26 Search Results for "de Rezende, Susanna F."


Document
Track A: Algorithms, Complexity and Games
Average-Case Hardness of Binary-Encoded Clique in Proof and Communication Complexity

Authors: Susanna F. de Rezende, David Engström, Yassine Ghannane, Duri Andrea Janett, and Artur Riazanov

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


Abstract
We study the average-case hardness of establishing that a graph does not have a large clique in both proof and communication complexity. We show exponential lower bounds on the length of cutting planes and bounded-depth resolution over parities refutations of the binary encoding of clique formulas on randomly sampled dense graphs. Moreover, we show that the randomized communication complexity of finding a falsified clause in these formulas is polynomial.

Cite as

Susanna F. de Rezende, David Engström, Yassine Ghannane, Duri Andrea Janett, and Artur Riazanov. Average-Case Hardness of Binary-Encoded Clique in Proof and Communication Complexity. In 53rd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 374, pp. 151:1-151:23, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{derezende_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.151,
  author =	{de Rezende, Susanna F. and Engstr\"{o}m, David and Ghannane, Yassine and Janett, Duri Andrea and Riazanov, Artur},
  title =	{{Average-Case Hardness of Binary-Encoded Clique in Proof and Communication Complexity}},
  booktitle =	{53rd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2026)},
  pages =	{151:1--151:23},
  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.2026.151},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-265407},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.151},
  annote =	{Keywords: proof complexity, communication complexity, cutting planes, bounded-depth resolution over parities, clique problem, average-case hardness, binary encoding}
}
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
Supercritical Tradeoff Between Size and Depth for Resolution over Parities

Authors: Dmitry Itsykson and Alexander Knop

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


Abstract
Alekseev and Itsykson (STOC 2025) proved the existence of an unsatisfiable CNF formula such that any resolution over parities (Res(⊕)) refutation must either have exponential size (in the formula size) or superlinear depth (in the number of variables). In this paper, we extend this result by constructing a formula with the same hardness properties, but which additionally admits a resolution refutation of quasi-polynomial size. This establishes a supercritical tradeoff between size and depth for resolution over parities. The proof builds on the framework of Alekseev and Itsykson and relies on a lifting argument applied to the supercritical tradeoff between width and depth in resolution, proposed by Buss and Thapen (IPL 2026).

Cite as

Dmitry Itsykson and Alexander Knop. Supercritical Tradeoff Between Size and Depth for Resolution over Parities. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 81:1-81:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{itsykson_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.81,
  author =	{Itsykson, Dmitry and Knop, Alexander},
  title =	{{Supercritical Tradeoff Between Size and Depth for Resolution over Parities}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{81:1--81:20},
  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.2026.81},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253680},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.81},
  annote =	{Keywords: lifting theorems, resolution depth, resolution over parities, resolution width, supercritical tradeoff}
}
Document
Total Search Problems in ZPP

Authors: Noah Fleming, Stefan Grosser, Siddhartha Jain, Jiawei Li, Hanlin Ren, Morgan Shirley, and Weiqiang Yuan

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


Abstract
We initiate a systematic study of TFZPP, the class of total NP search problems solvable by polynomial time randomized algorithms. TFZPP contains a variety of important search problems such as Bertrand-Chebyshev (finding a prime between N and 2N), refuter problems for many circuit lower bounds, and Lossy-Code. The Lossy-Code problem has found prominence due to its fundamental connections to derandomization, catalytic computing, and the metamathematics of complexity theory, among other areas. While TFZPP collapses to FP under standard derandomization assumptions in the white-box setting, we are able to separate TFZPP from the major TFNP subclasses in the black-box setting. In fact, we are able to separate it from every uniform TFNP class assuming that NP is not in quasi-polynomial time. To do so, we extend the connection between proof complexity and black-box TFNP to randomized proof systems and randomized reductions. Next, we turn to developing a taxonomy of TFZPP problems. We highlight a problem called Nephew, originating from an infinity axiom in set theory. We show that Nephew is in PWPP∩ TFZPP and conjecture that it is not reducible to Lossy-Code. Intriguingly, except for some artificial examples, most other black-box TFZPP problems that we are aware of reduce to Lossy-Code: - We define a problem called Empty-Child capturing finding a leaf in a rooted (binary) tree, and show that this problem is equivalent to Lossy-Code. We also show that a variant of Empty-Child with "heights" is complete for the intersection of SOPL and Lossy-Code. - We strengthen Lossy-Code with several combinatorial inequalities such as the AM-GM inequality. Somewhat surprisingly, we show the resulting new problems are still reducible to Lossy-Code. A technical highlight of this result is that they are proved by formalizations in bounded arithmetic, specifically in Jeřábek’s theory APC₁ (JSL 2007). - Finally, we show that the Dense-Linear-Ordering problem reduces to Lossy-Code.

