38 Search Results for "Dalmau, Victor"


Document
Modular Counting over 3-Element and Conservative Domains

Authors: Andrei A. Bulatov and Amirhossein Kazeminia

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 364, 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)


Abstract
In the Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP for short) the goal is to decide the existence of a homomorphism from a given relational structure {G} to a given relational structure {H}. If the structure {H} is fixed and {G} is the only input, the problem is denoted CSP({H}). In its counting version, #CSP({H}), the task is to find the number of such homomorphisms. The CSP and #CSP have been used to model a wide variety of combinatorial problems and have received a tremendous amount of attention from researchers from multiple disciplines. In this paper we consider the modular version of the counting CSPs, that is, problems of the form #_pCSP({H}) of counting the number of homomorphisms to {H} modulo a fixed prime number p. Modular counting has been intensively studied during the last decade, although mainly in the case of graph homomorphisms. Here we continue the program of systematic research of modular counting of homomorphisms to general relational structures. The main results of the paper include a new way of reducing modular counting problems to smaller domains and a study of the complexity of such problems over 3-element domains and over conservative domains, that is, relational structures that allow to express (in a certain exact way) every possible unary predicate.

Cite as

Andrei A. Bulatov and Amirhossein Kazeminia. Modular Counting over 3-Element and Conservative Domains. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 22:1-22:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{bulatov_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.22,
  author =	{Bulatov, Andrei A. and Kazeminia, Amirhossein},
  title =	{{Modular Counting over 3-Element and Conservative Domains}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{22:1--22:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-412-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{364},
  editor =	{Mahajan, Meena and Manea, Florin and McIver, Annabelle and Thắng, Nguy\~{ê}n Kim},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.22},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255114},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.22},
  annote =	{Keywords: Constraint Satisfaction Problem, Modular Counting}
}
Document
Arity Hierarchies for Quantifiers Closed Under Partial Polymorphisms

Authors: Anuj Dawar, Lauri Hella, and Benedikt Pago

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 363, 34th EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2026)


Abstract
We investigate the expressive power of generalized quantifiers closed under partial polymorphism conditions motivated by the study of constraint satisfaction problems. We answer a number of questions arising from the work of Dawar and Hella (CSL 2024) where such quantifiers were introduced. For quantifiers closed under partial near-unanimity polymorphisms, we establish hierarchy results clarifying the interplay between the arity of the polymorphisms and of the quantifiers: The expressive power of (𝓁+1)-ary quantifiers closed under 𝓁-ary partial near-unanimity polymorphisms is strictly between the class of all quantifiers of arity 𝓁-1 and 𝓁. We also establish an infinite hierarchy based on the arity of quantifiers with a fixed arity of partial near-unanimity polymorphisms. Finally, we prove inexpressiveness results for quantifiers with a partial Maltsev polymorphism. The separation results are proved using novel algebraic constructions in the style of Cai-Fürer-Immerman and the quantifier pebble games of Dawar and Hella (2024).

Cite as

Anuj Dawar, Lauri Hella, and Benedikt Pago. Arity Hierarchies for Quantifiers Closed Under Partial Polymorphisms. In 34th EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 363, pp. 9:1-9:17, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{dawar_et_al:LIPIcs.CSL.2026.9,
  author =	{Dawar, Anuj and Hella, Lauri and Pago, Benedikt},
  title =	{{Arity Hierarchies for Quantifiers Closed Under Partial Polymorphisms}},
  booktitle =	{34th EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2026)},
  pages =	{9:1--9:17},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-411-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{363},
  editor =	{Guerrini, Stefano and K\"{o}nig, Barbara},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2026.9},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-254330},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2026.9},
  annote =	{Keywords: finite model theory, constraint satisfaction problems, generalized quantifiers}
}
Document
Supercritical Tradeoff Between Size and Depth for Resolution over Parities

Authors: Dmitry Itsykson and Alexander Knop

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 362, 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)


