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Classes of Hard Formulas for QBF Resolution

Authors Agnes Schleitzer, Olaf Beyersdorff

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Author Details

Agnes Schleitzer
  • Institut für Informatik, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Germany
Olaf Beyersdorff
  • Institut für Informatik, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Germany

Funding

  • Schleitzer, Agnes: DFG grant BE 4209/3-1.
  • Beyersdorff, Olaf: Carl-Zeiss Foundation and DFG grant BE 4209/3-1.

Cite As Get BibTex

Agnes Schleitzer and Olaf Beyersdorff. Classes of Hard Formulas for QBF Resolution. In 25th International Conference on Theory and Applications of Satisfiability Testing (SAT 2022). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 236, pp. 5:1-5:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2022) https://doi.org/10.4230/LIPIcs.SAT.2022.5

Abstract

To date, we know only a few handcrafted quantified Boolean formulas (QBFs) that are hard for central QBF resolution systems such as Q-Res and QU-Res, and only one specific QBF family to separate Q-Res and QU-Res. 
Here we provide a general method to construct hard formulas for Q-Res and QU-Res. The construction uses simple propositional formulas (e.g. minimally unsatisfiable formulas) in combination with easy QBF gadgets (Σ₂^b formulas without constant winning strategies). This leads to a host of new hard formulas, including new classes of hard random QBFs. 
We further present generic constructions for formulas separating Q-Res and QU-Res, and for separating Q-Res and LD-Q-Res.

Subject Classification

ACM Subject Classification
  • Theory of computation → Proof complexity
Keywords
  • QBF
  • proof complexity
  • resolution
  • separations

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