56 Search Results for "Yehudayoff, Amir"


Document
The Log-Rank Conjecture: New Equivalent Formulations

Authors: Lianna Hambardzumyan, Shachar Lovett, and Morgan Shirley

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 383, 41st Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2026)


Abstract
The log-rank conjecture is a longstanding open problem with multiple equivalent formulations in complexity theory and mathematics. In its linear-algebraic form, it asserts that the rank and partitioning number of a Boolean matrix are quasi-polynomially related. We propose a relaxed but still equivalent version of the conjecture based on a new matrix parameter, signed rectangle rank: the minimum number of all-1 rectangles needed to express the Boolean matrix as a ± 1-sum. Signed rectangle rank lies between rank and partition number, and our main result shows that it is in fact equivalent to rank up to a logarithmic factor. Additionally, we extend the main result to tensors. This reframes the log-rank conjecture as: can every signed decomposition of a Boolean matrix be made positive with only quasi-polynomial blowup? As an application, we prove an equivalence between the log-rank conjecture and a conjecture of Lovett and Singer–Sudan on cross-intersecting set systems.

Cite as

Lianna Hambardzumyan, Shachar Lovett, and Morgan Shirley. The Log-Rank Conjecture: New Equivalent Formulations. In 41st Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 383, pp. 7:1-7:9, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{hambardzumyan_et_al:LIPIcs.CCC.2026.7,
  author =	{Hambardzumyan, Lianna and Lovett, Shachar and Shirley, Morgan},
  title =	{{The Log-Rank Conjecture: New Equivalent Formulations}},
  booktitle =	{41st Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2026)},
  pages =	{7:1--7:9},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-437-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{383},
  editor =	{Moshkovitz, Dana},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2026.7},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-270495},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2026.7},
  annote =	{Keywords: cross-intersecting set systems, Log-rank conjecture, monochromatic rectangle, partition number}
}
Document
Multilinear Algebraic Branching Programs and the Min-Partition Rank Method

Authors: Théo Borém Fabris, Nutan Limaye, Srikanth Srinivasan, and Amir Yehudayoff

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 383, 41st Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2026)


Abstract
It is a long-standing open problem in algebraic complexity to prove lower bounds against multilinear algebraic branching programs (mlABPs), however the best lower bounds are still quadratic (Alon, Kumar and Volk (Combinatorica 2020)). At the same time, it remains a possibility that the "min-partition rank" method introduced by Raz (Theory Comput. 2006), which is used to prove all known multilinear lower bounds, can also be used to prove superpolynomial lower bounds on the size of mlABPs. In this paper, we analyze the potential of the min-partition rank method to prove lower bounds on the size of mlABPs, and show the following results: 1) We relate this method to a purely combinatorial question regarding the minimum size of set systems whose chains satisfy a discrepancy condition. In the case of set-multilinear ABPs, this combinatorial measure characterizes the best lower bound that can be achieved via the min-partition rank method. 2) We prove a non-trivial upper bound on the size of a set system satisfying this combinatorial property. Together with our construction of full-rank mlABPs from set systems, this recovers a superpolynomial separation between mlABPs and multilinear formulas (Dvir, Malod, Perifel and Yehudayoff (STOC 2012)) via a conceptually different proof. 3) The property we study extends combinatorial notions of "balancing sets" considered in previous works, for which near-tight bounds are known via intervals families. We show that any intervals set system is very far from satisfying our property. This showcases how our methods capture combinatorial structures that evade previous techniques, and also allows us to improve and generalize known lower bounds for sum of ordered set-multilinear ABPs (Chatterjee, Kush, Saraf, Shpilka (CCC 2024)). These results build a bridge between algebraic complexity theory and the behavior of random walks. Our upper bound uses the fact that, with noticeable probability, a random walk of length n on the integers returns to its starting point at least once every n/log n steps (Csáki, Erdős, and Révész (PTRF 1985)), while, for our lower bound, we prove that two independent random walks are "far" from each other in discrete Fréchet distance.