Cite as

Noah Fleming, Stefan Grosser, Siddhartha Jain, Jiawei Li, Hanlin Ren, Morgan Shirley, and Weiqiang Yuan. Total Search Problems in ZPP. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 60:1-60:26, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{fleming_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.60,
  author =	{Fleming, Noah and Grosser, Stefan and Jain, Siddhartha and Li, Jiawei and Ren, Hanlin and Shirley, Morgan and Yuan, Weiqiang},
  title =	{{Total Search Problems in ZPP}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{60:1--60:26},
  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.2026.60},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253473},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.60},
  annote =	{Keywords: TFNP, lossy code, randomized proof systems, query complexity}
}
Document
Hardness of Range Avoidance and Proof Complexity Generators from Demi-Bits

Authors: Hanlin Ren, Yichuan Wang, and Yan Zhong

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


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

Cite as

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


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

Authors: Artur Riazanov, Anastasia Sofronova, Dmitry Sokolov, and Weiqiang Yuan

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


Abstract
We show that for a randomly sampled unsatisfiable O(log n)-CNF over n variables the randomized two-party communication cost of finding a clause falsified by the given variable assignment is linear in n.

Cite as

Artur Riazanov, Anastasia Sofronova, Dmitry Sokolov, and Weiqiang Yuan. Searching for Falsified Clause in Random (log{n})-CNFs Is Hard for Randomized Communication. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 64:1-64:17, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{riazanov_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.64,
  author =	{Riazanov, Artur and Sofronova, Anastasia and Sokolov, Dmitry and Yuan, Weiqiang},
  title =	{{Searching for Falsified Clause in Random (log\{n\})-CNFs Is Hard for Randomized Communication}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{64:1--64:17},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-397-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{353},
  editor =	{Ene, Alina and Chattopadhyay, Eshan},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.64},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-244306},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.64},
  annote =	{Keywords: communication complexity, proof complexity, random CNF}
}
Document
Supercritical Size-Width Tree-Like Resolution Trade-Offs for Graph Isomorphism

Authors: Christoph Berkholz, Moritz Lichter, and Harry Vinall-Smeeth

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


Abstract
We study the refutation complexity of graph isomorphism in the tree-like resolution calculus. Torán and Wörz [Jacobo Torán and Florian Wörz, 2023] showed that there is a resolution refutation of narrow width k for two graphs if and only if they can be distinguished in (k+1)-variable first-order logic (FO^{k+1}). While DAG-like narrow width k resolution refutations have size at most n^k, tree-like refutations may be much larger. We show that there are graphs of order n, whose isomorphism can be refuted in narrow width k but only in tree-like size 2^{Ω(n^{k/2})}. This is a supercritical trade-off where bounding one parameter (the narrow width) causes the other parameter (the size) to grow above its worst case. The size lower bound is super-exponential in the formula size and improves a related supercritical trade-off by Razborov [Alexander A. Razborov, 2016]. To prove our result, we develop a new variant of the k-pebble EF-game for FO^k to reason about tree-like refutation size in a similar way as the Prover-Delayer games in proof complexity. We analyze this game on the compressed CFI graphs introduced by Grohe, Lichter, Neuen, and Schweitzer [Martin Grohe et al., 2023]. Using a recent improved robust compressed CFI construction of de Rezende, Fleming, Janett, Nordström, and Pang [Susanna F. de Rezende et al., 2024], we obtain a similar bound for width k (instead of the stronger but less common narrow width) and make the result more robust.