Abstract
Alekseev and Itsykson (STOC 2025) proved the existence of an unsatisfiable CNF formula such that any resolution over parities (Res(⊕)) refutation must either have exponential size (in the formula size) or superlinear depth (in the number of variables). In this paper, we extend this result by constructing a formula with the same hardness properties, but which additionally admits a resolution refutation of quasi-polynomial size. This establishes a supercritical tradeoff between size and depth for resolution over parities. The proof builds on the framework of Alekseev and Itsykson and relies on a lifting argument applied to the supercritical tradeoff between width and depth in resolution, proposed by Buss and Thapen (IPL 2026).

Cite as

Dmitry Itsykson and Alexander Knop. Supercritical Tradeoff Between Size and Depth for Resolution over Parities. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 81:1-81:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{itsykson_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.81,
  author =	{Itsykson, Dmitry and Knop, Alexander},
  title =	{{Supercritical Tradeoff Between Size and Depth for Resolution over Parities}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{81:1--81:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.81},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253680},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.81},
  annote =	{Keywords: lifting theorems, resolution depth, resolution over parities, resolution width, supercritical tradeoff}
}
Document
Total Search Problems in ZPP

Authors: Noah Fleming, Stefan Grosser, Siddhartha Jain, Jiawei Li, Hanlin Ren, Morgan Shirley, and Weiqiang Yuan

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 362, 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)


Abstract
We initiate a systematic study of TFZPP, the class of total NP search problems solvable by polynomial time randomized algorithms. TFZPP contains a variety of important search problems such as Bertrand-Chebyshev (finding a prime between N and 2N), refuter problems for many circuit lower bounds, and Lossy-Code. The Lossy-Code problem has found prominence due to its fundamental connections to derandomization, catalytic computing, and the metamathematics of complexity theory, among other areas. While TFZPP collapses to FP under standard derandomization assumptions in the white-box setting, we are able to separate TFZPP from the major TFNP subclasses in the black-box setting. In fact, we are able to separate it from every uniform TFNP class assuming that NP is not in quasi-polynomial time. To do so, we extend the connection between proof complexity and black-box TFNP to randomized proof systems and randomized reductions. Next, we turn to developing a taxonomy of TFZPP problems. We highlight a problem called Nephew, originating from an infinity axiom in set theory. We show that Nephew is in PWPP∩ TFZPP and conjecture that it is not reducible to Lossy-Code. Intriguingly, except for some artificial examples, most other black-box TFZPP problems that we are aware of reduce to Lossy-Code: - We define a problem called Empty-Child capturing finding a leaf in a rooted (binary) tree, and show that this problem is equivalent to Lossy-Code. We also show that a variant of Empty-Child with "heights" is complete for the intersection of SOPL and Lossy-Code. - We strengthen Lossy-Code with several combinatorial inequalities such as the AM-GM inequality. Somewhat surprisingly, we show the resulting new problems are still reducible to Lossy-Code. A technical highlight of this result is that they are proved by formalizations in bounded arithmetic, specifically in Jeřábek’s theory APC₁ (JSL 2007). - Finally, we show that the Dense-Linear-Ordering problem reduces to Lossy-Code.

Cite as

Noah Fleming, Stefan Grosser, Siddhartha Jain, Jiawei Li, Hanlin Ren, Morgan Shirley, and Weiqiang Yuan. Total Search Problems in ZPP. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 60:1-60:26, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{fleming_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.60,
  author =	{Fleming, Noah and Grosser, Stefan and Jain, Siddhartha and Li, Jiawei and Ren, Hanlin and Shirley, Morgan and Yuan, Weiqiang},
  title =	{{Total Search Problems in ZPP}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{60:1--60:26},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.60},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253473},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.60},
  annote =	{Keywords: TFNP, lossy code, randomized proof systems, query complexity}
}
Document
Invited Paper
Fine-Grained Complexity of Ontology Mediated Queries (Invited Paper)

