9 Search Results for "Rajgopal, Ninad"

Document
RANDOM
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2024.38
Approximating the Number of Relevant Variables in a Parity Implies Proper Learning

Authors: Nader H. Bshouty and George Haddad

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 317, Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2024)

Abstract
Consider the model where we can access a parity function through random uniform labeled examples in the presence of random classification noise. In this paper, we show that approximating the number of relevant variables in the parity function is as hard as properly learning parities. More specifically, let γ:ℝ^+ → ℝ^+, where γ(x) ≥ x, be any strictly increasing function. In our first result, we show that from any polynomial-time algorithm that returns a γ-approximation, D (i.e., γ^{-1}(d(f)) ≤ D ≤ γ(d(f))), of the number of relevant variables d(f) for any parity f, we can, in polynomial time, construct a solution to the long-standing open problem of polynomial-time learning k(n)-sparse parities (parities with k(n) ≤ n relevant variables), where k(n) = ω_n(1). In our second result, we show that from any T(n)-time algorithm that, for any parity f, returns a γ-approximation of the number of relevant variables d(f) of f, we can, in polynomial time, construct a poly(Γ(n))T(Γ(n)²)-time algorithm that properly learns parities, where Γ(x) = γ(γ(x)). If T(Γ(n)²) = exp({o(n/log n)}), this would resolve another long-standing open problem of properly learning parities in the presence of random classification noise in time exp(o(n/log n)).
Cite as

Nader H. Bshouty and George Haddad. Approximating the Number of Relevant Variables in a Parity Implies Proper Learning. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 317, pp. 38:1-38:15, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)

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@InProceedings{bshouty_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2024.38,
  author =	{Bshouty, Nader H. and Haddad, George},
  title =	{{Approximating the Number of Relevant Variables in a Parity Implies Proper Learning}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2024)},
  pages =	{38:1--38:15},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-348-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2024},
  volume =	{317},
  editor =	{Kumar, Amit and Ron-Zewi, Noga},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2024.38},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-210316},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2024.38},
  annote =	{Keywords: PAC Learning, Random Classification Noise, Uniform Distribution, Parity, Sparcity Approximation}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2024.24
Distribution-Free Proofs of Proximity

Authors: Hugo Aaronson, Tom Gur, Ninad Rajgopal, and Ron D. Rothblum

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

Abstract
Motivated by the fact that input distributions are often unknown in advance, distribution-free property testing considers a setting in which the algorithmic task is to accept functions f: [n] → {0,1} having a certain property Π and reject functions that are ε-far from Π, where the distance is measured according to an arbitrary and unknown input distribution 𝒟 ∼ [n]. As usual in property testing, the tester is required to do so while making only a sublinear number of input queries, but as the distribution is unknown, we also allow a sublinear number of samples from the distribution 𝒟. In this work we initiate the study of distribution-free interactive proofs of proximity (df-IPPs) in which the distribution-free testing algorithm is assisted by an all powerful but untrusted prover. Our main result is that for any problem Π ∈ NC, any proximity parameter ε > 0, and any (trade-off) parameter τ ≤ √n, we construct a df-IPP for Π with respect to ε, that has query and sample complexities τ+O(1/ε), and communication complexity Õ(n/τ + 1/ε). For τ as above and sufficiently large ε (namely, when ε > τ/n), this result matches the parameters of the best-known general purpose IPPs in the standard uniform setting. Moreover, for such τ, its parameters are optimal up to poly-logarithmic factors under reasonable cryptographic assumptions for the same regime of ε as the uniform setting, i.e., when ε ≥ 1/τ. For smaller values of ε (i.e., when ε < τ/n), our protocol has communication complexity Ω(1/ε), which is worse than the Õ(n/τ) communication complexity of the uniform IPPs (with the same query complexity). With the aim of improving on this gap, we further show that for IPPs over specialised, but large distribution families, such as sufficiently smooth distributions and product distributions, the communication complexity can be reduced to Õ(n/τ^{1-o(1)}). In addition, we show that for certain natural families of languages, such as symmetric and (relaxed) self-correctable languages, it is possible to further improve the efficiency of distribution-free IPPs.
Cite as