Cite as

Théo Borém Fabris, Nutan Limaye, Srikanth Srinivasan, and Amir Yehudayoff. Multilinear Algebraic Branching Programs and the Min-Partition Rank Method. In 41st Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 383, pp. 22:1-22:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{fabris_et_al:LIPIcs.CCC.2026.22,
  author =	{Fabris, Th\'{e}o Bor\'{e}m and Limaye, Nutan and Srinivasan, Srikanth and Yehudayoff, Amir},
  title =	{{Multilinear Algebraic Branching Programs and the Min-Partition Rank Method}},
  booktitle =	{41st Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2026)},
  pages =	{22:1--22:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-437-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{383},
  editor =	{Moshkovitz, Dana},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2026.22},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-270642},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2026.22},
  annote =	{Keywords: Algebraic branching programs, Multilinear computations, Rank methods}
}
Document
Track A: Algorithms, Complexity and Games
Spiky Rank and Its Applications to Rigidity and Circuits

Authors: Lianna Hambardzumyan, Konstantin Myasnikov, Artur Riazanov, Morgan Shirley, and Adi Shraibman

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 374, 53rd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2026)


Abstract
We introduce spiky rank, a new matrix parameter that enhances blocky rank by combining the combinatorial structure of the latter with linear-algebraic flexibility. A spiky matrix is block-structured with diagonal blocks that are arbitrary rank-one matrices, and the spiky rank of a matrix is the minimum number of such matrices required to express it as a sum. This measure extends blocky rank to real matrices and is more robust for problems with both combinatorial and algebraic character. Our conceptual contribution is as follows: we propose spiky rank as a well-behaved candidate matrix complexity measure and demonstrate its potential through applications. We show that large spiky rank implies high matrix rigidity, and that spiky rank lower bounds yield lower bounds for depth-2 ReLU circuits, the basic building blocks of neural networks. On the technical side, we establish tight bounds for random matrices and develop a framework for explicit lower bounds, applying it to Hamming distance matrices and spectral expanders. Finally, we relate spiky rank to other matrix parameters, including blocky rank, sparsity, and the γ₂-norm.

Cite as

Lianna Hambardzumyan, Konstantin Myasnikov, Artur Riazanov, Morgan Shirley, and Adi Shraibman. Spiky Rank and Its Applications to Rigidity and Circuits. In 53rd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 374, pp. 106:1-106:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{hambardzumyan_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.106,
  author =	{Hambardzumyan, Lianna and Myasnikov, Konstantin and Riazanov, Artur and Shirley, Morgan and Shraibman, Adi},
  title =	{{Spiky Rank and Its Applications to Rigidity and Circuits}},
  booktitle =	{53rd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2026)},
  pages =	{106:1--106:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-428-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{374},
  editor =	{Bhattacharya, Sayan and Nanongkai, Danupon and Benedikt, Michael and Puppis, Gabriele},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.106},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-264954},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.106},
  annote =	{Keywords: blocky rank, matrix rigidity, ReLU circuits, spiky rank}
}
Document
Unit Interval Selection in Random Order Streams

Authors: Cezar-Mihail Alexandru, Adithya Diddapur, Magnús M. Halldórsson, Christian Konrad, and Kheeran K. Naidu

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


Abstract
We consider the Unit Interval Selection problem in the one-pass random order streaming model. In this setting, an algorithm is presented with a sequence of n unit-length intervals on the line that arrive in uniform random order, one at a time, and the objective is to output (an approximation of) a largest set of disjoint intervals using space linear in the size of an optimal solution. Previous work only considered adversarially ordered streams and established that, within these space constraints, a (2/3)-approximation can be achieved in such streams, and this is best possible, in that going beyond such an approximation factor requires space Ω(n) [Emek et al., TALG'16]. In this work, we show that an improved expected approximation factor can be achieved if the input stream is in uniform random order, where the expectation is taken over the stream order. More specifically, we give a one-pass streaming algorithm with expected approximation factor 0.7401 that uses space O(|OPT|), where OPT denotes an optimal solution. We also show that random order algorithms with expected approximation factor above 8/9 require space Ω(n), and algorithms that compute a better than 2/3-approximation with probability above 2/3 also require Ω(n) space. On a technical level, we design an algorithm for the restricted domain [0, Δ), for some constant Δ, and use standard techniques to obtain an algorithm for unrestricted domains. For the restricted domain [0, Δ), we run O(Δ) recursive instances of our algorithm, with each instance targeting the situation where a specific interval of an optimal solution arrives first. We establish the interesting property of our algorithm that it performs worst when the input stream consists solely of a set of independent intervals. It then remains to analyse the algorithm on these simple instances. Our lower bound is proved via communication complexity arguments, similar in spirit to the robust communication lower bounds established by [Chakrabarti et al., Theory Comput. 2016].