Authors: Cristina Feier

Published in: OASIcs, Volume 138, Joint Proceedings of the 20th and 21st Reasoning Web Summer Schools (RW 2024 & RW 2025)


Abstract
This article surveys some approaches for establishing fine-grained complexity results for evaluation of ontology mediated queries (OMQs). It accompanies a related talk given at the Reasoning Web Summer School 2024. It zooms into some characterizations of efficiency in a parameterized complexity framework for OMQs based on various description logics and guarded tgds. As such results were established using results from query evaluation on databases, it also discusses the relevant results from the database world. After surveying some successive results on OMQs which all leverage database results in custom ways, it describes an approach which provides a general fpt reduction from query evaluation in the database world to query evaluation in the OMQ world. The reduction enables porting hardness results from the DB world to the OMQ world in a black-box fashion. Along these mentioned approaches, it also provides a brief survey of other approaches which are concerned with fine-grained complexity of OMQs and are based on rewriting techniques.

Cite as

Cristina Feier. Fine-Grained Complexity of Ontology Mediated Queries (Invited Paper). In Joint Proceedings of the 20th and 21st Reasoning Web Summer Schools (RW 2024 & RW 2025). Open Access Series in Informatics (OASIcs), Volume 138, pp. 2:1-2:23, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{feier:OASIcs.RW.2024/2025.2,
  author =	{Feier, Cristina},
  title =	{{Fine-Grained Complexity of Ontology Mediated Queries}},
  booktitle =	{Joint Proceedings of the 20th and 21st Reasoning Web Summer Schools (RW 2024 \& RW 2025)},
  pages =	{2:1--2:23},
  series =	{Open Access Series in Informatics (OASIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-405-5},
  ISSN =	{2190-6807},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{138},
  editor =	{Artale, Alessandro and Bienvenu, Meghyn and Garc{\'\i}a, Yazm{\'\i}n Ib\'{a}\~{n}ez and Murlak, Filip},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/OASIcs.RW.2024/2025.2},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-250476},
  doi =		{10.4230/OASIcs.RW.2024/2025.2},
  annote =	{Keywords: complexity analysis, guarded logics, guarded tgds, database theory, ontology mediated queries}
}
Document
APPROX
On the Constant-Factor Approximability of Minimum Cost Constraint Satisfaction Problems

Authors: Ian DeHaan, Neng Huang, and Euiwoong Lee

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 353, Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)


Abstract
We study minimum cost constraint satisfaction problems (MinCostCSP) through the algebraic lens. We show that for any constraint language Γ which has the dual discriminator operation as a polymorphism, there exists a |D|-approximation algorithm for MinCostCSP(Γ) where D is the domain. Complementing our algorithmic result, we show that any constraint language Γ where MinCostCSP(Γ) admits a constant-factor approximation must have a near-unanimity (NU) polymorphism unless P = NP, extending a similar result by Dalmau et al. on MinCSPs. These results imply a dichotomy of constant-factor approximability for constraint languages that contain all permutation relations (a natural generalization for Boolean CSPs that allow variable negation): either MinCostCSP(Γ) has an NU polymorphism and is |D|-approximable, or it does not have any NU polymorphism and is NP-hard to approximate within any constant factor. Finally, we present a constraint language which has a majority polymorphism, but is nonetheless NP-hard to approximate within any constant factor assuming the Unique Games Conjecture, showing that the condition of having an NU polymorphism is in general not sufficient unless UGC fails.