Hugo Aaronson, Tom Gur, Ninad Rajgopal, and Ron D. Rothblum. Distribution-Free Proofs of Proximity. In 39th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 300, pp. 24:1-24:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)

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@InProceedings{aaronson_et_al:LIPIcs.CCC.2024.24,
  author =	{Aaronson, Hugo and Gur, Tom and Rajgopal, Ninad and Rothblum, Ron D.},
  title =	{{Distribution-Free Proofs of Proximity}},
  booktitle =	{39th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2024)},
  pages =	{24:1--24:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-331-7},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2024},
  volume =	{300},
  editor =	{Santhanam, Rahul},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2024.24},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-204204},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2024.24},
  annote =	{Keywords: Property Testing, Interactive Proofs, Distribution-Free Property Testing}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2023.29
Constant-Depth Circuits vs. Monotone Circuits

Authors: Bruno P. Cavalar and Igor C. Oliveira

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 264, 38th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2023)

Abstract
We establish new separations between the power of monotone and general (non-monotone) Boolean circuits: - For every k ≥ 1, there is a monotone function in AC⁰ (constant-depth poly-size circuits) that requires monotone circuits of depth Ω(log^k n). This significantly extends a classical result of Okol'nishnikova [Okol'nishnikova, 1982] and Ajtai and Gurevich [Ajtai and Gurevich, 1987]. In addition, our separation holds for a monotone graph property, which was unknown even in the context of AC⁰ versus mAC⁰. - For every k ≥ 1, there is a monotone function in AC⁰[⊕] (constant-depth poly-size circuits extended with parity gates) that requires monotone circuits of size exp(Ω(log^k n)). This makes progress towards a question posed by Grigni and Sipser [Grigni and Sipser, 1992]. These results show that constant-depth circuits can be more efficient than monotone formulas and monotone circuits when computing monotone functions. In the opposite direction, we observe that non-trivial simulations are possible in the absence of parity gates: every monotone function computed by an AC⁰ circuit of size s and depth d can be computed by a monotone circuit of size 2^{n - n/O(log s)^{d-1}}. We show that the existence of significantly faster monotone simulations would lead to breakthrough circuit lower bounds. In particular, if every monotone function in AC⁰ admits a polynomial size monotone circuit, then NC² is not contained in NC¹. Finally, we revisit our separation result against monotone circuit size and investigate the limits of our approach, which is based on a monotone lower bound for constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs) established by Göös, Kamath, Robere and Sokolov [Göös et al., 2019] via lifting techniques. Adapting results of Schaefer [Thomas J. Schaefer, 1978] and Allender, Bauland, Immerman, Schnoor and Vollmer [Eric Allender et al., 2009], we obtain an unconditional classification of the monotone circuit complexity of Boolean-valued CSPs via their polymorphisms. This result and the consequences we derive from it might be of independent interest.
Cite as

Bruno P. Cavalar and Igor C. Oliveira. Constant-Depth Circuits vs. Monotone Circuits. In 38th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2023). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 264, pp. 29:1-29:37, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2023)

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@InProceedings{cavalar_et_al:LIPIcs.CCC.2023.29,
  author =	{Cavalar, Bruno P. and Oliveira, Igor C.},
  title =	{{Constant-Depth Circuits vs. Monotone Circuits}},
  booktitle =	{38th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2023)},
  pages =	{29:1--29:37},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-282-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2023},
  volume =	{264},
  editor =	{Ta-Shma, Amnon},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2023.29},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-182998},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2023.29},
  annote =	{Keywords: circuit complexity, monotone circuit complexity, bounded-depth circuis, constraint-satisfaction problems}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2021.7
One-Way Functions and a Conditional Variant of MKTP

