44 Search Results for "Doron, Dean"


Document
Time and Space Efficient Deterministic List Decoding

Authors: Joshua Cook and Dana Moshkovitz

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


Abstract
Error correcting codes encode messages by codewords in such a way that even if some of the codeword is corrupted, the message can be decoded. Typical decoding algorithms for error correcting codes either use linear space or quadratic time. A natural question is whether codes can be decoded in near-linear time and sub-linear space simultaneously. A recent result by Cook and Moshkovitz gave efficient decoders that can uniquely decode Reed-Muller and other codes from a constant fraction (less than half) of corruption. In this work, we address the problem of list decoding in near-linear time and sub-linear space. In the list decoding setting, most of the codeword is corrupted, and one wants to output a short list of potential messages that contains the true message. For any constants γ, τ > 0, we give decoders for Reed-Muller codes that can decode from 1-γ fraction of corruptions in time n^{1+τ} and space n^{τ}. Our decoders work by extending the iterative correction technique of Cook and Moshkovitz. However, that technique, which gradually decreases the number of corruptions in the message, was tailored to the unique decoding setting. We first identify an intermediate problem, codewords list recovery, for which we can make iterative correction work. We then show how to reduce general list decoding to the codewords list recovery problem in efficient time and space. The reduction relies on local correction and testing. In the codewords list recovery problem, the input consists of n unordered lists containing exactly the symbols from L codewords, where a small fraction of the lists is corrupted. The goal is to find the L codewords. In addition, we prove that any linear code with time-space efficient encoding or decoding must be local, in the sense that the codewords satisfy a local linear constraint. This rules out codes like Reed-Solomon from having time-space efficient encoding or decoding.

Cite as

Joshua Cook and Dana Moshkovitz. Time and Space Efficient Deterministic List Decoding. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 42:1-42:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{cook_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.42,
  author =	{Cook, Joshua and Moshkovitz, Dana},
  title =	{{Time and Space Efficient Deterministic List Decoding}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{42:1--42:24},
  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.2026.42},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253292},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.42},
  annote =	{Keywords: Reed-Muller code, local correction, local testing}
}
Document
Efficient Catalytic Graph Algorithms

Authors: James Cook and Edward Pyne

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


Abstract
We give fast, simple, and implementable catalytic logspace algorithms for two fundamental graph problems. First, a randomized catalytic algorithm for s → t connectivity running in Õ(nm) time, and a deterministic catalytic algorithm for the same running in Õ(n³ m) time. The former algorithm is the first algorithmic use of randomization in CL. The algorithm uses one register per vertex and repeatedly "pushes" values along the edges in the graph. Second, a deterministic catalytic algorithm for simulating random walks which in Õ(m T² / ε) time estimates the probability a T-step random walk ends at a given vertex within ε additive error. The algorithm uses one register for each vertex and increments it at each visit to ensure repeated visits follow different outgoing edges. Prior catalytic algorithms for both problems did not have explicit runtime bounds beyond being polynomial in n.

Cite as

James Cook and Edward Pyne. Efficient Catalytic Graph Algorithms. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 43:1-43:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{cook_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.43,
  author =	{Cook, James and Pyne, Edward},
  title =	{{Efficient Catalytic Graph Algorithms}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{43:1--43:22},
  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.2026.43},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253305},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.43},
  annote =	{Keywords: catalytic computing, graph algorithms, catalytic logspace}
}
Document
Markov Chain Robustness

