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Sub-Exponential Time Lower Bounds for #VC and #Matching on 3-Regular Graphs

Authors: Ying Liu and Shiteng Chen

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 289, 41st International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2024)


Abstract
This article focuses on the sub-exponential time lower bounds for two canonical #P-hard problems: counting the vertex covers of a given graph (#VC) and counting the matchings of a given graph (#Matching), under the well-known counting exponential time hypothesis (#ETH). Interpolation is an essential method to build reductions in this article and in the literature. We use the idea of block interpolation to prove that both #VC and #Matching have no 2^{o(N)} time deterministic algorithm, even if the given graph with N vertices is a 3-regular graph. However, when it comes to proving the lower bounds for #VC and #Matching on planar graphs, both block interpolation and polynomial interpolation do not work. We prove that, for any integer N > 0, we can simulate N pairwise linearly independent unary functions by gadgets with only O(log N) size in the context of #VC and #Matching. Then we use log-size gadgets in the polynomial interpolation to prove that planar #VC and planar #Matching have no 2^{o(√{N/(log N)})} time deterministic algorithm. The lower bounds hold even if the given graph with N vertices is a 3-regular graph. Based on a stronger hypothesis, randomized exponential time hypothesis (rETH), we can avoid using interpolation. We prove that if rETH holds, both planar #VC and planar #Matching have no 2^{o(√N)} time randomized algorithm, even that the given graph with N vertices is a planar 3-regular graph. The 2^{Ω(√N)} time lower bounds are tight, since there exist 2^{O(√N)} time algorithms for planar #VC and planar #Matching. We also develop a fine-grained dichotomy for a class of counting problems, symmetric Holant*.

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Ying Liu and Shiteng Chen. Sub-Exponential Time Lower Bounds for #VC and #Matching on 3-Regular Graphs. In 41st International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 289, pp. 49:1-49:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)


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@InProceedings{liu_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2024.49,
  author =	{Liu, Ying and Chen, Shiteng},
  title =	{{Sub-Exponential Time Lower Bounds for #VC and #Matching on 3-Regular Graphs}},
  booktitle =	{41st International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2024)},
  pages =	{49:1--49:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-311-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2024},
  volume =	{289},
  editor =	{Beyersdorff, Olaf and Kant\'{e}, Mamadou Moustapha and Kupferman, Orna and Lokshtanov, Daniel},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2024.49},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-197593},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2024.49},
  annote =	{Keywords: computational complexity, planar Holant, polynomial interpolation, rETH, sub-exponential, #ETH, #Matching, #VC}
}