Authors: Eric Allender, Mahdi Cheraghchi, Dimitrios Myrisiotis, Harsha Tirumala, and Ilya Volkovich

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 213, 41st IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2021)

Abstract
One-way functions (OWFs) are central objects of study in cryptography and computational complexity theory. In a seminal work, Liu and Pass (FOCS 2020) proved that the average-case hardness of computing time-bounded Kolmogorov complexity is equivalent to the existence of OWFs. It remained an open problem to establish such an equivalence for the average-case hardness of some natural NP-complete problem. In this paper, we make progress on this question by studying a conditional variant of the Minimum KT-complexity Problem (MKTP), which we call McKTP, as follows. 1) First, we prove that if McKTP is average-case hard on a polynomial fraction of its instances, then there exist OWFs. 2) Then, we observe that McKTP is NP-complete under polynomial-time randomized reductions. 3) Finally, we prove that the existence of OWFs implies the nontrivial average-case hardness of McKTP. Thus the existence of OWFs is inextricably linked to the average-case hardness of this NP-complete problem. In fact, building on recently-announced results of Ren and Santhanam [Rahul Ilango et al., 2021], we show that McKTP is hard-on-average if and only if there are logspace-computable OWFs.
Cite as

Eric Allender, Mahdi Cheraghchi, Dimitrios Myrisiotis, Harsha Tirumala, and Ilya Volkovich. One-Way Functions and a Conditional Variant of MKTP. In 41st IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2021). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 213, pp. 7:1-7:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2021)

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@InProceedings{allender_et_al:LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2021.7,
  author =	{Allender, Eric and Cheraghchi, Mahdi and Myrisiotis, Dimitrios and Tirumala, Harsha and Volkovich, Ilya},
  title =	{{One-Way Functions and a Conditional Variant of MKTP}},
  booktitle =	{41st IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2021)},
  pages =	{7:1--7:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-215-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2021},
  volume =	{213},
  editor =	{Boja\'{n}czyk, Miko{\l}aj and Chekuri, Chandra},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2021.7},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-155181},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2021.7},
  annote =	{Keywords: Kolmogorov complexity, KT Complexity, Minimum KT-complexity Problem, MKTP, Conditional KT Complexity, Minimum Conditional KT-complexity Problem, McKTP, one-way functions, OWFs, average-case hardness, pseudorandom generators, PRGs, pseudorandom functions, PRFs, distinguishers, learning algorithms, NP-completeness, reductions}
}
Document
RANDOM
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2021.46
On the Structure of Learnability Beyond P/Poly

Authors: Ninad Rajgopal and Rahul Santhanam

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 207, Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2021)

Abstract
Motivated by the goal of showing stronger structural results about the complexity of learning, we study the learnability of strong concept classes beyond P/poly, such as PSPACE/poly and EXP/poly. We show the following: 1) (Unconditional Lower Bounds for Learning) Building on [Adam R. Klivans et al., 2013], we prove unconditionally that BPE/poly cannot be weakly learned in polynomial time over the uniform distribution, even with membership and equivalence queries. 2) (Robustness of Learning) For the concept classes EXP/poly and PSPACE/poly, we show unconditionally that worst-case and average-case learning are equivalent, that PAC-learnability and learnability over the uniform distribution are equivalent, and that membership queries do not help in either case. 3) (Reducing Succinct Search to Decision for Learning) For the decision problems R_{Kt} and R_{KS} capturing the complexity of learning EXP/poly and PSPACE/poly respectively, we show a succinct search to decision reduction: for each of these problems, the problem is in BPP iff there is a probabilistic polynomial-time algorithm computing circuits encoding proofs for positive instances of the problem. This is shown via a more general result giving succinct search to decision results for PSPACE, EXP and NEXP, which might be of independent interest. 4) (Implausibility of Oblivious Strongly Black-Box Reductions showing NP-hardness of learning NP/poly) We define a natural notion of hardness of learning with respect to oblivious strongly black-box reductions. We show that learning PSPACE/poly is PSPACE-hard with respect to oblivious strongly black-box reductions. On the other hand, if learning NP/poly is NP-hard with respect to oblivious strongly black-box reductions, the Polynomial Hierarchy collapses.
Cite as