Cite as

Cezar-Mihail Alexandru, Adithya Diddapur, Magnús M. Halldórsson, Christian Konrad, and Kheeran K. Naidu. Unit Interval Selection in Random Order Streams. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 4:1-4:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{alexandru_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.4,
  author =	{Alexandru, Cezar-Mihail and Diddapur, Adithya and Halld\'{o}rsson, Magn\'{u}s M. and Konrad, Christian and Naidu, Kheeran K.},
  title =	{{Unit Interval Selection in Random Order Streams}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{4:1--4:20},
  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.2026.4},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-254933},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.4},
  annote =	{Keywords: Random order streaming algorithms, unit interval selection}
}
Document
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
Simplicial Covering Dimension of Extremal Concept Classes

Authors: Ari Blondal, Hamed Hatami, Pooya Hatami, Chavdar Lalov, and Sivan Tretiak

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


Abstract
Dimension theory is a branch of topology concerned with defining and analyzing dimensions of geometric and topological spaces in purely topological terms. In this work, we adapt the classical notion of topological dimension (Lebesgue covering) to binary concept classes. The topological space naturally associated with a concept class is its space of realizable distributions. The loss function and the class itself induce a simplicial structure on this space, with respect to which we define a simplicial covering dimension. We prove that for finite concept classes, this simplicial covering dimension exactly characterizes the list replicability number (equivalently, global stability) in PAC learning. This connection allows us to apply tools from classical dimension theory to compute the exact list replicability number of the broad family of extremal concept classes.

Cite as

Ari Blondal, Hamed Hatami, Pooya Hatami, Chavdar Lalov, and Sivan Tretiak. Simplicial Covering Dimension of Extremal Concept Classes. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 22:1-22:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{blondal_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.22,
  author =	{Blondal, Ari and Hatami, Hamed and Hatami, Pooya and Lalov, Chavdar and Tretiak, Sivan},
  title =	{{Simplicial Covering Dimension of Extremal Concept Classes}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{22:1--22:24},
  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.2026.22},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253094},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.22},
  annote =	{Keywords: PAC Learning, Extremal Concept Classes, Replicability, List Replicability, Topology, Geometry}
}
Document
Multi-Quadratic Sum-Of-Squares Lower Bounds Imply VNC ¹ ≠ VNP

Authors: Benjamin Rossman and Davidson Zhu

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


Abstract
The sum-of-squares (SoS) complexity of a d-multiquadratic polynomial f (quadratic in each of d blocks of n variables) is the minimum s such that f = ∑_{i = 1}^s g_i² with each g_i d-multilinear. In the case d = 2, Hrubeš, Wigderson and Yehudayoff [Hrubeš et al., 2011] showed that an n^{1+Ω(1)} lower bound on the SoS complexity of explicit biquadratic polynomials implies an exponential lower bound for non-commutative arithmetic circuits. In this paper, we establish an analogous connection between general multiquadratic sum-of-squares and commutative arithmetic formulas. Specifically, we show that an n^{d-o(log d)} lower bound on the SoS complexity of explicit d-multiquadratic polynomials, for any d = d(n) with ω(1) ≤ d(n) ≤ O((log n)/(log log n)), would separate the algebraic complexity classes VNC¹ and VNP.

Cite as

Benjamin Rossman and Davidson Zhu. Multi-Quadratic Sum-Of-Squares Lower Bounds Imply VNC ¹ ≠ VNP. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 113:1-113:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{rossman_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.113,
  author =	{Rossman, Benjamin and Zhu, Davidson},
  title =	{{Multi-Quadratic Sum-Of-Squares Lower Bounds Imply VNC ¹ ≠ VNP}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{113:1--113:22},
  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.2026.113},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-254006},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.113},
  annote =	{Keywords: sum-of-squares, arithmetic formulas}
}
Document
Optimal Two-Round Communication Lower Bound for Graph Connectivity via Pointer Chasing