Cite as

Christoph Berkholz, Moritz Lichter, and Harry Vinall-Smeeth. Supercritical Size-Width Tree-Like Resolution Trade-Offs for Graph Isomorphism. In 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 345, pp. 18:1-18:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{berkholz_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.18,
  author =	{Berkholz, Christoph and Lichter, Moritz and Vinall-Smeeth, Harry},
  title =	{{Supercritical Size-Width Tree-Like Resolution Trade-Offs for Graph Isomorphism}},
  booktitle =	{50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)},
  pages =	{18:1--18:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-388-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{345},
  editor =	{Gawrychowski, Pawe{\l} and Mazowiecki, Filip and Skrzypczak, Micha{\l}},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.18},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-241253},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.18},
  annote =	{Keywords: Proof complexity, Resolution, Width, Tree-like size, Supercritical trade-off, Lower bound, Finite model theory, CFI graphs}
}
Document
A Lower Bound for k-DNF Resolution on Random CNF Formulas via Expansion

Authors: Anastasia Sofronova and Dmitry Sokolov

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 339, 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)


Abstract
Random Δ-CNF formulas are one of the few candidates that are expected to be hard for proof systems and SAT algotirhms. Assume we sample m clauses over n variables. Here, the main complexity parameter is clause density, χ := m/n. For a fixed Δ, there exists a satisfiability threshold c_Δ such that for χ > c_Δ a formula is unsatisfiable with high probability. and for χ < c_Δ it is satisfiable with high probability. Near satisfiability threshold, there are various lower bounds for algorithms and proof systems [Eli Ben-Sasson, 2001; Eli Ben-Sasson and Russell Impagliazzo, 1999; Michael Alekhnovich and Alexander A. Razborov, 2003; Dima Grigoriev, 2001; Grant Schoenebeck, 2008; Pavel Hrubes and Pavel Pudlák, 2017; Noah Fleming et al., 2017; Dmitry Sokolov, 2024], and for high-density regimes, there exist upper bounds [Uriel Feige et al., 2006; Sebastian Müller and Iddo Tzameret, 2014; Jackson Abascal et al., 2021; Venkatesan Guruswami et al., 2022]. One of the frontiers in the direction of proving lower bounds on these formulas is the k-DNF Resolution proof system (aka Res(k)). There are several known results for k = 𝒪(√{log n}/{log log n}}) [Nathan Segerlind et al., 2004; Michael Alekhnovich, 2011], that are applicable only for density regime near the threshold. In this paper, we show the first Res(k) lower bound that is applicable in higher-density regimes. Our results work for slightly larger k = 𝒪(√{log n}).

Cite as

Anastasia Sofronova and Dmitry Sokolov. A Lower Bound for k-DNF Resolution on Random CNF Formulas via Expansion. In 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 339, pp. 32:1-32:27, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{sofronova_et_al:LIPIcs.CCC.2025.32,
  author =	{Sofronova, Anastasia and Sokolov, Dmitry},
  title =	{{A Lower Bound for k-DNF Resolution on Random CNF Formulas via Expansion}},
  booktitle =	{40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)},
  pages =	{32:1--32:27},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-379-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{339},
  editor =	{Srinivasan, Srikanth},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.32},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-237269},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.32},
  annote =	{Keywords: proof complexity, random CNFs}
}
Document
Super-Critical Trade-Offs in Resolution over Parities via Lifting

Authors: Arkadev Chattopadhyay and Pavel Dvořák

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 339, 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)


Abstract
Razborov [Alexander A. Razborov, 2016] exhibited the following surprisingly strong trade-off phenomenon in propositional proof complexity: for a parameter k = k(n), there exists k-CNF formulas over n variables, having resolution refutations of O(k) width, but every tree-like refutation of width n^{1-ε}/k needs size exp(n^Ω(k)). We extend this result to tree-like Resolution over parities, commonly denoted by Res(⊕), with parameters essentially unchanged. To obtain our result, we extend the lifting theorem of Chattopadhyay, Mande, Sanyal and Sherif [Arkadev Chattopadhyay et al., 2023] to handle tree-like affine DAGs. We introduce additional ideas from linear algebra to handle forget nodes along long paths.

