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Documents authored by Huang, Neng

Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2025.61
Hardness of Sampling for the Anti-Ferromagnetic Ising Model on Random Graphs

Authors: Neng Huang, Will Perkins, and Aaron Potechin

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 325, 16th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2025)

Abstract
We prove a hardness of sampling result for the anti-ferromagnetic Ising model on random graphs of average degree d for large constant d, proving that when the normalized inverse temperature satisfies β > 1 (asymptotically corresponding to the condensation threshold), then w.h.p. over the random graph there is no stable sampling algorithm that can output a sample close in W₂ distance to the Gibbs measure. The results also apply to a fixed-magnetization version of the model, showing that there are no stable sampling algorithms for low but positive temperature max and min bisection distributions. These results show a gap in the tractability of search and sampling problems: while there are efficient algorithms to find near optimizers, stable sampling algorithms cannot access the Gibbs distribution concentrated on such solutions. Our techniques involve extensions of the interpolation technique relating behavior of the mean field Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model to behavior of Ising models on random graphs of average degree d for large d. While previous interpolation arguments compared the free energies of the two models, our argument compares the average energies and average overlaps in the two models.
Cite as

Neng Huang, Will Perkins, and Aaron Potechin. Hardness of Sampling for the Anti-Ferromagnetic Ising Model on Random Graphs. In 16th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 325, pp. 61:1-61:23, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{huang_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2025.61,
  author =	{Huang, Neng and Perkins, Will and Potechin, Aaron},
  title =	{{Hardness of Sampling for the Anti-Ferromagnetic Ising Model on Random Graphs}},
  booktitle =	{16th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2025)},
  pages =	{61:1--61:23},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-361-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{325},
  editor =	{Meka, Raghu},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2025.61},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-226899},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2025.61},
  annote =	{Keywords: Random graph, spin glass, sampling algorithm}
}
Document
APPROX
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2020.58
On the Approximability of Presidential Type Predicates

Authors: Neng Huang and Aaron Potechin

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 176, Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2020)

Abstract
Given a predicate P: {-1, 1}^k → {-1, 1}, let CSP(P) be the set of constraint satisfaction problems whose constraints are of the form P. We say that P is approximable if given a nearly satisfiable instance of CSP(P), there exists a probabilistic polynomial time algorithm that does better than a random assignment. Otherwise, we say that P is approximation resistant. In this paper, we analyze presidential type predicates, which are balanced linear threshold functions where all of the variables except the first variable (the president) have the same weight. We show that almost all presidential type predicates P are approximable. More precisely, we prove the following result: for any δ₀ > 0, there exists a k₀ such that if k ≥ k₀, δ ∈ (δ₀,1 - 2/k], and {δ}k + k - 1 is an odd integer then the presidential type predicate P(x) = sign({δ}k{x₁} + ∑_{i = 2}^{k} {x_i}) is approximable. To prove this, we construct a rounding scheme that makes use of biases and pairwise biases. We also give evidence that using pairwise biases is necessary for such rounding schemes.
Cite as

Neng Huang and Aaron Potechin. On the Approximability of Presidential Type Predicates. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2020). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 176, pp. 58:1-58:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2020)

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@InProceedings{huang_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2020.58,
  author =	{Huang, Neng and Potechin, Aaron},
  title =	{{On the Approximability of Presidential Type Predicates}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2020)},
  pages =	{58:1--58:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-164-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2020},
  volume =	{176},
  editor =	{Byrka, Jaros{\l}aw and Meka, Raghu},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2020.58},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-126612},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2020.58},
  annote =	{Keywords: constraint satisfaction problems, approximation algorithms, presidential type predicates}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2018.45
On the Decision Tree Complexity of String Matching

Authors: Xiaoyu He, Neng Huang, and Xiaoming Sun

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 112, 26th Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2018)

Abstract
String matching is one of the most fundamental problems in computer science. A natural problem is to determine the number of characters that need to be queried (i.e. the decision tree complexity) in a string in order to decide whether this string contains a certain pattern. Rivest showed that for every pattern p, in the worst case any deterministic algorithm needs to query at least n-|p|+1 characters, where n is the length of the string and |p| is the length of the pattern. He further conjectured that this bound is tight. By using the adversary method, Tuza disproved this conjecture and showed that more than one half of binary patterns are evasive, i.e. any algorithm needs to query all the characters (see Section 1.1 for more details). In this paper, we give a query algorithm which settles the decision tree complexity of string matching except for a negligible fraction of patterns. Our algorithm shows that Tuza's criteria of evasive patterns are almost complete. Using the algebraic approach of Rivest and Vuillemin, we also give a new sufficient condition for the evasiveness of patterns, which is beyond Tuza's criteria. In addition, our result reveals an interesting connection to Skolem's Problem in mathematics.
Cite as

Xiaoyu He, Neng Huang, and Xiaoming Sun. On the Decision Tree Complexity of String Matching. In 26th Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2018). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 112, pp. 45:1-45:13, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2018)

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@InProceedings{he_et_al:LIPIcs.ESA.2018.45,
  author =	{He, Xiaoyu and Huang, Neng and Sun, Xiaoming},
  title =	{{On the Decision Tree Complexity of String Matching}},
  booktitle =	{26th Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2018)},
  pages =	{45:1--45:13},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-081-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2018},
  volume =	{112},
  editor =	{Azar, Yossi and Bast, Hannah 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.2018.45},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-95082},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2018.45},
  annote =	{Keywords: String Matching, Decision Tree Complexity, Boolean Function, Algebraic Method}
}
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