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Documents authored by Koch, Caleb

Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2024.16
A Strong Direct Sum Theorem for Distributional Query Complexity

Authors: Guy Blanc, Caleb Koch, Carmen Strassle, and Li-Yang Tan

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 300, 39th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2024)

Abstract
Consider the expected query complexity of computing the k-fold direct product f^{⊗ k} of a function f to error ε with respect to a distribution μ^k. One strategy is to sequentially compute each of the k copies to error ε/k with respect to μ and apply the union bound. We prove a strong direct sum theorem showing that this naive strategy is essentially optimal. In particular, computing a direct product necessitates a blowup in both query complexity and error. Strong direct sum theorems contrast with results that only show a blowup in query complexity or error but not both. There has been a long line of such results for distributional query complexity, dating back to (Impagliazzo, Raz, Wigderson 1994) and (Nisan, Rudich, Saks 1994), but a strong direct sum theorem that holds for all functions in the standard query model had been elusive. A key idea in our work is the first use of the Hardcore Theorem (Impagliazzo 1995) in the context of query complexity. We prove a new resilience lemma that accompanies it, showing that the hardcore of f^{⊗k} is likely to remain dense under arbitrary partitions of the input space.
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Guy Blanc, Caleb Koch, Carmen Strassle, and Li-Yang Tan. A Strong Direct Sum Theorem for Distributional Query Complexity. In 39th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 300, pp. 16:1-16:30, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)

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@InProceedings{blanc_et_al:LIPIcs.CCC.2024.16,
  author =	{Blanc, Guy and Koch, Caleb and Strassle, Carmen and Tan, Li-Yang},
  title =	{{A Strong Direct Sum Theorem for Distributional Query Complexity}},
  booktitle =	{39th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2024)},
  pages =	{16:1--16:30},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-331-7},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2024},
  volume =	{300},
  editor =	{Santhanam, Rahul},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2024.16},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-204123},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2024.16},
  annote =	{Keywords: Query complexity, direct product theorem, hardcore theorem}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ECOOP.2023.21
Automata Learning with an Incomplete Teacher

Authors: Mark Moeller, Thomas Wiener, Alaia Solko-Breslin, Caleb Koch, Nate Foster, and Alexandra Silva

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 263, 37th European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming (ECOOP 2023)

Abstract
The preceding decade has seen significant interest in use of active learning to build models of programs and protocols. But existing algorithms assume the existence of an idealized oracle - a so-called Minimally Adequate Teacher (MAT) - that cannot be fully realized in practice and so is usually approximated with testing. This work proposes a new framework for active learning based on an incomplete teacher. This new formulation, called iMAT, neatly handles scenarios in which the teacher has access to only a finite number of tests or otherwise has gaps in its knowledge. We adapt Angluin’s L^⋆ algorithm for learning finite automata to incomplete teachers and we build a prototype implementation in OCaml that uses an SMT solver to help fill in information not supplied by the teacher. We demonstrate the behavior of our iMAT prototype on a variety of learning problems from a standard benchmark suite.
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Mark Moeller, Thomas Wiener, Alaia Solko-Breslin, Caleb Koch, Nate Foster, and Alexandra Silva. Automata Learning with an Incomplete Teacher. In 37th European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming (ECOOP 2023). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 263, pp. 21:1-21:30, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2023)

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@InProceedings{moeller_et_al:LIPIcs.ECOOP.2023.21,
  author =	{Moeller, Mark and Wiener, Thomas and Solko-Breslin, Alaia and Koch, Caleb and Foster, Nate and Silva, Alexandra},
  title =	{{Automata Learning with an Incomplete Teacher}},
  booktitle =	{37th European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming (ECOOP 2023)},
  pages =	{21:1--21:30},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-281-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2023},
  volume =	{263},
  editor =	{Ali, Karim and Salvaneschi, Guido},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ECOOP.2023.21},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-182145},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ECOOP.2023.21},
  annote =	{Keywords: Finite Automata, Active Learning, SMT Solvers}
}
Document
Artifact
DOI: 10.4230/DARTS.9.2.21
Automata Learning with an Incomplete Teacher (Artifact)