Authors: Jaikumar Radhakrishnan, Chaitanya Reddy, and Rakesh Venkat

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


Abstract
We consider the communication complexity of the graph connectivity problem, where the edges of an n-vertex undirected graph G are distributed between two parties Alice and Bob, who are then required to communicate to determine if G is connected. We show that in any randomized protocol with two-rounds of communication, Alice and Bob must exchange Ω(nlog n) bits; such a lower bound for one-round protocols was shown by Sun and Woodruff (APPROX/RANDOM 2015). A one-round deterministic protocol, where Alice sends O(n log n) bits and Bob determines the answer, was observed by Hajnal, Maass and Turan (STOC 1988); they also showed a matching lower bound of Ω(n log n) bits for deterministic protocols with unbounded rounds of communication. For randomized protocols, a reduction from the set disjointness problem due to Babai, Frankl and Simon (FOCS 1986) implies a randomized lower bound of Ω(n) even with unbounded rounds of communication. Whether this lower bound can be improved to Ω(n log n) has been an outstanding open question, whose algorithmic implications were recently emphasized by Apers, Efron, Gawrychowski, Lee, Mukopadhyay and Nanongkai (FOCS 2022). Our lower bound for randomized two-round protocols is based on a reduction from a restricted version of the two-player pointer chasing problem originally studied by Papadimitriou and Sipser (JCSS 1984). Using this reduction, we show an ω(n) lower bounds on graph connectivity for any constant number of rounds by extending deterministic lower bounds shown by Ponzio, Radhakrishnan and Venkatesh (JCSS 2001) to the randomized setting.

Cite as

Jaikumar Radhakrishnan, Chaitanya Reddy, and Rakesh Venkat. Optimal Two-Round Communication Lower Bound for Graph Connectivity via Pointer Chasing. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 110:1-110:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{radhakrishnan_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.110,
  author =	{Radhakrishnan, Jaikumar and Reddy, Chaitanya and Venkat, Rakesh},
  title =	{{Optimal Two-Round Communication Lower Bound for Graph Connectivity via Pointer Chasing}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{110:1--110:20},
  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.2026.110},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253974},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.110},
  annote =	{Keywords: Communication complexity}
}
Document
Interactive Proofs for Distribution Testing with Conditional Oracles

Authors: Ari Biswas, Mark Bun, Clément L. Canonne, and Satchit Sivakumar

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


Abstract
We revisit the framework of interactive proofs for distribution testing, first introduced by Chiesa and Gur (ITCS 2018), which has recently experienced a surge in interest, accompanied by notable progress (e.g., Herman and Rothblum, STOC 2022, FOCS 2023; Herman, RANDOM 2024). In this model, a data-poor verifier determines whether a probability distribution has a property of interest by interacting with an all-powerful, data-rich but untrusted prover bent on convincing them that it has the property. While prior work gave sample-, time-, and communication-efficient protocols for testing and estimating a range of distribution properties, they all suffer from an inherent issue: for most interesting properties of distributions over a domain of size N, the verifier must draw at least Ω(√N) samples of its own. While sublinear in N, this is still prohibitive for large domains encountered in practice. In this work, we circumvent this limitation by augmenting the verifier with the ability to perform an exponentially smaller number of more powerful (but reasonable) pairwise conditional queries, effectively enabling them to perform "local comparison checks" of the prover’s claims. We systematically investigate the landscape of interactive proofs in this new setting, giving poly-logarithmic query and sample protocols for (tolerantly) testing all label-invariant properties, thus demonstrating exponential savings without compromising on communication, for this large and fundamental class of testing tasks.

Cite as

Ari Biswas, Mark Bun, Clément L. Canonne, and Satchit Sivakumar. Interactive Proofs for Distribution Testing with Conditional Oracles. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 18:1-18:13, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{biswas_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.18,
  author =	{Biswas, Ari and Bun, Mark and Canonne, Cl\'{e}ment L. and Sivakumar, Satchit},
  title =	{{Interactive Proofs for Distribution Testing with Conditional Oracles}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{18:1--18:13},
  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.2026.18},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253059},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.18},
  annote =	{Keywords: Distribution Testing, Interactive Proofs}
}
Document
AC⁰[p]-Frege Cannot Efficiently Prove That Constant-Depth Algebraic Circuit Lower Bounds Are Hard