Authors: David Zuckerman

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


Abstract
When a Markov chain models nature or social interactions, it is likely not followed exactly, but only approximately. We therefore introduce several notions of robustness for a Markov chain P. Our standard adversary can dynamically change transition probabilities of P by 1 ± ε, and our strong adversary can completely control each transition independently with probability ε, as in a model by Azar, Broder, Karlin, Linial, and Philips [Y. Azar et al., 1996]. These adversaries are equivalent up to constant factors if the degrees are constant. Our adversarial chains need not converge. We define and prove various robustness properties of a reversible chain P, i.e., a random walk on a connected undirected graph G. Let d be the maximum degree, Δ the diameter, π the stationary distribution, and t_{mix} the mixing time. 1) We define a natural analogue π^+(S) that upper bounds limiting frequencies in a set S in the adversarial chain. We show that if ε = O(1/√{dt_{up}}), where t_{up} is a variant of the mixing time, then π^+(S) = O(π(S)^{1-α}) for any α > 0. 2) We define the mixing time robustness as the largest ε such that the approximate mixing time increases by only a constant factor, and prove that it is Ω(1/√{dt_{mix}}). 3) We define the hitting time robustness as the largest ε such that the maximum hitting time increases by only a constant factor, and show that it is Ω(1/t_{mix}). For trees, we show it is Ω(1/Δ). 4) We define the cover time robustness as the largest ε such that the cover time increases by only a constant factor. We show that in most graphs it’s at least the hitting time robustness. 5) We characterize the mixing, hitting, and cover time robustnesses for constant-degree regular expander graphs up to constant factors. They are Θ(1), Θ(1/log n), and Θ(1/log n), respectively.

Cite as

David Zuckerman. Markov Chain Robustness. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 118:1-118:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{zuckerman:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.118,
  author =	{Zuckerman, David},
  title =	{{Markov Chain Robustness}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{118:1--118:22},
  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.2026.118},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-254056},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.118},
  annote =	{Keywords: Markov chain, random walk, mixing time, hitting time, cover time, robustness, expander graph}
}
Document
On Solving Asymmetric Diagonally Dominant Linear Systems in Sublinear Time

Authors: Tsz Chiu Kwok, Zhewei Wei, and Mingji Yang

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


Abstract
We initiate a study of solving a row/column diagonally dominant (RDD/CDD) linear system 𝐌x = b in sublinear time, with the goal of estimating t^{⊤}x^{∗} for a given vector t ∈ ℝⁿ and a specific solution x^{∗}. This setting naturally generalizes the study of sublinear-time solvers for symmetric diagonally dominant (SDD) systems [Andoni-Krauthgamer-Pogrow, ITCS 2019] to the asymmetric case, which has remained underexplored despite extensive work on nearly-linear-time solvers for RDD/CDD systems. Our first contributions are characterizations of the problem’s mathematical structure. We express a solution x^{∗} via a Neumann series, prove its convergence, and upper bound the truncation error on this series through a novel quantity of 𝐌, termed the maximum p-norm gap. This quantity generalizes the spectral gap of symmetric matrices and captures how the structure of 𝐌 governs the problem’s computational difficulty. For systems with bounded maximum p-norm gap, we develop a collection of algorithmic results for locally approximating t^{⊤}x^{∗} under various scenarios and error measures. We derive these results by adapting the techniques of random-walk sampling, local push, and their bidirectional combination, which have proved powerful for special cases of solving RDD/CDD systems, particularly estimating PageRank and effective resistance on graphs. Our general framework yields deeper insights, extended results, and improved complexity bounds for these problems. Notably, our perspective provides a unified understanding of Forward Push and Backward Push, two fundamental approaches for estimating random-walk probabilities on graphs. Our framework also inherits the hardness results for sublinear-time SDD solvers and local PageRank computation, establishing lower bounds on the maximum p-norm gap or the accuracy parameter. We hope that our work opens the door for further study into sublinear solvers, local graph algorithms, and directed spectral graph theory.

