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Documents authored by Zhang, Tianwei

Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CP.2025.39
The 3-Decomposition Conjecture: A SAT-Based Approach with Specialized Propagators

Authors: Tianwei Zhang and Stefan Szeider

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 340, 31st International Conference on Principles and Practice of Constraint Programming (CP 2025)

Abstract
We investigate the 3-decomposition conjecture, which states that every connected cubic graph can be decomposed into a spanning tree, a collection of cycles, and a matching. Using a SAT-based approach enhanced with specialized propagators, we verify the conjecture for all relevant graphs up to 28 vertices. Our method extends the Satisfiability Modulo Symmetries (SMS) framework with specialized propagators that exploit theoretical properties of minimal counterexamples (counterexamples with the minimal number of vertices), enabling efficient pruning. We demonstrate that graphs containing certain substructures cannot be minimal counterexamples to the conjecture, allowing us to exclude these patterns during the search dynamically. Our experimental results quantify the impact of different propagator configurations and forbidden subgraph constraints on solving efficiency, showing significant performance improvements when leveraging these techniques. The approach scales effectively to graphs of 28 vertices. Our work illustrates how combining SAT solving with specialized constraint propagation techniques can successfully address challenging combinatorial problems in contemporary graph theory.
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Tianwei Zhang and Stefan Szeider. The 3-Decomposition Conjecture: A SAT-Based Approach with Specialized Propagators. In 31st International Conference on Principles and Practice of Constraint Programming (CP 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 340, pp. 39:1-39:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{zhang_et_al:LIPIcs.CP.2025.39,
  author =	{Zhang, Tianwei and Szeider, Stefan},
  title =	{{The 3-Decomposition Conjecture: A SAT-Based Approach with Specialized Propagators}},
  booktitle =	{31st International Conference on Principles and Practice of Constraint Programming (CP 2025)},
  pages =	{39:1--39:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-380-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{340},
  editor =	{de la Banda, Maria Garcia},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CP.2025.39},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-239005},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CP.2025.39},
  annote =	{Keywords: SAT, Symmetry Breaking, Subgraphs, Propagators, Combinatorics}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SAT.2024.31
Small Unsatisfiable k-CNFs with Bounded Literal Occurrence

Authors: Tianwei Zhang, Tomáš Peitl, and Stefan Szeider

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 305, 27th International Conference on Theory and Applications of Satisfiability Testing (SAT 2024)

Abstract
We obtain the smallest unsatisfiable formulas in subclasses of k-CNF (exactly k distinct literals per clause) with bounded variable or literal occurrences. Smaller unsatisfiable formulas of this type translate into stronger inapproximability results for MaxSAT in the considered formula class. Our results cover subclasses of 3-CNF and 4-CNF; in all subclasses of 3-CNF we considered we were able to determine the smallest size of an unsatisfiable formula; in the case of 4-CNF with at most 5 occurrences per variable we decreased the size of the smallest known unsatisfiable formula. Our methods combine theoretical arguments and symmetry-breaking exhaustive search based on SAT Modulo Symmetries (SMS), a recent framework for isomorph-free SAT-based graph generation. To this end, and as a standalone result of independent interest, we show how to encode formulas as graphs efficiently for SMS.
Cite as

Tianwei Zhang, Tomáš Peitl, and Stefan Szeider. Small Unsatisfiable k-CNFs with Bounded Literal Occurrence. In 27th International Conference on Theory and Applications of Satisfiability Testing (SAT 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 305, pp. 31:1-31:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)

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@InProceedings{zhang_et_al:LIPIcs.SAT.2024.31,
  author =	{Zhang, Tianwei and Peitl, Tom\'{a}\v{s} and Szeider, Stefan},
  title =	{{Small Unsatisfiable k-CNFs with Bounded Literal Occurrence}},
  booktitle =	{27th International Conference on Theory and Applications of Satisfiability Testing (SAT 2024)},
  pages =	{31:1--31:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-334-8},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2024},
  volume =	{305},
  editor =	{Chakraborty, Supratik and Jiang, Jie-Hong Roland},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SAT.2024.31},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-205531},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SAT.2024.31},
  annote =	{Keywords: k-CNF, (k,s)-SAT, minimally unsatisfiable formulas, symmetry breaking}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CP.2023.39
Searching for Smallest Universal Graphs and Tournaments with SAT

Authors: Tianwei Zhang and Stefan Szeider

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 280, 29th International Conference on Principles and Practice of Constraint Programming (CP 2023)

Abstract
A graph is induced k-universal if it contains all graphs of order k as an induced subgraph. For over half a century, the question of determining smallest k-universal graphs has been studied. A related question asks for a smallest k-universal tournament containing all tournaments of order k. This paper proposes and compares SAT-based methods for answering these questions exactly for small values of k. Our methods scale to values for which a generate-and-test approach isn't feasible; for instance, we show that an induced 7-universal graph has more than 16 vertices, whereas the number of all connected graphs on 16 vertices, modulo isomorphism, is a number with 23 decimal digits Our methods include static and dynamic symmetry breaking and lazy encodings, employing external subgraph isomorphism testing.
Cite as

Tianwei Zhang and Stefan Szeider. Searching for Smallest Universal Graphs and Tournaments with SAT. In 29th International Conference on Principles and Practice of Constraint Programming (CP 2023). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 280, pp. 39:1-39:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2023)

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@InProceedings{zhang_et_al:LIPIcs.CP.2023.39,
  author =	{Zhang, Tianwei and Szeider, Stefan},
  title =	{{Searching for Smallest Universal Graphs and Tournaments with SAT}},
  booktitle =	{29th International Conference on Principles and Practice of Constraint Programming (CP 2023)},
  pages =	{39:1--39:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-300-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2023},
  volume =	{280},
  editor =	{Yap, Roland H. C.},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CP.2023.39},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-190760},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CP.2023.39},
  annote =	{Keywords: Constrained-based combinatorics, synthesis problems, symmetry breaking, SAT solving, subgraph isomorphism, tournament, directed graphs}
}
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