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Ian DeHaan, Neng Huang, and Euiwoong Lee. On the Constant-Factor Approximability of Minimum Cost Constraint Satisfaction Problems. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 19:1-19:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{dehaan_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.19,
  author =	{DeHaan, Ian and Huang, Neng and Lee, Euiwoong},
  title =	{{On the Constant-Factor Approximability of Minimum Cost Constraint Satisfaction Problems}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{19:1--19:24},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-397-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{353},
  editor =	{Ene, Alina and Chattopadhyay, Eshan},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.19},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-243851},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.19},
  annote =	{Keywords: Constraint satisfaction problems, approximation algorithms, polymorphisms}
}
Document
Three Fundamental Questions in Modern Infinite-Domain Constraint Satisfaction

Authors: Michael Pinsker, Jakub Rydval, Moritz Schöbi, and Christoph Spiess

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 345, 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)


Abstract
The Feder-Vardi dichotomy conjecture for Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSPs) with finite templates, confirmed independently by Bulatov and Zhuk, has an extension to certain well-behaved infinite templates due to Bodirsky and Pinsker which remains wide open. We provide answers to three fundamental questions on the scope of the Bodirsky-Pinsker conjecture. Our first two main results provide two simplifications of this scope, one of structural, and the other one of algebraic nature. The former simplification implies that the conjecture is equivalent to its restriction to templates without algebraicity, a crucial assumption in the most powerful classification methods. The latter yields that the higher-arity invariants of any template within its scope can be assumed to be essentially injective, and any algebraic condition characterizing any complexity class within the conjecture closed under Datalog reductions must be satisfiable by injections, thus lifting the mystery of the better applicability of certain conditions over others. Our third main result uses the first one to show that any non-trivially tractable template within the scope serves, up to a Datalog-computable modification of it, as the witness of the tractability of a non-finitely tractable finite-domain Promise Constraint Satisfaction Problem (PCSP) by the so-called sandwich method. This generalizes a recent result of Mottet and provides a strong hitherto unknown connection between the Bodirsky-Pinsker conjecture and finite-domain PCSPs.

Cite as

Michael Pinsker, Jakub Rydval, Moritz Schöbi, and Christoph Spiess. Three Fundamental Questions in Modern Infinite-Domain Constraint Satisfaction. In 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 345, pp. 83:1-83:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{pinsker_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.83,
  author =	{Pinsker, Michael and Rydval, Jakub and Sch\"{o}bi, Moritz and Spiess, Christoph},
  title =	{{Three Fundamental Questions in Modern Infinite-Domain Constraint Satisfaction}},
  booktitle =	{50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)},
  pages =	{83:1--83:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-388-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{345},
  editor =	{Gawrychowski, Pawe{\l} and Mazowiecki, Filip and Skrzypczak, Micha{\l}},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.83},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-241903},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.83},
  annote =	{Keywords: (Promise) Constraint Satisfaction Problem, dichotomy conjecture, polymorphism, identity, algebraicity, homogeneity, \omega-categoricity, finite boundedness, Datalog}
}
Document
Color Refinement for Relational Structures

Authors: Benjamin Scheidt and Nicole Schweikardt

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 345, 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)


Abstract
Color Refinement, also known as Naive Vertex Classification, is a classical method to distinguish graphs by iteratively computing a coloring of their vertices. While it is traditionally used as an imperfect way to test for isomorphism, the algorithm has permeated many other, seemingly unrelated, areas of computer science. The method is algorithmically simple, and it has a well-understood distinguishing power: it has been logically characterized by Immerman and Lander (1990) and Cai, Fürer, Immerman (1992), who showed that it distinguishes precisely those graphs that can be distinguished by a sentence of first-order logic with counting quantifiers and only two variables. A combinatorial characterization was given by Dvořák (2010), who showed that it distinguishes precisely those graphs that differ in the number of homomorphisms from some tree. In this paper, we introduce Relational Color Refinement (RCR, for short), a generalization of the Color Refinement method from graphs to arbitrary relational structures, whose distinguishing power admits the equivalent combinatorial and logical characterizations as Color Refinement has on graphs: we show that RCR distinguishes precisely those structures that differ in the number of homomorphisms from an acyclic connected relational structure. Further, we show that RCR distinguishes precisely those structures that are distinguished by a sentence of the guarded fragment of first-order logic with counting quantifiers. Additionally, we show that for every fixed finite relational signature, RCR can be implemented to run on structures of that signature in time O(N⋅log N), where N denotes the number of tuples present in the structure.