Authors: Jiaqi Lu, Rahul Santhanam, and Iddo Tzameret

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


Abstract
We study whether lower bounds against constant-depth algebraic circuits computing the Permanent over finite fields (Limaye-Srinivasan-Tavenas [J. ACM, 2025] and Forbes [CCC'24]) are hard to prove in certain proof systems. We focus on a DNF formula that expresses that such lower bounds are hard for constant-depth algebraic proofs. Using an adaptation of the diagonalization framework of Santhanam and Tzameret (SIAM J. Comput., 2025), we show unconditionally that this family of DNF formulas does not admit polynomial-size propositional AC⁰[p]-Frege proofs, infinitely often. This rules out the possibility that the DNF family is easy, and establishes that its status is either that of a hard tautology for AC⁰[p]-Frege or else unprovable (i.e., not a tautology). While it remains open whether the DNFs in question are tautologies, we provide evidence in this direction. In particular, under the plausible assumption that certain (weak) properties of multilinear algebra - specifically, those involving tensor rank - do not admit short constant-depth algebraic proofs, the DNFs are tautologies. We also observe that several weaker variants of the DNF formula are provably tautologies, and we show that the question of whether the DNFs are tautologies connects to conjectures of Razborov (ICALP'96) and Krajíček (J. Symb. Log., 2004). Additionally, our result has the following special features: ii) Existential depth amplification: the DNF formula considered is parameterised by a constant depth d bounding the depth of the algebraic proofs. We show that there exists some fixed depth d such that if there are no small depth-d algebraic proofs of certain circuit lower bounds for the Permanent, then there are no such small algebraic proofs in any constant depth. iii) Necessity: We show that our result is a necessary step towards establishing lower bounds against constant-depth algebraic proofs, and more generally against any sufficiently strong proof system. In particular, showing there are no short proofs for our DNF formulas, obtained by replacing "constant-depth algebraic circuits" with any "reasonable" algebraic circuit class C, is necessary in order to prove any super-polynomial lower bounds against algebraic proofs operating with circuits from C.

Cite as

Jiaqi Lu, Rahul Santhanam, and Iddo Tzameret. AC⁰[p]-Frege Cannot Efficiently Prove That Constant-Depth Algebraic Circuit Lower Bounds Are Hard. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 99:1-99:25, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{lu_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.99,
  author =	{Lu, Jiaqi and Santhanam, Rahul and Tzameret, Iddo},
  title =	{{AC⁰\lbrackp\rbrack-Frege Cannot Efficiently Prove That Constant-Depth Algebraic Circuit Lower Bounds Are Hard}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{99:1--99:25},
  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.2026.99},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253865},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.99},
  annote =	{Keywords: Complexity, Lower bounds, Proof complexity, AC⁰\lbrackp\rbrack-Frege, Diagonalisation, Algebraic complexity}
}
Document
On Closure Properties of Read-Once Oblivious Algebraic Branching Programs

Authors: Robert Andrews, Jules Armand, Prateek Dwivedi, Magnus Rahbek Dalgaard Hansen, Nutan Limaye, Srikanth Srinivasan, and Sébastien Tavenas

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


Abstract
We investigate the closure properties of read-once oblivious Algebraic Branching Programs (roABPs) under various natural algebraic operations and prove the following. - Non-closure under factoring: There is a sequence of explicit polynomials (f_n(x₁,…, x_n))_n that have poly(n)-sized roABPs such that some irreducible factor of f_n requires roABPs of superpolynomial size in any order. - Non-closure under powering: There is a sequence of polynomials (f_n(x₁,…, x_n))_n with poly(n)-sized roABPs such that any super-constant power of f_n does not have roABPs of polynomial size in any order (and f_nⁿ requires exponential size in any order). - Non-closure under symmetric operations: There are symmetric polynomials (f_n(e₁,…, e_n))_n that have roABPs of polynomial size such that f_n(x₁,…, x_n) do not have roABPs of subexponential size. (Here, e₁,…, e_n denote the elementary symmetric polynomials in n variables.) These results should be viewed in light of known results on models such as algebraic circuits, (general) algebraic branching programs, formulas and constant-depth circuits, all of which are known to be closed under these operations. To prove non-closure under factoring, we construct hard polynomials based on expander graphs using gadgets that lift their hardness from sparse polynomials to roABPs. For symmetric compositions, we show that the circulant polynomial requires roABPs of exponential size in every variable order.