Cite as

Tsz Chiu Kwok, Zhewei Wei, and Mingji Yang. On Solving Asymmetric Diagonally Dominant Linear Systems in Sublinear Time. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 89:1-89:25, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{kwok_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.89,
  author =	{Kwok, Tsz Chiu and Wei, Zhewei and Yang, Mingji},
  title =	{{On Solving Asymmetric Diagonally Dominant Linear Systems in Sublinear Time}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{89:1--89:25},
  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.2026.89},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253768},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.89},
  annote =	{Keywords: Spectral Graph Theory, Linear Systems, Sublinear Algorithms}
}
Document
RANDOM
Low-Degree Polynomials Are Good Extractors

Authors: Omar Alrabiah, Jesse Goodman, Jonathan Mosheiff, and João Ribeiro

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


Abstract
We prove that random low-degree polynomials (over 𝔽₂) are unbiased, in an extremely general sense. That is, we show that random low-degree polynomials are good randomness extractors for a wide class of distributions. Prior to our work, such results were only known for the small families of (1) uniform sources, (2) affine sources, and (3) local sources. We significantly generalize these results, and prove the following. 1) Low-degree polynomials extract from small families. We show that a random low-degree polynomial is a good low-error extractor for any small family of sources. In particular, we improve the positive result of Alrabiah, Chattopadhyay, Goodman, Li, and Ribeiro (ICALP 2022) for local sources, and give new results for polynomial and variety sources via a single unified approach. 2) Low-degree polynomials extract from sumset sources. We show that a random low-degree polynomial is a good extractor for sumset sources, which are the most general large family of sources (capturing independent sources, interleaved sources, small-space sources, and more). Formally, for any even d, we show that a random degree d polynomial is an ε-error extractor for n-bit sumset sources with min-entropy k = O(d(n/ε²)^{2/d}). This is nearly tight in the polynomial error regime. Our results on sumset extractors imply new complexity separations for linear ROBPs, and the tools that go into its proof may be of independent interest. The two main tools we use are a new structural result on sumset-punctured Reed-Muller codes, paired with a novel type of reduction between extractors. Using the new structural result, we obtain new limits on the power of sumset extractors, strengthening and generalizing the impossibility results of Chattopadhyay, Goodman, and Gurumukhani (ITCS 2024).

Cite as

Omar Alrabiah, Jesse Goodman, Jonathan Mosheiff, and João Ribeiro. Low-Degree Polynomials Are Good Extractors. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 38:1-38:25, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{alrabiah_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.38,
  author =	{Alrabiah, Omar and Goodman, Jesse and Mosheiff, Jonathan and Ribeiro, Jo\~{a}o},
  title =	{{Low-Degree Polynomials Are Good Extractors}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{38:1--38:25},
  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.2025.38},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-244048},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.38},
  annote =	{Keywords: randomness extractors, low-degree polynomials, local sources, polynomial sources, variety sources, sumset sources, sumset extractors, Reed-Muller codes, lower bounds}
}
Document
RANDOM
Fooling Near-Maximal Decision Trees

Authors: William M. Hoza and Zelin Lv

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


Abstract
For any constant α > 0, we construct an explicit pseudorandom generator (PRG) that fools n-variate decision trees of size m with error ε and seed length (1 + α) ⋅ log₂ m + O(log(1/ε) + log log n). For context, one can achieve seed length (2 + o(1)) ⋅ log₂ m + O(log(1/ε) + log log n) using well-known constructions and analyses of small-bias distributions, but such a seed length is trivial when m ≥ 2^{n/2}. Our approach is to develop a new variant of the classic concept of almost k-wise independence, which might be of independent interest. We say that a distribution X over {0, 1}ⁿ is k-wise ε-probably uniform if every Boolean function f that depends on only k variables satisfies 𝔼[f(X)] ≥ (1 - ε) ⋅ 𝔼[f]. We show how to sample a k-wise ε-probably uniform distribution using a seed of length (1 + α) ⋅ k + O(log(1/ε) + log log n). Meanwhile, we also show how to construct a set H ⊆ 𝔽₂ⁿ such that every feasible system of k linear equations in n variables over 𝔽₂ has a solution in H. The cardinality of H and the time complexity of enumerating H are at most 2^{k + o(k) + polylog n}, whereas small-bias distributions would give a bound of 2^{2k + O(log(n/k))}. By combining our new constructions with work by Chen and Kabanets (TCS 2016), we obtain nontrivial PRGs and hitting sets for linear-size Boolean circuits. Specifically, we get an explicit PRG with seed length (1 - Ω(1)) ⋅ n that fools circuits of size 2.99 ⋅ n over the U₂ basis, and we get a hitting set with time complexity 2^{(1 - Ω(1)) ⋅ n} for circuits of size 2.49 ⋅ n over the B₂ basis.