Cite as

Benjamin Scheidt and Nicole Schweikardt. Color Refinement for Relational Structures. In 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 345, pp. 88:1-88:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{scheidt_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.88,
  author =	{Scheidt, Benjamin and Schweikardt, Nicole},
  title =	{{Color Refinement for Relational Structures}},
  booktitle =	{50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)},
  pages =	{88:1--88:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-388-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{345},
  editor =	{Gawrychowski, Pawe{\l} and Mazowiecki, Filip and Skrzypczak, Micha{\l}},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.88},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-241958},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.88},
  annote =	{Keywords: color refinement, counting logics, homomorphism counts, homomorphism indistinguishability, guarded logics, pebble games, relational structures, alpha-acyclicity, join-trees}
}
Document
Homomorphism Indistinguishability and Game Comonads for Restricted Conjunction and Requantification

Authors: Georg Schindling

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 345, 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)


Abstract
The notion of homomorphism indistinguishability offers a combinatorial framework for characterizing equivalence relations of graphs, in particular equivalences in counting logics within finite model theory. That is, for certain graph classes, two structures agree on all homomorphism counts from the class if and only if they satisfy the same sentences in a corresponding logic. This perspective often reveals connections between the combinatorial properties of graph classes and the syntactic structure of logical fragments. In this work, we extend this perspective to logics with restricted requantification, refining the stratification of logical resources in finite-variable counting logics. Specifically, we generalize Lovász-type theorems for these logics with either restricted conjunction or bounded quantifier-rank and present new combinatorial proofs of existing results. To this end, we introduce novel path and tree decompositions that incorporate the concept of reusability and develop characterizations based on pursuit-evasion games. Leveraging this framework, we establish that classes of bounded pathwidth and treewidth with reusability constraints are homomorphism distinguishing closed. Finally, we develop a comonadic perspective on requantification by constructing new comonads that encapsulate restricted-reusability pebble games. We show a tight correspondence between their coalgebras and path/tree decompositions, yielding categorical characterizations of reusability in graph decompositions. This unifies logical, combinatorial, and categorical perspectives on the notion of reusability.

Cite as

Georg Schindling. Homomorphism Indistinguishability and Game Comonads for Restricted Conjunction and Requantification. In 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 345, pp. 89:1-89:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{schindling:LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.89,
  author =	{Schindling, Georg},
  title =	{{Homomorphism Indistinguishability and Game Comonads for Restricted Conjunction and Requantification}},
  booktitle =	{50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)},
  pages =	{89:1--89:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-388-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{345},
  editor =	{Gawrychowski, Pawe{\l} and Mazowiecki, Filip and Skrzypczak, Micha{\l}},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.89},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-241962},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.89},
  annote =	{Keywords: homomorphism indistinguishability, game comonads, finite variable counting logic, restricted conjunction, restricted requantification, tree decomposition, path decomposition}
}
Document
Adaptive Query Algorithms for Relational Structures Based on Homomorphism Counts

Authors: Balder ten Cate, Phokion G. Kolaitis, and Arnar Á. Kristjánsson

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 345, 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)


Abstract
A query algorithm based on homomorphism counts is a procedure to decide membership for a class of finite relational structures using only homomorphism count queries. A left query algorithm can ask the number of homomorphisms from any structure to the input structure and a right query algorithm can ask the number of homomorphisms from the input structure to any other structure. We systematically compare the expressive power of different types of left or right query algorithms, including non-adaptive query algorithms, adaptive query algorithms that can ask a bounded number of queries, and adaptive query algorithms that can ask an unbounded number of queries. We also consider query algorithms where the homomorphism counting is done over the Boolean semiring 𝔹, meaning that only the existence of a homomorphism is recorded, not the precise number of them.