Ninad Rajgopal and Rahul Santhanam. On the Structure of Learnability Beyond P/Poly. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2021). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 207, pp. 46:1-46:23, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2021)

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@InProceedings{rajgopal_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2021.46,
  author =	{Rajgopal, Ninad and Santhanam, Rahul},
  title =	{{On the Structure of Learnability Beyond P/Poly}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2021)},
  pages =	{46:1--46:23},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-207-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2021},
  volume =	{207},
  editor =	{Wootters, Mary and Sanit\`{a}, Laura},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2021.46},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-147395},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2021.46},
  annote =	{Keywords: Hardness of Learning, Oracle Circuit Classes, Succinct Search, Black-Box Reductions}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2021.23
One-Tape Turing Machine and Branching Program Lower Bounds for MCSP

Authors: Mahdi Cheraghchi, Shuichi Hirahara, Dimitrios Myrisiotis, and Yuichi Yoshida

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 187, 38th International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2021)

Abstract
For a size parameter s: ℕ → ℕ, the Minimum Circuit Size Problem (denoted by MCSP[s(n)]) is the problem of deciding whether the minimum circuit size of a given function f : {0,1}ⁿ → {0,1} (represented by a string of length N : = 2ⁿ) is at most a threshold s(n). A recent line of work exhibited "hardness magnification" phenomena for MCSP: A very weak lower bound for MCSP implies a breakthrough result in complexity theory. For example, McKay, Murray, and Williams (STOC 2019) implicitly showed that, for some constant μ₁ > 0, if MCSP[2^{μ₁⋅ n}] cannot be computed by a one-tape Turing machine (with an additional one-way read-only input tape) running in time N^{1.01}, then P≠NP. In this paper, we present the following new lower bounds against one-tape Turing machines and branching programs: 1) A randomized two-sided error one-tape Turing machine (with an additional one-way read-only input tape) cannot compute MCSP[2^{μ₂⋅n}] in time N^{1.99}, for some constant μ₂ > μ₁. 2) A non-deterministic (or parity) branching program of size o(N^{1.5}/log N) cannot compute MKTP, which is a time-bounded Kolmogorov complexity analogue of MCSP. This is shown by directly applying the Nečiporuk method to MKTP, which previously appeared to be difficult. 3) The size of any non-deterministic, co-non-deterministic, or parity branching program computing MCSP is at least N^{1.5-o(1)}. These results are the first non-trivial lower bounds for MCSP and MKTP against one-tape Turing machines and non-deterministic branching programs, and essentially match the best-known lower bounds for any explicit functions against these computational models. The first result is based on recent constructions of pseudorandom generators for read-once oblivious branching programs (ROBPs) and combinatorial rectangles (Forbes and Kelley, FOCS 2018; Viola 2019). En route, we obtain several related results: 1) There exists a (local) hitting set generator with seed length Õ(√N) secure against read-once polynomial-size non-deterministic branching programs on N-bit inputs. 2) Any read-once co-non-deterministic branching program computing MCSP must have size at least 2^Ω̃(N).
Cite as

Mahdi Cheraghchi, Shuichi Hirahara, Dimitrios Myrisiotis, and Yuichi Yoshida. One-Tape Turing Machine and Branching Program Lower Bounds for MCSP. In 38th International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2021). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 187, pp. 23:1-23:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2021)