Cite as

Arkadev Chattopadhyay and Pavel Dvořák. Super-Critical Trade-Offs in Resolution over Parities via Lifting. In 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 339, pp. 24:1-24:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{chattopadhyay_et_al:LIPIcs.CCC.2025.24,
  author =	{Chattopadhyay, Arkadev and Dvo\v{r}\'{a}k, Pavel},
  title =	{{Super-Critical Trade-Offs in Resolution over Parities via Lifting}},
  booktitle =	{40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)},
  pages =	{24:1--24:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-379-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{339},
  editor =	{Srinivasan, Srikanth},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.24},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-237186},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.24},
  annote =	{Keywords: Proof complexity, Lifting, Resolution over parities}
}
Document
Hardness of Clique Approximation for Monotone Circuits

Authors: Jarosław Błasiok and Linus Meierhöfer

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 339, 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)


Abstract
We consider a problem of approximating the size of the largest clique in a graph, using a monotone circuit. Concretely, we focus on distinguishing a random Erdős–Rényi graph 𝒢_{n,p}, with p = n^{-2/(α-1)} chosen st. with high probability it does not even contain an α-clique, from a random clique on β vertices (where α ≤ β). Using the approximation method of Razborov, Alon and Boppana showed in their influential work in 1987 that as long as √{α} β < n^{1-δ}/log n, this problem requires a monotone circuit of size n^Ω(δ√α), implying a lower bound of 2^Ω̃(n^{1/3}) for the exact version of the problem Clique_k when k≈ n^{2/3}. Recently, Cavalar, Kumar, and Rossman improved their result by showing a tight lower bound n^Ω(k), in a limited range k ≤ n^{1/3}, implying a comparable 2^Ω̃(n^{1/3}) lower bound after choosing the largest admissible k. We combine the ideas of Cavalar, Kumar and Rossman with recent breakthrough results on sunflower conjecture by Alweiss, Lovett, Wu, and Zhang to show that as long as α β < n^{1-δ}/log n, any monotone circuit rejecting 𝒢_{n,p} graph while accepting a β-clique needs to have size at least n^Ω(δ²α); this implies a stronger 2^Ω̃(√n) lower bound for the unrestricted version of the problem. We complement this result with a construction of an explicit monotone circuit of size O(n^{δ² α/2}) which rejects 𝒢_{n,p}, and accepts any graph containing β-clique whenever β > n^{1-δ}. In particular, those two theorems give a precise characterization of the smallest β-clique that can be distinguished from 𝒢_{n, 1/2}: when β > n / 2^{C √{log n}}, there is a polynomial-size circuit that solves it, while for β < n / 2^ω(√{log n}) every circuit needs size n^ω(1).

Cite as

Jarosław Błasiok and Linus Meierhöfer. Hardness of Clique Approximation for Monotone Circuits. In 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 339, pp. 4:1-4:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{blasiok_et_al:LIPIcs.CCC.2025.4,
  author =	{B{\l}asiok, Jaros{\l}aw and Meierh\"{o}fer, Linus},
  title =	{{Hardness of Clique Approximation for Monotone Circuits}},
  booktitle =	{40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)},
  pages =	{4:1--4:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-379-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{339},
  editor =	{Srinivasan, Srikanth},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.4},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-236987},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.4},
  annote =	{Keywords: circuit lower bounds, monotone circuits, sunflower conjecture}
}
Document
Amortized Closure and Its Applications in Lifting for Resolution over Parities