Cite as

Balder ten Cate, Phokion G. Kolaitis, and Arnar Á. Kristjánsson. Adaptive Query Algorithms for Relational Structures Based on Homomorphism Counts. In 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 345, pp. 34:1-34:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{tencate_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.34,
  author =	{ten Cate, Balder and Kolaitis, Phokion G. and Kristj\'{a}nsson, Arnar \'{A}.},
  title =	{{Adaptive Query Algorithms for Relational Structures Based on Homomorphism Counts}},
  booktitle =	{50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)},
  pages =	{34:1--34:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-388-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{345},
  editor =	{Gawrychowski, Pawe{\l} and Mazowiecki, Filip and Skrzypczak, Micha{\l}},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.34},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-241413},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.34},
  annote =	{Keywords: Query algorithms, homomorphisms, homomorphism counts, directed graphs, relational structures, Datalog, constraint satisfaction}
}
Document
Monotone Bounded-Depth Complexity of Homomorphism Polynomials

Authors: C.S. Bhargav, Shiteng Chen, Radu Curticapean, and Prateek Dwivedi

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 345, 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)


Abstract
For every fixed graph H, it is known that homomorphism counts from H and colorful H-subgraph counts can be determined in O(n^{t+1}) time on n-vertex input graphs G, where t is the treewidth of H. On the other hand, a running time of n^{o(t / log t)} would refute the exponential-time hypothesis. Komarath, Pandey, and Rahul (Algorithmica, 2023) studied algebraic variants of these counting problems, i.e., homomorphism and subgraph polynomials for fixed graphs H. These polynomials are weighted sums over the objects counted above, where each object is weighted by the product of variables corresponding to edges contained in the object. As shown by Komarath et al., the monotone circuit complexity of the homomorphism polynomial for H is Θ(n^{tw(H)+1}). In this paper, we characterize the power of monotone bounded-depth circuits for homomorphism and colorful subgraph polynomials. This leads us to discover a natural hierarchy of graph parameters tw_Δ(H), for fixed Δ ∈ ℕ, which capture the width of tree-decompositions for H when the underlying tree is required to have depth at most Δ. We prove that monotone circuits of product-depth Δ computing the homomorphism polynomial for H require size Θ(n^{tw_Δ(H^{†})+1}), where H^{†} is the graph obtained from H by removing all degree-1 vertices. This allows us to derive an optimal depth hierarchy theorem for monotone bounded-depth circuits through graph-theoretic arguments.

Cite as

C.S. Bhargav, Shiteng Chen, Radu Curticapean, and Prateek Dwivedi. Monotone Bounded-Depth Complexity of Homomorphism Polynomials. In 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 345, pp. 19:1-19:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{bhargav_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.19,
  author =	{Bhargav, C.S. and Chen, Shiteng and Curticapean, Radu and Dwivedi, Prateek},
  title =	{{Monotone Bounded-Depth Complexity of Homomorphism Polynomials}},
  booktitle =	{50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)},
  pages =	{19:1--19:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-388-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{345},
  editor =	{Gawrychowski, Pawe{\l} and Mazowiecki, Filip and Skrzypczak, Micha{\l}},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.19},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-241269},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.19},
  annote =	{Keywords: algebraic complexity, homomorphisms, monotone circuit complexity, bounded-depth circuits, treewidth, pathwidth}
}
Document
Supercritical Size-Width Tree-Like Resolution Trade-Offs for Graph Isomorphism

Authors: Christoph Berkholz, Moritz Lichter, and Harry Vinall-Smeeth

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 345, 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)