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@InProceedings{cheraghchi_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2021.23,
  author =	{Cheraghchi, Mahdi and Hirahara, Shuichi and Myrisiotis, Dimitrios and Yoshida, Yuichi},
  title =	{{One-Tape Turing Machine and Branching Program Lower Bounds for MCSP}},
  booktitle =	{38th International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2021)},
  pages =	{23:1--23:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-180-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2021},
  volume =	{187},
  editor =	{Bl\"{a}ser, Markus and Monmege, Benjamin},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2021.23},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-136681},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2021.23},
  annote =	{Keywords: Minimum Circuit Size Problem, Kolmogorov Complexity, One-Tape Turing Machines, Branching Programs, Lower Bounds, Pseudorandom Generators, Hitting Set Generators}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2020.34
Approaching MCSP from Above and Below: Hardness for a Conditional Variant and AC^0[p]

Authors: Rahul Ilango

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 151, 11th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2020)

Abstract
The Minimum Circuit Size Problem (MCSP) asks whether a given Boolean function has a circuit of at most a given size. MCSP has been studied for over a half-century and has deep connections throughout theoretical computer science including to cryptography, computational learning theory, and proof complexity. For example, we know (informally) that if MCSP is easy to compute, then most cryptography can be broken. Despite this cryptographic hardness connection and extensive research, we still know relatively little about the hardness of MCSP unconditionally. Indeed, until very recently it was unknown whether MCSP can be computed in AC^0[2] (Golovnev et al., ICALP 2019). Our main contribution in this paper is to formulate a new "oracle" variant of circuit complexity and prove that this problem is NP-complete under randomized reductions. In more detail, we define the Minimum Oracle Circuit Size Problem (MOCSP) that takes as input the truth table of a Boolean function f, a size threshold s, and the truth table of an oracle Boolean function O, and determines whether there is a circuit with O-oracle gates and at most s wires that computes f. We prove that MOCSP is NP-complete under randomized polynomial-time reductions. We also extend the recent AC^0[p] lower bound against MCSP by Golovnev et al. to a lower bound against the circuit minimization problem for depth-d formulas, (AC^0_d)-MCSP. We view this result as primarily a technical contribution. In particular, our proof takes a radically different approach from prior MCSP-related hardness results.
Cite as

Rahul Ilango. Approaching MCSP from Above and Below: Hardness for a Conditional Variant and AC^0[p]. In 11th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2020). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 151, pp. 34:1-34:26, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2020)

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@InProceedings{ilango:LIPIcs.ITCS.2020.34,
  author =	{Ilango, Rahul},
  title =	{{Approaching MCSP from Above and Below: Hardness for a Conditional Variant and AC^0\lbrackp\rbrack}},
  booktitle =	{11th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2020)},
  pages =	{34:1--34:26},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-134-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2020},
  volume =	{151},
  editor =	{Vidick, Thomas},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2020.34},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-117191},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2020.34},
  annote =	{Keywords: Minimum Circuit Size Problem, reductions, NP-completeness, circuit lower bounds}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2020.70
Beyond Natural Proofs: Hardness Magnification and Locality

Authors: Lijie Chen, Shuichi Hirahara, Igor C. Oliveira, Ján Pich, Ninad Rajgopal, and Rahul Santhanam

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 151, 11th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2020)