Authors: Klim Efremenko and Dmitry Itsykson

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 339, 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)


Abstract
The notion of closure of a set of linear forms, first introduced by Efremenko, Garlik, and Itsykson [Klim Efremenko et al., 2024], has proven instrumental in proving lower bounds on the sizes of regular and bounded-depth Res(⊕) refutations [Klim Efremenko et al., 2024; Yaroslav Alekseev and Dmitry Itsykson, 2025]. In this work, we present amortized closure, an enhancement that retains the properties of original closure [Klim Efremenko et al., 2024] but offers tighter control on its growth. Specifically, adding a new linear form increases the amortized closure by at most one. We explore two applications that highlight the power of this new concept. Utilizing our newly defined amortized closure, we extend and provide a succinct and elegant proof of the recent lifting theorem by Chattopadhyay and Dvorak [Arkadev Chattopadhyay and Pavel Dvorak, 2025]. Namely we show that for an unsatisfiable CNF formula φ and a 1-stifling gadget g: {0,1}^𝓁 → {0,1}, if the lifted formula φ∘g has a tree-like Res(⊕) refutation of size 2^d and width w, then φ has a resolution refutation of depth d and width w. The original theorem by Chattopadhyay and Dvorak [Arkadev Chattopadhyay and Pavel Dvorak, 2025] applies only to the more restrictive class of strongly stifling gadgets. As a more significant application of amortized closure, we show improved lower bounds for bounded-depth Res(⊕), extending the depth beyond that of Alekseev and Itsykson [Yaroslav Alekseev and Dmitry Itsykson, 2025]. Our result establishes an exponential lower bound for depth-Ω(n log n) Res(⊕) refutations of lifted Tseitin formulas, a notable improvement over the existing depth-Ω(n log log n) Res(⊕) lower bound.

Cite as

Klim Efremenko and Dmitry Itsykson. Amortized Closure and Its Applications in Lifting for Resolution over Parities. In 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 339, pp. 8:1-8:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{efremenko_et_al:LIPIcs.CCC.2025.8,
  author =	{Efremenko, Klim and Itsykson, Dmitry},
  title =	{{Amortized Closure and Its Applications in Lifting for Resolution over Parities}},
  booktitle =	{40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)},
  pages =	{8:1--8:24},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-379-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{339},
  editor =	{Srinivasan, Srikanth},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.8},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-237023},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.8},
  annote =	{Keywords: lifting, resolution over parities, closure of linear forms, lower bounds, width, depth, size vs depth tradeoff}
}
Document
On the Automatability of Tree-Like k-DNF Resolution

Authors: Gaia Carenini and Susanna F. de Rezende

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 339, 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)


Abstract
A proof system 𝒫 is said to be automatable in time f(N) if there exists an algorithm that given as input an unsatisfiable formula F outputs a refutation of F in the proof system 𝒫 in time f(N), where N is the size of the smallest 𝒫-refutation of F plus the size of F. Atserias and Bonet (ECCC 2002), observed that tree-like k-DNF resolution is automatable in time N^{c⋅klog N} for a universal constant c. We show that, under the randomized exponential-time hypothesis (rETH), this is tight up to a O(log k)-factor in the exponent, i.e., we prove that tree-like k-DNF resolution, for k at most logarithmic in the number of variables of F, is not automatable in time N^o((k/log k)⋅log N) unless rETH is false. Our proof builds on the non-automatability results for resolution by Atserias and Müller (FOCS 2019), for algebraic proof systems by de Rezende, Göös, Nordström, Pitassi, Robere and Sokolov (STOC 2021), and for tree-like resolution by de Rezende (LAGOS 2021).

