore Half-Half algorithm achieves a competitive ratio of η ≈ 0.717772… and more surprisingly, show that this is optimal by giving a matching lower-bound. This yields a separation between the two problems: deterministic fractional and randomized integral, showing that it is impossible to obtain a perfect rounding scheme.

Cite as

Amey Bhangale, Arghya Chakraborty, and Prahladh Harsha. Optimal Online Bipartite Matching in Degree-2 Graphs. In 36th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 359, pp. 13:1-13:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{bhangale_et_al:LIPIcs.ISAAC.2025.13,
  author =	{Bhangale, Amey and Chakraborty, Arghya and Harsha, Prahladh},
  title =	{{Optimal Online Bipartite Matching in Degree-2 Graphs}},
  booktitle =	{36th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2025)},
  pages =	{13:1--13:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-408-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{359},
  editor =	{Chen, Ho-Lin and Hon, Wing-Kai and Tsai, Meng-Tsung},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2025.13},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-249216},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2025.13},
  annote =	{Keywords: Online Algorithm, Bipartite matching}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.40

On the Randomized Locality of Matching Problems in Regular Graphs

Authors: Seri Khoury, Manish Purohit, Aaron Schild, and Joshua R. Wang

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

Abstract

The main goal in distributed symmetry-breaking is to understand the locality of problems: the radius of the neighborhood that a node must explore to determine its part of a global solution. In this work, we study the locality of matching problems in the family of regular graphs, which is one of the main benchmarks for establishing lower bounds on the locality of symmetry-breaking problems, as well as for obtaining classification results. Our main results are summarized as follows: 1) Approximate matching: We develop randomized algorithms to show that (1 + ε)-approximate matching in regular graphs is truly local, i.e., the locality depends only on ε and is independent of all other graph parameters. Furthermore, as long as the degree Δ is not very small (namely, as long as Δ ≥ poly(1/ε)), this dependence is only logarithmic in 1/ε. This stands in sharp contrast to maximal matching in regular graphs which requires some dependence on the number of nodes n or the degree Δ. 2) Maximal matching: Our techniques further allow us to establish a strong separation between the node-averaged complexity and worst-case complexity of maximal matching in regular graphs, by showing that the former is only O(1). Central to our main technical contribution is a novel martingale-based analysis for the ≈ 40-year-old algorithm by Luby. In particular, our analysis shows that applying one round of Luby’s algorithm on the line graph of a Δ-regular graph results in an almost Δ/2-regular graph.

Cite as

Seri Khoury, Manish Purohit, Aaron Schild, and Joshua R. Wang. On the Randomized Locality of Matching Problems in Regular Graphs. In 39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 356, pp. 40:1-40:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{khoury_et_al:LIPIcs.DISC.2025.40,
  author =	{Khoury, Seri and Purohit, Manish and Schild, Aaron and Wang, Joshua R.},
  title =	{{On the Randomized Locality of Matching Problems in Regular Graphs}},
  booktitle =	{39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025)},
  pages =	{40:1--40:20},
  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.2025.40},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-248570},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.40},
  annote =	{Keywords: regular graphs, maximum matching, augmenting paths, distributed algorithms, Luby’s algorithm, martingales}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.26

Towards Constant Time Multi-Call Rumor Spreading on Small-Set Expanders

Authors: Emilio Cruciani, Sebastian Forster, and Tijn de Vos

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

Abstract

We study a multi-call variant of the classic PUSH&PULL rumor spreading process where nodes can contact k of their neighbors instead of a single one during both PUSH and PULL operations. We show that rumor spreading can be made faster at the cost of an increased amount of communication between the nodes. As a motivating example, consider the process on a complete graph of n nodes: while the standard PUSH&PULL protocol takes Θ(log n) rounds, we prove that our k-PUSH&PULL variant completes in Θ(log_{k} n) rounds, with high probability. We generalize this result in an expansion-sensitive way, as has been done for the classic PUSH&PULL protocol for different notions of expansion, e.g., conductance and vertex expansion. We consider small-set vertex expanders, graphs in which every sufficiently small subset of nodes has a large neighborhood, ensuring strong local connectivity. In particular, when the expansion parameter satisfies ϕ > 1, these graphs have a diameter of o(log n), as opposed to other standard notions of expansion. Since the graph’s diameter is a lower bound on the number of rounds required for rumor spreading, this makes small-set expanders particularly well-suited for fast information dissemination. We prove that k-PUSH&PULL takes O(log_{ϕ} n ⋅ log_{k} n) rounds in these expanders, with high probability. We complement this with a simple lower bound of Ω(log_{ϕ} n+ log_{k} n) rounds.