Cite as

William M. Hoza and Zelin Lv. Fooling Near-Maximal Decision Trees. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 35:1-35:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{hoza_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.35,
  author =	{Hoza, William M. and Lv, Zelin},
  title =	{{Fooling Near-Maximal Decision Trees}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{35:1--35:24},
  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.2025.35},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-244019},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.35},
  annote =	{Keywords: almost k-wise independence, decision trees, pseudorandom generators}
}
Document
RANDOM
Bit-Fixing Extractors for Almost-Logarithmic Entropy

Authors: Dean Doron and Ori Fridman

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


Abstract
An oblivious bit-fixing source is a distribution over {0,1}ⁿ, where k bits are uniform and independent and the rest n-k are fixed a priori to some constant value. Extracting (close to) true randomness from an oblivious bit-fixing source has been studied since the 1980s, with applications in cryptography and complexity theory. We construct explicit extractors for oblivious bit-fixing source that support k = Õ(log n), outputting almost all the entropy with low error. The previous state-of-the-art construction that outputs many bits is due to Rao [Rao, CCC '09], and requires entropy k ≥ log^{c} n for some large constant c. The two key components in our constructions are new low-error affine condensers for poly-logarithmic entropies (that we achieve using techniques from the nonmalleable extractors literature), and a dual use of linear condensers for OBF sources.

Cite as

Dean Doron and Ori Fridman. Bit-Fixing Extractors for Almost-Logarithmic Entropy. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 33:1-33:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{doron_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.33,
  author =	{Doron, Dean and Fridman, Ori},
  title =	{{Bit-Fixing Extractors for Almost-Logarithmic Entropy}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{33:1--33:19},
  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.2025.33},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-243994},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.33},
  annote =	{Keywords: Seedless extractors, oblivious bit-fixing sources}
}
Document
RANDOM
Simplifying Armoni’s PRG

Authors: Ben Chen and Amnon Ta-Shma

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


Abstract
We propose a simple variant of the INW pseudo-random generator, where blocks have varying lengths, and prove it gives the same parameters as the more complicated construction of Armoni’s PRG. This shows there is no need for the specialized PRGs of Nisan and Zuckerman and Armoni, and they can be obtained as simple variants of INW. For the construction to work we need space-efficient extractors with tiny entropy loss. We use the extractors from [Chattopadhyay and Liao, 2020] instead of [Guruswami et al., 2009] taking advantage of the very high min-entropy regime we work with. We remark that using these extractors has the additional benefit of making the dependence on the branching program alphabet Σ correct.

Cite as

Ben Chen and Amnon Ta-Shma. Simplifying Armoni’s PRG. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 36:1-36:8, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{chen_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.36,
  author =	{Chen, Ben and Ta-Shma, Amnon},
  title =	{{Simplifying Armoni’s PRG}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{36:1--36:8},
  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.2025.36},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-244024},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.36},
  annote =	{Keywords: PRG, ROBP, read-once, random, psuedorandom, armoni, derandomization}
}
Document
RANDOM
Implications of Better PRGs for Permutation Branching Programs