Cite as

Robert Andrews, Jules Armand, Prateek Dwivedi, Magnus Rahbek Dalgaard Hansen, Nutan Limaye, Srikanth Srinivasan, and Sébastien Tavenas. On Closure Properties of Read-Once Oblivious Algebraic Branching Programs. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 9:1-9:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{andrews_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.9,
  author =	{Andrews, Robert and Armand, Jules and Dwivedi, Prateek and Hansen, Magnus Rahbek Dalgaard and Limaye, Nutan and Srinivasan, Srikanth and Tavenas, S\'{e}bastien},
  title =	{{On Closure Properties of Read-Once Oblivious Algebraic Branching Programs}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{9:1--9:21},
  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.2026.9},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-252964},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.9},
  annote =	{Keywords: Factoring, Closure Properties, Sparsity Bounds, Symmetric Polynomials, roABP, Expander Graphs}
}
Document
Communication Complexity of Equality and Error-Correcting Codes

Authors: Dale Jacobs, John Jeang, Vladimir Podolskii, Morgan Prior, and Ilya Volkovich

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


Abstract
We study the public-coin randomized communication complexity of the equality function. The communication complexity of this function is known to be low when the error probability is constant and the players have access to many random bits. The complexity grows, however, if the allowed error probability and the amount of randomness are restricted. We show that public-coin randomized protocols for equality and error-correcting codes are essentially the same object. That is, given a protocol for equality, we can construct a code, and vice versa. We substantially extend the protocol-implies-code direction: any protocol computing a function with a large fooling set can be converted into an error-correcting code. As a corollary, we show that among functions with a fooling set of size s, equality on log s bits has the least randomized communication complexity, regardless of the restrictions on the error probability and the amount of randomness. Finally, we use the connection to error-correcting codes to analyze the randomized communication complexity of equality for varying restrictions on the error probability and the amount of randomness. In most cases, we provide tight bounds. We pinpoint the setting in which tight bounds are still unknown.

Cite as

Dale Jacobs, John Jeang, Vladimir Podolskii, Morgan Prior, and Ilya Volkovich. Communication Complexity of Equality and Error-Correcting Codes. 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. 37:1-37:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{jacobs_et_al:LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.37,
  author =	{Jacobs, Dale and Jeang, John and Podolskii, Vladimir and Prior, Morgan and Volkovich, Ilya},
  title =	{{Communication Complexity of Equality and Error-Correcting Codes}},
  booktitle =	{45th IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2025)},
  pages =	{37:1--37:19},
  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.2025.37},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-251175},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.37},
  annote =	{Keywords: communication complexity, randomized communication complexity, error-correcting codes}
}
Document
The Algebraic Cost of a Boolean Sum

Authors: Ian Orzel, Srikanth Srinivasan, Sébastien Tavenas, and Amir Yehudayoff

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


Abstract
It is a well-known fact that the permanent polynomial is complete for the complexity class VNP, and it is largely suspected that the determinant does not share this property, despite its similar expression. We study the question of why the VNP-completeness proof of the permanent fails for the determinant. We isolate three fundamental properties that are sufficient to prove a polynomial sequence is VNP-hard, of which two are shared by both the permanent and the determinant. We proceed to show that the permanent satisfies the third property, which we refer to as the "cost of a boolean sum", while the determinant does not, showcasing the fundamental difference between the polynomial families. We further note that this differentiation also applies in the border complexity setting and that our results apply for counting complexity.

Cite as

Ian Orzel, Srikanth Srinivasan, Sébastien Tavenas, and Amir Yehudayoff. The Algebraic Cost of a Boolean Sum. 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. 47:1-47:13, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{orzel_et_al:LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.47,
  author =	{Orzel, Ian and Srinivasan, Srikanth and Tavenas, S\'{e}bastien and Yehudayoff, Amir},
  title =	{{The Algebraic Cost of a Boolean Sum}},
  booktitle =	{45th IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2025)},
  pages =	{47:1--47:13},
  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.2025.47},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-251271},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.47},
  annote =	{Keywords: Algebraic Complexity, Computational Complexity, Permanent, Determinant}
}
Document
Distributed Complexity of P_k-Freeness: Decision and Certification