Cite as

Gaia Carenini and Susanna F. de Rezende. On the Automatability of Tree-Like k-DNF Resolution. In 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 339, pp. 14:1-14:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{carenini_et_al:LIPIcs.CCC.2025.14,
  author =	{Carenini, Gaia and de Rezende, Susanna F.},
  title =	{{On the Automatability of Tree-Like k-DNF Resolution}},
  booktitle =	{40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)},
  pages =	{14:1--14:21},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-379-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{339},
  editor =	{Srinivasan, Srikanth},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.14},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-237081},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.14},
  annote =	{Keywords: Proof Complexity, Tree-like k-DNF Resolution, Automatability}
}
Document
Lifting with Colourful Sunflowers

Authors: Susanna F. de Rezende and Marc Vinyals

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 339, 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)


Abstract
We show that a generalization of the DAG-like query-to-communication lifting theorem, when proven using sunflowers over non-binary alphabets, yields lower bounds on the monotone circuit complexity and proof complexity of natural functions and formulas that are better than previously known results obtained using the approximation method. These include an n^Ω(k) lower bound for the clique function up to k ≤ n^{1/2-ε}, and an exp(Ω(n^{1/3-ε})) lower bound for a function in P.

Cite as

Susanna F. de Rezende and Marc Vinyals. Lifting with Colourful Sunflowers. In 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 339, pp. 36:1-36:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{derezende_et_al:LIPIcs.CCC.2025.36,
  author =	{de Rezende, Susanna F. and Vinyals, Marc},
  title =	{{Lifting with Colourful Sunflowers}},
  booktitle =	{40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)},
  pages =	{36:1--36:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-379-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{339},
  editor =	{Srinivasan, Srikanth},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.36},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-237303},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.36},
  annote =	{Keywords: lifting, sunflower, clique, colouring, monotone circuit, cutting planes}
}
Document
Track A: Algorithms, Complexity and Games
On the Complexity of Hazard-Free Formulas

Authors: Leah London Arazi and Amir Shpilka

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


Abstract
This paper studies the hazard-free formula complexity of Boolean functions. Our first result shows that unate functions are the only Boolean functions for which the monotone formula complexity of the hazard-derivative equals the hazard-free formula complexity of the function itself. Consequently, they are the only functions for which the hazard-derivative approach of Ikenmeyer et al. (J. ACM, 2019) yields optimal bounds. Our second result proves that the hazard-free formula complexity of a uniformly random Boolean function is at most 2^{(1+o(1))n}. Prior to this, no better upper bound than O(3ⁿ) was known. Notably, unlike in the general case of Boolean circuits and formulas, where the typical complexity is derived from that of the multiplexer function with n-bit selector, the hazard-free formula complexity of a random function is smaller than the optimal hazard-free formula for the multiplexer by an exponential factor in n. We provide two proofs of this fact. The first is direct, bounding the number of prime implicants of a random Boolean function and using this bound to construct a DNF of the claimed size. The second introduces a new and independently interesting result: a weak converse to the hazard-derivative lower bound method, which gives an upper bound on the hazard-free complexity of a function in terms of the monotone complexity of a subset of its hazard-derivatives. Additionally, we explore the hazard-free formula complexity of block composition of Boolean functions and obtain a result in the hazard-free setting that is analogous to a result of Karchmer, Raz, and Wigderson (Computational Complexity, 1995) in the monotone setting. We show that our result implies a stronger lower bound on the hazard-free formula depth of the block composition of the set covering function with the multiplexer function than the bound obtained via the hazard-derivative method.

Cite as

Leah London Arazi and Amir Shpilka. On the Complexity of Hazard-Free Formulas. In 52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 334, pp. 115:1-115:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{londonarazi_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.115,
  author =	{London Arazi, Leah and Shpilka, Amir},
  title =	{{On the Complexity of Hazard-Free Formulas}},
  booktitle =	{52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025)},
  pages =	{115:1--115:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-372-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{334},
  editor =	{Censor-Hillel, Keren and Grandoni, Fabrizio and Ouaknine, Jo\"{e}l and Puppis, Gabriele},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.115},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-234920},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.115},
  annote =	{Keywords: Hazard-free computation, Boolean formulas, monotone formulas, Karchmer-Wigderson games, communication complexity, lower bounds}
}
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