Authors: Dean Doron and William M. Hoza

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


Abstract
We study the challenge of derandomizing constant-width standard-order read-once branching programs (ROBPs). Let c ∈ [1, 2) be any constant. We prove that if there are explicit pseudorandom generators (PRGs) for width-6 length-n permutation ROBPs with error 1/n and seed length Õ(log^c n), then there are explicit hitting set generators (HSGs) for width-4 length-n ROBPs with threshold 1/polylog(n) and seed length Õ(log^c n). For context, there are known explicit PRGs that fool constant-width permutation ROBPs with error ε and seed length O(log(n)⋅log(1/ε)) (Koucký, Nimbhorkar, and Pudlák STOC 2011; De CCC 2011; Steinke ECCC 2012). When ε = 1/n, there are known constructions of weighted pseudorandom generators (WPRGs) that fool polynomial-width permutation ROBPs with seed length Õ(log^{3/2} n) (Pyne and Vadhan CCC 2021; Chen, Hoza, Lyu, Tal, and Wu FOCS 2023; Chattopadhyay and Liao ITCS 2024), but unweighted PRGs with seed length o(log² n) remain elusive. Meanwhile, for width-4 ROBPs, there are no known explicit PRGs, WPRGs, or HSGs with seed length o(log²n). Our reduction can be divided into two parts. First, we show that explicit low-error PRGs for width-6 permutation ROBPs with seed length Õ(log^c n) would imply explicit low-error PRGs for width-3 ROBPs with seed length Õ(log^c n). This would improve Meka, Reingold, and Tal’s PRG (STOC 2019), which has seed length o(log²n) only when the error parameter is relatively large. Second, we show that for any w, n, s, and ε, an explicit PRG for width-w ROBPs with error 0.01/n and seed length s would imply an explicit ε-HSG for width-(w + 1) ROBPs with seed length O(s + log(n)⋅log(1/ε)).

Cite as

Dean Doron and William M. Hoza. Implications of Better PRGs for Permutation Branching Programs. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 28:1-28:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{doron_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.28,
  author =	{Doron, Dean and Hoza, William M.},
  title =	{{Implications of Better PRGs for Permutation Branching Programs}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{28:1--28:20},
  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.2025.28},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-243946},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.28},
  annote =	{Keywords: hitting set generators, pseudorandom generators, read-once branching programs}
}
Document
RANDOM
On Sums of INW Pseudorandom Generators

Authors: William M. Hoza and Zelin Lv

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


Abstract
We study a new approach for constructing pseudorandom generators (PRGs) that fool constant-width standard-order read-once branching programs (ROBPs). Let X be the n-bit output distribution of the INW PRG (Impagliazzo, Nisan, and Wigderson, STOC 1994), instantiated using expansion parameter λ. We prove that the bitwise XOR of t independent copies of X fools width-w programs with error n^{log(w + 1)} ⋅ (λ⋅log n)^t. Notably, this error bound is meaningful even for relatively large values of λ such as λ = 1/O(log n). Admittedly, our analysis does not yet imply any improvement in the bottom-line overall seed length required for fooling such programs - it just gives a new way of re-proving the well-known O(log² n) bound. Furthermore, we prove that this shortcoming is not an artifact of our analysis, but rather is an intrinsic limitation of our "XOR of INW" approach. That is, no matter how many copies of the INW generator we XOR together, and no matter how we set the expansion parameters, if the generator fools width-3 programs and the proof of correctness does not use any properties of the expander graphs except their spectral expansion, then we prove that the seed length of the generator is inevitably Ω(log² n). Still, we hope that our work might be a step toward constructing near-optimal PRGs fooling constant-width ROBPs. We suggest that one could try running the INW PRG on t correlated seeds, sampled via another PRG, and taking the bitwise XOR of the outputs.