Cite as

Emilio Cruciani, Sebastian Forster, and Tijn de Vos. Towards Constant Time Multi-Call Rumor Spreading on Small-Set Expanders. In 39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 356, pp. 26:1-26:25, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{cruciani_et_al:LIPIcs.DISC.2025.26,
  author =	{Cruciani, Emilio and Forster, Sebastian and de Vos, Tijn},
  title =	{{Towards Constant Time Multi-Call Rumor Spreading on Small-Set Expanders}},
  booktitle =	{39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025)},
  pages =	{26:1--26:25},
  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.2025.26},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-248434},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.26},
  annote =	{Keywords: small set expansion, vertex expansion, rumor spreading, multi-call rumor spreading, push\&pull protocol}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.14

Energy-Efficient Maximal Independent Sets in Radio Networks

Authors: Dominick Banasik, Varsha Dani, Fabien Dufoulon, Aayush Gupta, Thomas P. Hayes, and Gopal Pandurangan

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

Abstract

The maximal independent set (MIS) is one of the most fundamental problems in distributed computing, and it has been studied intensively for over four decades. This paper focuses on the MIS problem in the radio network model, a standard model widely used to model wireless networks, particularly ad hoc wireless and sensor networks. Energy is a premium resource in these networks, which are typically battery-powered. Hence, designing distributed algorithms that use as little energy as possible is crucial. We use the well-established energy model where a node can be sleeping or awake in a round, and only the awake rounds (when it can send or listen) determine the energy complexity of the algorithm, which we want to minimize. We present new, more energy-efficient MIS algorithms in radio networks with arbitrary and unknown graph topology. We present algorithms for two popular variants of the radio model - with collision detection (CD) and without collision detection (no-CD). Specifically, we obtain the following results: 1) CD model: We present a randomized distributed MIS algorithm with energy complexity O(log n), round complexity O(log² n), and failure probability 1 / poly(n), where n is the network size. We show that our energy complexity is optimal by showing a matching Ω(log n) lower bound. 2) no-CD model: In the more challenging no-CD model, we present a randomized distributed MIS algorithm with energy complexity O(log²n log log n), round complexity O(log³ n log Δ), and failure probability 1 / poly(n). The energy complexity of our algorithm is significantly lower than the round (and energy) complexity of O(log³ n) of the best known distributed MIS algorithm of Davies [PODC 2023] for arbitrary graph topology.

Cite as

Dominick Banasik, Varsha Dani, Fabien Dufoulon, Aayush Gupta, Thomas P. Hayes, and Gopal Pandurangan. Energy-Efficient Maximal Independent Sets in Radio Networks. In 39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 356, pp. 14:1-14:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{banasik_et_al:LIPIcs.DISC.2025.14,
  author =	{Banasik, Dominick and Dani, Varsha and Dufoulon, Fabien and Gupta, Aayush and Hayes, Thomas P. and Pandurangan, Gopal},
  title =	{{Energy-Efficient Maximal Independent Sets in Radio Networks}},
  booktitle =	{39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025)},
  pages =	{14:1--14:24},
  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.2025.14},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-248311},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.14},
  annote =	{Keywords: Distributed Computing, Energy Complexity, Sleeping Model, Radio Networks, Maximal Independent Set}
}

54 Search Results for "Teng, Shang-Hua"

Abstract

Cite as

Abstract

Cite as

Abstract

Cite as

Abstract

Cite as

Abstract

Cite as

Abstract

Cite as

Abstract

Cite as

Abstract

Cite as

Abstract

Cite as

Abstract

Cite as

Abstract

Cite as

Abstract

Cite as

Abstract

Cite as

Abstract

Cite as

Abstract

Cite as

Thanks for your feedback!

Could not send message