Authors: Masayuki Miyamoto

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


Abstract
The class of graphs that do not contain a path on k nodes as an induced subgraph (P_k-free graphs) has rich applications in the theory of graph algorithms. This paper explores the problem of deciding P_k-freeness from the viewpoint of distributed computing. For specific small values of k, we present the first CONGEST algorithms specified for P_k-freeness, utilizing structural properties of P_k-free graphs in a novel way. Specifically, we show that P_k-freeness can be decided in Õ(1) rounds for k = 4 in the broadcast CONGEST model, and in Õ(n) rounds for k = 5 in the CONGEST model, where n is the number of nodes in the network and Õ(⋅) hides a polylog(n) factor. The main technical contribution is a novel technique used in our algorithm for P₅-freeness to distinguish induced 5-paths from non-induced ones, which is potentially applicable to other induced subgraphs. This technique also enables the construction of a local certification of P₅-freeness with certificates of size Õ(n). This improves Õ(n^{3/2}) by Bousquet and Zeitoun (TCS 2025), and is nearly optimal, given our Ω(n^{1-o(1)}) lower bound on certificate size. For general k, we establish the first CONGEST lower bound, which is of the form n^{2-1/Θ(k)}. The n^{1/Θ(k)} factor is unavoidable, in view of the O(n^{2-2/(3k+2)}) upper bound by Eden et al. (Dist. Comp. 2022). Additionally, our approach yields the first superlinear lower bound on certificate size for local certification. This partially answers the conjecture on the optimal certificate size of P_k-freeness, asked by Bousquet et al. (arXiv:2402.12148). Finally, we propose a novel variant of the problem called ordered P_k detection. We show that in the CONGEST model, the round complexity of ordered P_k detection is Ω̃(n) for k ≥ 5, and in contrast, proving any nontrivial lower bound for ordered P₃ detection implies a strong circuit lower bound. As a byproduct, we establish a circuit-complexity barrier for Ω(n^{1/2+ε}) quantum CONGEST lower bounds for induced 4-cycle detection. This is complemented by our Õ(n^{3/4}) quantum upper bound, which surpasses the classical Ω̃(n) lower bound by Le Gall and Miyamoto (ISAAC 2021).

Cite as

Masayuki Miyamoto. Distributed Complexity of P_k-Freeness: Decision and Certification. In 36th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 359, pp. 51:1-51:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{miyamoto:LIPIcs.ISAAC.2025.51,
  author =	{Miyamoto, Masayuki},
  title =	{{Distributed Complexity of P\underlinek-Freeness: Decision and Certification}},
  booktitle =	{36th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2025)},
  pages =	{51:1--51:21},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-408-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{359},
  editor =	{Chen, Ho-Lin and Hon, Wing-Kai and Tsai, Meng-Tsung},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2025.51},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-249597},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2025.51},
  annote =	{Keywords: subgraph detection, CONGEST model, local certification}
}
Document
Improved Parallel Derandomization via Finite Automata with Applications

Authors: Jeff Giliberti and David G. Harris

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 351, 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)


Abstract
A central approach to algorithmic derandomization is the construction of small-support probability distributions that "fool” randomized algorithms, often enabling efficient parallel (NC) implementations. An abstraction of this idea is fooling polynomial-space statistical tests computed via finite automata [Sivakumar STOC'02]; this encompasses a wide range of properties including k-wise independence and sums of random variables. We present new parallel algorithms to fool finite-state automata, with significantly reduced processor complexity. Briefly, our approach is to iteratively sparsify distributions using a work-efficient lattice rounding routine and maintain accuracy by tracking an aggregate weighted error that is determined by the Lipschitz value of the statistical tests being fooled. We illustrate with improved applications to the Gale-Berlekamp Switching Game and to approximate MAX-CUT via SDP rounding. These involve further several optimizations, such as the truncation of the state space of the automata and FFT-based convolutions to compute transition probabilities efficiently.

Cite as

Jeff Giliberti and David G. Harris. Improved Parallel Derandomization via Finite Automata with Applications. In 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 351, pp. 70:1-70:17, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{giliberti_et_al:LIPIcs.ESA.2025.70,
  author =	{Giliberti, Jeff and Harris, David G.},
  title =	{{Improved Parallel Derandomization via Finite Automata with Applications}},
  booktitle =	{33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)},
  pages =	{70:1--70:17},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-395-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{351},
  editor =	{Benoit, Anne and Kaplan, Haim and Wild, Sebastian and Herman, Grzegorz},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.70},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-245381},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.70},
  annote =	{Keywords: Parallel Algorithms, Derandomization, MAX-CUT, Gale-Berlekamp Switching Game}
}
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