Cite as

William M. Hoza and Zelin Lv. On Sums of INW Pseudorandom Generators. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 67:1-67:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{hoza_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.67,
  author =	{Hoza, William M. and Lv, Zelin},
  title =	{{On Sums of INW Pseudorandom Generators}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{67:1--67:24},
  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.2025.67},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-244330},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.67},
  annote =	{Keywords: INW generator, pseudorandomness, space-bounded computation, XOR Lemmas}
}
Document
RANDOM
List-Recovery of Random Linear Codes over Small Fields

Authors: Dean Doron, Jonathan Mosheiff, Nicolas Resch, and João Ribeiro

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


Abstract
We study list-recoverability of random linear codes over small fields, both from errors and from erasures. We consider codes of rate ε-close to capacity, and aim to bound the dependence of the output list size L on ε, the input list size 𝓁, and the alphabet size q. Prior to our work, the best upper bound was L = q^O(𝓁/ε) (Zyablov and Pinsker, Prob. Per. Inf. 1981). Previous work has identified cases in which linear codes provably perform worse than non-linear codes with respect to list-recovery. While there exist non-linear codes that achieve L = O(𝓁/ε), we know that L ≥ 𝓁^Ω(1/ε) is necessary for list recovery from erasures over fields of small characteristic, and for list recovery from errors over large alphabets. We show that in other relevant regimes there is no significant price to pay for linearity, in the sense that we get the correct dependence on the gap-to-capacity ε and go beyond the Zyablov-Pinsker bound for the first time. Specifically, when q is constant and ε approaches zero, - For list-recovery from erasures over prime fields, we show that L ≤ C₁/ε. By prior work, such a result cannot be obtained for low-characteristic fields. - For list-recovery from errors over arbitrary fields, we prove that L ≤ C₂/ε. Above, C₁ and C₂ depend on the decoding radius, input list size, and field size. We provide concrete bounds on the constants above, and the upper bounds on L improve upon the Zyablov-Pinsker bound whenever q ≤ 2^{(1/ε)^c} for some small universal constant c > 0.

Cite as

Dean Doron, Jonathan Mosheiff, Nicolas Resch, and João Ribeiro. List-Recovery of Random Linear Codes over Small Fields. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 57:1-57:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{doron_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.57,
  author =	{Doron, Dean and Mosheiff, Jonathan and Resch, Nicolas and Ribeiro, Jo\~{a}o},
  title =	{{List-Recovery of Random Linear Codes over Small Fields}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{57:1--57:18},
  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.2025.57},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-244239},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.57},
  annote =	{Keywords: List recovery, random linear codes}
}
Document
RANDOM
Near-Optimal List-Recovery of Linear Code Families

Authors: Ray Li and Nikhil Shagrithaya

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


Abstract
We prove several results on linear codes achieving list-recovery capacity. We show that random linear codes achieve list-recovery capacity with constant output list size (independent of the alphabet size and length). That is, over alphabets of size at least 𝓁^Ω(1/ε), random linear codes of rate R are (1-R-ε, 𝓁, (𝓁/ε)^O(𝓁/ε))-list-recoverable for all R ∈ (0,1) and 𝓁. Together with a result of Levi, Mosheiff, and Shagrithaya, this implies that randomly punctured Reed-Solomon codes also achieve list-recovery capacity. We also prove that our output list size is near-optimal among all linear codes: all (1-R-ε, 𝓁, L)-list-recoverable linear codes must have L ≥ 𝓁^{Ω(R/ε)}. Our simple upper bound combines the Zyablov-Pinsker argument with recent bounds from Kopparty, Ron-Zewi, Saraf, Wootters, and Tamo on the maximum intersection of a "list-recovery ball" and a low-dimensional subspace with large distance. Our lower bound is inspired by a recent lower bound of Chen and Zhang.