Abstract
We study the refutation complexity of graph isomorphism in the tree-like resolution calculus. Torán and Wörz [Jacobo Torán and Florian Wörz, 2023] showed that there is a resolution refutation of narrow width k for two graphs if and only if they can be distinguished in (k+1)-variable first-order logic (FO^{k+1}). While DAG-like narrow width k resolution refutations have size at most n^k, tree-like refutations may be much larger. We show that there are graphs of order n, whose isomorphism can be refuted in narrow width k but only in tree-like size 2^{Ω(n^{k/2})}. This is a supercritical trade-off where bounding one parameter (the narrow width) causes the other parameter (the size) to grow above its worst case. The size lower bound is super-exponential in the formula size and improves a related supercritical trade-off by Razborov [Alexander A. Razborov, 2016]. To prove our result, we develop a new variant of the k-pebble EF-game for FO^k to reason about tree-like refutation size in a similar way as the Prover-Delayer games in proof complexity. We analyze this game on the compressed CFI graphs introduced by Grohe, Lichter, Neuen, and Schweitzer [Martin Grohe et al., 2023]. Using a recent improved robust compressed CFI construction of de Rezende, Fleming, Janett, Nordström, and Pang [Susanna F. de Rezende et al., 2024], we obtain a similar bound for width k (instead of the stronger but less common narrow width) and make the result more robust.

Cite as

Christoph Berkholz, Moritz Lichter, and Harry Vinall-Smeeth. Supercritical Size-Width Tree-Like Resolution Trade-Offs for Graph Isomorphism. In 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 345, pp. 18:1-18:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{berkholz_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.18,
  author =	{Berkholz, Christoph and Lichter, Moritz and Vinall-Smeeth, Harry},
  title =	{{Supercritical Size-Width Tree-Like Resolution Trade-Offs for Graph Isomorphism}},
  booktitle =	{50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)},
  pages =	{18:1--18:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-388-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{345},
  editor =	{Gawrychowski, Pawe{\l} and Mazowiecki, Filip and Skrzypczak, Micha{\l}},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.18},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-241253},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.18},
  annote =	{Keywords: Proof complexity, Resolution, Width, Tree-like size, Supercritical trade-off, Lower bound, Finite model theory, CFI graphs}
}
Document
Amortized Closure and Its Applications in Lifting for Resolution over Parities

Authors: Klim Efremenko and Dmitry Itsykson

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 339, 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)


Abstract
The notion of closure of a set of linear forms, first introduced by Efremenko, Garlik, and Itsykson [Klim Efremenko et al., 2024], has proven instrumental in proving lower bounds on the sizes of regular and bounded-depth Res(⊕) refutations [Klim Efremenko et al., 2024; Yaroslav Alekseev and Dmitry Itsykson, 2025]. In this work, we present amortized closure, an enhancement that retains the properties of original closure [Klim Efremenko et al., 2024] but offers tighter control on its growth. Specifically, adding a new linear form increases the amortized closure by at most one. We explore two applications that highlight the power of this new concept. Utilizing our newly defined amortized closure, we extend and provide a succinct and elegant proof of the recent lifting theorem by Chattopadhyay and Dvorak [Arkadev Chattopadhyay and Pavel Dvorak, 2025]. Namely we show that for an unsatisfiable CNF formula φ and a 1-stifling gadget g: {0,1}^𝓁 → {0,1}, if the lifted formula φ∘g has a tree-like Res(⊕) refutation of size 2^d and width w, then φ has a resolution refutation of depth d and width w. The original theorem by Chattopadhyay and Dvorak [Arkadev Chattopadhyay and Pavel Dvorak, 2025] applies only to the more restrictive class of strongly stifling gadgets. As a more significant application of amortized closure, we show improved lower bounds for bounded-depth Res(⊕), extending the depth beyond that of Alekseev and Itsykson [Yaroslav Alekseev and Dmitry Itsykson, 2025]. Our result establishes an exponential lower bound for depth-Ω(n log n) Res(⊕) refutations of lifted Tseitin formulas, a notable improvement over the existing depth-Ω(n log log n) Res(⊕) lower bound.