Abstract
Hardness magnification reduces major complexity separations (such as EXP ⊈ NC^1) to proving lower bounds for some natural problem Q against weak circuit models. Several recent works [Igor Carboni Oliveira and Rahul Santhanam, 2018; Dylan M. McKay et al., 2019; Lijie Chen and Roei Tell, 2019; Igor Carboni Oliveira et al., 2019; Lijie Chen et al., 2019; Igor Carboni Oliveira, 2019; Lijie Chen et al., 2019] have established results of this form. In the most intriguing cases, the required lower bound is known for problems that appear to be significantly easier than Q, while Q itself is susceptible to lower bounds but these are not yet sufficient for magnification. In this work, we provide more examples of this phenomenon, and investigate the prospects of proving new lower bounds using this approach. In particular, we consider the following essential questions associated with the hardness magnification program: - Does hardness magnification avoid the natural proofs barrier of Razborov and Rudich [Alexander A. Razborov and Steven Rudich, 1997]? - Can we adapt known lower bound techniques to establish the desired lower bound for Q? We establish that some instantiations of hardness magnification overcome the natural proofs barrier in the following sense: slightly superlinear-size circuit lower bounds for certain versions of the minimum circuit size problem MCSP imply the non-existence of natural proofs. As a corollary of our result, we show that certain magnification theorems not only imply strong worst-case circuit lower bounds but also rule out the existence of efficient learning algorithms. Hardness magnification might sidestep natural proofs, but we identify a source of difficulty when trying to adapt existing lower bound techniques to prove strong lower bounds via magnification. This is captured by a locality barrier: existing magnification theorems unconditionally show that the problems Q considered above admit highly efficient circuits extended with small fan-in oracle gates, while lower bound techniques against weak circuit models quite often easily extend to circuits containing such oracles. This explains why direct adaptations of certain lower bounds are unlikely to yield strong complexity separations via hardness magnification.
Cite as

Lijie Chen, Shuichi Hirahara, Igor C. Oliveira, Ján Pich, Ninad Rajgopal, and Rahul Santhanam. Beyond Natural Proofs: Hardness Magnification and Locality. In 11th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2020). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 151, pp. 70:1-70:48, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2020)

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@InProceedings{chen_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2020.70,
  author =	{Chen, Lijie and Hirahara, Shuichi and Oliveira, Igor C. and Pich, J\'{a}n and Rajgopal, Ninad and Santhanam, Rahul},
  title =	{{Beyond Natural Proofs: Hardness Magnification and Locality}},
  booktitle =	{11th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2020)},
  pages =	{70:1--70:48},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-134-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2020},
  volume =	{151},
  editor =	{Vidick, Thomas},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2020.70},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-117550},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2020.70},
  annote =	{Keywords: Hardness Magnification, Natural Proofs, Minimum Circuit Size Problem, Circuit Lower Bounds}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2018.78
Deterministically Counting Satisfying Assignments for Constant-Depth Circuits with Parity Gates, with Implications for Lower Bounds

Authors: Ninad Rajgopal, Rahul Santhanam, and Srikanth Srinivasan

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 117, 43rd International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2018)

Abstract
We give a deterministic algorithm for counting the number of satisfying assignments of any AC^0[oplus] circuit C of size s and depth d over n variables in time 2^(n-f(n,s,d)), where f(n,s,d) = n/O(log(s))^(d-1), whenever s = 2^o(n^(1/d)). As a consequence, we get that for each d, there is a language in E^{NP} that does not have AC^0[oplus] circuits of size 2^o(n^(1/(d+1))). This is the first lower bound in E^{NP} against AC^0[oplus] circuits that beats the lower bound of 2^Omega(n^(1/2(d-1))) due to Razborov and Smolensky for large d. Both our algorithm and our lower bounds extend to AC^0[p] circuits for any prime p.
Cite as

Ninad Rajgopal, Rahul Santhanam, and Srikanth Srinivasan. Deterministically Counting Satisfying Assignments for Constant-Depth Circuits with Parity Gates, with Implications for Lower Bounds. In 43rd International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2018). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 117, pp. 78:1-78:15, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2018)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{rajgopal_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2018.78,
  author =	{Rajgopal, Ninad and Santhanam, Rahul and Srinivasan, Srikanth},
  title =	{{Deterministically Counting Satisfying Assignments for Constant-Depth Circuits with Parity Gates, with Implications for Lower Bounds}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2018)},
  pages =	{78:1--78:15},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-086-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2018},
  volume =	{117},
  editor =	{Potapov, Igor and Spirakis, Paul and Worrell, James},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2018.78},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-96607},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2018.78},
  annote =	{Keywords: circuit satisfiability, circuit lower bounds, polynomial method, derandomization}
}
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