Cite as

Ray Li and Nikhil Shagrithaya. Near-Optimal List-Recovery of Linear Code Families. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 53:1-53:14, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{li_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.53,
  author =	{Li, Ray and Shagrithaya, Nikhil},
  title =	{{Near-Optimal List-Recovery of Linear Code Families}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{53:1--53:14},
  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.2025.53},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-244199},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.53},
  annote =	{Keywords: Error-Correcting Codes, Randomness, List-Recovery, Reed-Solomon Codes, Random Linear Codes}
}
Document
Catalytic Computing and Register Programs Beyond Log-Depth

Authors: Yaroslav Alekseev, Yuval Filmus, Ian Mertz, Alexander Smal, and Antoine Vinciguerra

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


Abstract
In a seminal work, Buhrman et al. (STOC 2014) defined the class CSPACE(s,c) of problems solvable in space s with an additional catalytic tape of size c, which is a tape whose initial content must be restored at the end of the computation. They showed that uniform TC¹ circuits are computable in catalytic logspace, i.e., CL = CSPACE(O(log{n}), 2^{O(log{n})}), thus giving strong evidence that catalytic space gives L strict additional power. Their study focuses on an arithmetic model called register programs, which has been a focal point in development since then. Understanding CL remains a major open problem, as TC¹ remains the most powerful containment to date. In this work, we study the power of catalytic space and register programs to compute circuits of larger depth. Using register programs, we show that for every ε > 0, SAC² ⊆ CSPACE (O((log²n)/(log log n)), 2^{O(log^{1+ε} n)}) . On the other hand, we know that SAC² ⊆ TC² ⊆ CSPACE(O(log²{n}) , 2^{O(log{n})}). Our result thus shows an O(log log n) factor improvement on the free space needed to compute SAC², at the expense of a nearly-polynomial-sized catalytic tape. We also exhibit non-trivial register programs for matrix powering, which is a further step towards showing NC² ⊆ CL.

Cite as

Yaroslav Alekseev, Yuval Filmus, Ian Mertz, Alexander Smal, and Antoine Vinciguerra. Catalytic Computing and Register Programs Beyond Log-Depth. In 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 345, pp. 6:1-6:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{alekseev_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.6,
  author =	{Alekseev, Yaroslav and Filmus, Yuval and Mertz, Ian and Smal, Alexander and Vinciguerra, Antoine},
  title =	{{Catalytic Computing and Register Programs Beyond Log-Depth}},
  booktitle =	{50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)},
  pages =	{6:1--6:18},
  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.2025.6},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-241136},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.6},
  annote =	{Keywords: catalytic computing, circuit classes, polynomial method}
}
Document
Online Condensing of Unpredictable Sources via Random Walks

Authors: Dean Doron, Dana Moshkovitz, Justin Oh, and David Zuckerman

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


Abstract
A natural model of a source of randomness consists of a long stream of symbols X = X_1∘…∘X_t, with some guarantee on the entropy of X_i conditioned on the outcome of the prefix x_1,… ,x_{i-1}. We study unpredictable sources, a generalization of the almost Chor-Goldreich (CG) sources considered in [Doron et al., 2023]. In an unpredictable source X, for a typical draw of x ∼ X, for most i-s, the element x_i has a low probability of occurring given x_1,… ,x_{i-1}. Such a model relaxes the often unrealistic assumption of a CG source that for every i, and every x_1,… ,x_{i-1}, the next symbol X_i has sufficiently large entropy. Unpredictable sources subsume all previously considered notions of almost CG sources, including notions that [Doron et al., 2023] failed to analyze, and including those that are equivalent to general sources with high min entropy. For a lossless expander G = (V,E) with m = log |V|, we consider a random walk V_0,V_1,…,V_t on G using unpredictable instructions that have sufficient entropy with respect to m. Our main theorem is that for almost all the steps t/2 ≤ i ≤ t in the walk, the vertex V_i is close to a distribution with min-entropy at least m-O(1). As a result, we obtain seeded online condensers with constant entropy gap, and seedless (deterministic) condensers outputting a constant fraction of the entropy. In particular, our condensers run in space comparable to the output entropy, as opposed to the size of the stream, and even when the length t of the stream is not known ahead of time. As another corollary, we obtain a new extractor based on expander random walks handling lower entropy than the classic expander based construction relying on spectral techniques [Gillman, 1998]. As our main technical tool, we provide a novel analysis covering a key case of adversarial random walks on lossless expanders that [Doron et al., 2023] fails to address. As part of the analysis, we provide a "chain rule for vertex probabilities". The standard chain rule states that for every x ∼ X and i, Pr(x_1,… ,x_i) = Pr[X_i = x_i|X_[1,i-1] = x_1,… ,x_{i-1}] ⋅ Pr(x_1,… ,x_{i-1}). If W(x₁,… ,x_i) is the vertex reached using x₁,… ,x_i, then the chain rule for vertex probabilities essentially states that the same phenomena occurs for a typical x: Pr [V_i = W(x_1,… ,x_i)] ≲ Pr[X_i = x_i|X_[1,i-1] = x_1,… ,x_{i-1}] ⋅ Pr[V_{i-1} = W(x_1,… ,x_{i-1})], where V_i is the vertex distribution of the random walk at step i using X.