Cite as

Klim Efremenko and Dmitry Itsykson. Amortized Closure and Its Applications in Lifting for Resolution over Parities. In 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 339, pp. 8:1-8:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{efremenko_et_al:LIPIcs.CCC.2025.8,
  author =	{Efremenko, Klim and Itsykson, Dmitry},
  title =	{{Amortized Closure and Its Applications in Lifting for Resolution over Parities}},
  booktitle =	{40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)},
  pages =	{8:1--8:24},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-379-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{339},
  editor =	{Srinivasan, Srikanth},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.8},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-237023},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.8},
  annote =	{Keywords: lifting, resolution over parities, closure of linear forms, lower bounds, width, depth, size vs depth tradeoff}
}
Document
Lifting with Colourful Sunflowers

Authors: Susanna F. de Rezende and Marc Vinyals

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 339, 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)


Abstract
We show that a generalization of the DAG-like query-to-communication lifting theorem, when proven using sunflowers over non-binary alphabets, yields lower bounds on the monotone circuit complexity and proof complexity of natural functions and formulas that are better than previously known results obtained using the approximation method. These include an n^Ω(k) lower bound for the clique function up to k ≤ n^{1/2-ε}, and an exp(Ω(n^{1/3-ε})) lower bound for a function in P.

Cite as

Susanna F. de Rezende and Marc Vinyals. Lifting with Colourful Sunflowers. In 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 339, pp. 36:1-36:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{derezende_et_al:LIPIcs.CCC.2025.36,
  author =	{de Rezende, Susanna F. and Vinyals, Marc},
  title =	{{Lifting with Colourful Sunflowers}},
  booktitle =	{40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)},
  pages =	{36:1--36:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-379-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{339},
  editor =	{Srinivasan, Srikanth},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.36},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-237303},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.36},
  annote =	{Keywords: lifting, sunflower, clique, colouring, monotone circuit, cutting planes}
}
Document
Track B: Automata, Logic, Semantics, and Theory of Programming
Limitations of Affine Integer Relaxations for Solving Constraint Satisfaction Problems

Authors: Moritz Lichter and Benedikt Pago

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 334, 52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025)


Abstract
We show that various recent algorithms for finite-domain constraint satisfaction problems (CSP), which are based on solving their affine integer relaxations, do not solve all tractable and not even all Maltsev CSPs. This rules them out as candidates for a universal polynomial-time CSP algorithm. The algorithms are ℤ-affine k-consistency, BLP+AIP, BA^{k}, and CLAP. We thereby answer a question by Brakensiek, Guruswami, Wrochna, and Živný [Joshua Brakensiek et al., 2020] whether a constant level of BA^{k}solves all tractable CSPs in the negative: Indeed, not even a sublinear level k suffices. We also refute a conjecture by Dalmau and Opršal [Víctor Dalmau and Jakub Opršal, 2024] (LICS 2024) that every CSP is either solved by ℤ-affine k-consistency or admits a Datalog reduction from 3-colorability. For the cohomological k-consistency algorithm, that is also based on affine relaxations, we show that it correctly solves our counterexample but fails on an NP-complete template.

Cite as

Moritz Lichter and Benedikt Pago. Limitations of Affine Integer Relaxations for Solving Constraint Satisfaction Problems. In 52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 334, pp. 166:1-166:17, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{lichter_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.166,
  author =	{Lichter, Moritz and Pago, Benedikt},
  title =	{{Limitations of Affine Integer Relaxations for Solving Constraint Satisfaction Problems}},
  booktitle =	{52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025)},
  pages =	{166:1--166:17},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-372-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{334},
  editor =	{Censor-Hillel, Keren and Grandoni, Fabrizio and Ouaknine, Jo\"{e}l and Puppis, Gabriele},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.166},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-235431},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.166},
  annote =	{Keywords: constraint satisfaction, affine relaxation, promise CSPs, \mathbb{Z}-affine k-consistency, cohomological k-consistency algorithm, Tseitin, graph isomorphism}
}
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