Authors: Mark Moeller, Thomas Wiener, Alaia Solko-Breslin, Caleb Koch, Nate Foster, and Alexandra Silva

Published in: DARTS, Volume 9, Issue 2, Special Issue of the 37th European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming (ECOOP 2023)

Abstract
We provide an implementation of the automata learning software described in the associated ECOOP article. In particular, the artifact is a Docker image with the source code for nerode and nerode-learn, along with the scripts and benchmark inputs needed to reproduce the experiments described in the paper.
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Mark Moeller, Thomas Wiener, Alaia Solko-Breslin, Caleb Koch, Nate Foster, and Alexandra Silva. Automata Learning with an Incomplete Teacher (Artifact). In Special Issue of the 37th European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming (ECOOP 2023). Dagstuhl Artifacts Series (DARTS), Volume 9, Issue 2, pp. 21:1-21:3, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2023)

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@Article{moeller_et_al:DARTS.9.2.21,
  author =	{Moeller, Mark and Wiener, Thomas and Solko-Breslin, Alaia and Koch, Caleb and Foster, Nate and Silva, Alexandra},
  title =	{{Automata Learning with an Incomplete Teacher (Artifact)}},
  pages =	{21:1--21:3},
  journal =	{Dagstuhl Artifacts Series},
  ISSN =	{2509-8195},
  year =	{2023},
  volume =	{9},
  number =	{2},
  editor =	{Moeller, Mark and Wiener, Thomas and Solko-Breslin, Alaia and Koch, Caleb and Foster, Nate and Silva, Alexandra},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/DARTS.9.2.21},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-182612},
  doi =		{10.4230/DARTS.9.2.21},
  annote =	{Keywords: Finite Automata, Active Learning, SMT Solvers}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2023.18
Certification with an NP Oracle

Authors: Guy Blanc, Caleb Koch, Jane Lange, Carmen Strassle, and Li-Yang Tan

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 251, 14th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2023)

Abstract
In the certification problem, the algorithm is given a function f with certificate complexity k and an input x^⋆, and the goal is to find a certificate of size ≤ poly(k) for f’s value at x^⋆. This problem is in NP^NP, and assuming 𝖯 ≠ NP, is not in 𝖯. Prior works, dating back to Valiant in 1984, have therefore sought to design efficient algorithms by imposing assumptions on f such as monotonicity. Our first result is a BPP^NP algorithm for the general problem. The key ingredient is a new notion of the balanced influence of variables, a natural variant of influence that corrects for the bias of the function. Balanced influences can be accurately estimated via uniform generation, and classic BPP^NP algorithms are known for the latter task. We then consider certification with stricter instance-wise guarantees: for each x^⋆, find a certificate whose size scales with that of the smallest certificate for x^⋆. In sharp contrast with our first result, we show that this problem is NP^NP-hard even to approximate. We obtain an optimal inapproximability ratio, adding to a small handful of problems in the higher levels of the polynomial hierarchy for which optimal inapproximability is known. Our proof involves the novel use of bit-fixing dispersers for gap amplification.
Cite as

Guy Blanc, Caleb Koch, Jane Lange, Carmen Strassle, and Li-Yang Tan. Certification with an NP Oracle. In 14th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2023). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 251, pp. 18:1-18:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2023)

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@InProceedings{blanc_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2023.18,
  author =	{Blanc, Guy and Koch, Caleb and Lange, Jane and Strassle, Carmen and Tan, Li-Yang},
  title =	{{Certification with an NP Oracle}},
  booktitle =	{14th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2023)},
  pages =	{18:1--18:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-263-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2023},
  volume =	{251},
  editor =	{Tauman Kalai, Yael},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2023.18},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-175217},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2023.18},
  annote =	{Keywords: Certificate complexity, Boolean functions, polynomial hierarchy, hardness of approximation}
}
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