Cite as

Dean Doron, Dana Moshkovitz, Justin Oh, and David Zuckerman. Online Condensing of Unpredictable Sources via Random Walks. In 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 339, pp. 30:1-30:17, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{doron_et_al:LIPIcs.CCC.2025.30,
  author =	{Doron, Dean and Moshkovitz, Dana and Oh, Justin and Zuckerman, David},
  title =	{{Online Condensing of Unpredictable Sources via Random Walks}},
  booktitle =	{40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)},
  pages =	{30:1--30:17},
  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.2025.30},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-237243},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.30},
  annote =	{Keywords: Randomness Extractors, Expander Graphs}
}
Document
Towards Free Lunch Derandomization from Necessary Assumptions (And OWFs)

Authors: Marshall Ball, Lijie Chen, and Roei Tell

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


Abstract
The question of optimal derandomization, introduced by Doron et. al (JACM 2022), garnered significant recent attention. Works in recent years showed conditional superfast derandomization algorithms, as well as conditional impossibility results, and barriers for obtaining superfast derandomization using certain black-box techniques. Of particular interest is the extreme high-end, which focuses on "free lunch" derandomization, as suggested by Chen and Tell (FOCS 2021). This is derandomization that incurs essentially no time overhead, and errs only on inputs that are infeasible to find. Constructing such algorithms is challenging, and so far there have not been any results following the one in their initial work. In their result, their algorithm is essentially the classical Nisan-Wigderson generator, and they relied on an ad-hoc assumption asserting the existence of a function that is non-batch-computable over all polynomial-time samplable distributions. In this work we deduce free lunch derandomization from a variety of natural hardness assumptions. In particular, we do not resort to non-batch-computability, and the common denominator for all of our assumptions is hardness over all polynomial-time samplable distributions, which is necessary for the conclusion. The main technical components in our proofs are constructions of new and superfast targeted generators, which completely eliminate the time overheads that are inherent to all previously known constructions. In particular, we present an alternative construction for the targeted generator by Chen and Tell (FOCS 2021), which is faster than the original construction, and also more natural and technically intuitive. These contributions significantly strengthen the evidence for the possibility of free lunch derandomization, distill the required assumptions for such a result, and provide the first set of dedicated technical tools that are useful for studying the question.

Cite as

Marshall Ball, Lijie Chen, and Roei Tell. Towards Free Lunch Derandomization from Necessary Assumptions (And OWFs). In 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 339, pp. 31:1-31:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)


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@InProceedings{ball_et_al:LIPIcs.CCC.2025.31,
  author =	{Ball, Marshall and Chen, Lijie and Tell, Roei},
  title =	{{Towards Free Lunch Derandomization from Necessary Assumptions (And OWFs)}},
  booktitle =	{40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)},
  pages =	{31:1--31:20},
  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.2025.31},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-237259},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.31},
  annote =	{Keywords: Pseudorandomness, Derandomization}
}
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