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DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.16

To Buy or Not to Buy: Online Rent-Or-Buy on Node-Weighted Graphs

Authors: Sander Borst and Moritz Venzin

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

Abstract

We study the rent-or-buy variant of the online Steiner forest problem on node- and edge-weighted graphs. For n-node graphs with at most ̄{n} nodes of non-zero weight, and at most k̃ different arriving terminal pairs, we obtain the following: - A deterministic, O(log n log ̄{n})-competitive algorithm against adaptive adversaries. This improves on the previous best, O(log⁴ n)-competitive algorithm obtained by the black-box reduction from [Yair Bartal et al., 2001] combined with the previously best deterministic algorithms for the simpler "buy-only" setting. - A deterministic, O(̄{n}log k̃)-competitive algorithm against adaptive adversaries. This generalizes the O(log k̃)-competitive algorithm for the purely edge-weighted setting from [Seeun Umboh, 2015]. - A randomized, O(log k̃ log ̄{n})-competitive algorithm against oblivious adversaries. All previous approaches were based on the randomized, black-box reduction from [Awerbuch et al., 2004] that achieves a O(log k̃ log n)-competitive ratio when combined with an algorithm for the "buy-only" setting. Our key technical ingredient is a novel charging scheme to an instance of online prize-collecting set cover. This allows us to extend the witness-technique of [Seeun Umboh, 2015] to the node-weighted setting and obtain refined guarantees with respect to ̄{n}, already in the much simpler "buy-only" setting.

Cite as

Sander Borst and Moritz Venzin. To Buy or Not to Buy: Online Rent-Or-Buy on Node-Weighted Graphs. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 16:1-16:16, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{borst_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.16,
  author =	{Borst, Sander and Venzin, Moritz},
  title =	{{To Buy or Not to Buy: Online Rent-Or-Buy on Node-Weighted Graphs}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{16:1--16:16},
  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.2026.16},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255054},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.16},
  annote =	{Keywords: online network design, node-weighted Steiner forest, derandomization}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.17

Cutoff for the Swendsen–Wang Dynamics on the Complete Graph

Authors: Antonio Blanca and Zhezheng Song

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 360, 45th IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2025)

Abstract

We study the speed of convergence of the Swendsen-Wang (SW) dynamics for the q-state ferromagnetic Potts model on the n-vertex complete graph, known as the mean-field model. The SW dynamics was introduced as an attractive alternative to the local Glauber dynamics, often offering faster convergence rates to stationarity in a variety of settings. A series of works have characterized the asymptotic behavior of the speed of convergence of the mean-field SW dynamics for all q ≥ 2 and all values of the inverse temperature parameter β > 0. In particular, it is known that when β > q the mixing time of the SW dynamics is Θ(log n). We strengthen this result by showing that for all β > q, there exists a constant c(β,q) > 0 such that the mixing time of the SW dynamics is c(β,q) log n + Θ(1). This implies that the mean-field SW dynamics exhibits the cutoff phenomenon in this temperature regime, demonstrating that this Markov chain undergoes a sharp transition from "far from stationarity" to "well-mixed" within a narrow Θ(1) time window. The presence of cutoff is algorithmically significant, as simulating the chain for fewer steps than its mixing time could lead to highly biased samples.

Cite as

Antonio Blanca and Zhezheng Song. Cutoff for the Swendsen–Wang Dynamics on the Complete Graph. In 45th IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 360, pp. 17:1-17:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{blanca_et_al:LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.17,
  author =	{Blanca, Antonio and Song, Zhezheng},
  title =	{{Cutoff for the Swendsen–Wang Dynamics on the Complete Graph}},
  booktitle =	{45th IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2025)},
  pages =	{17:1--17:21},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-406-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{360},
  editor =	{Aiswarya, C. and Mehta, Ruta and Roy, Subhajit},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.17},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-250987},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.17},
  annote =	{Keywords: Markov chains, mixing times, cutoff phenomenon, Potts model, mean-field}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITP.2025.33

Scott’s Representation Theorem and the Univalent Karoubi Envelope

Authors: Arnoud van der Leer, Kobe Wullaert, and Benedikt Ahrens

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 352, 16th International Conference on Interactive Theorem Proving (ITP 2025)

Abstract

Lambek and Scott constructed a correspondence between simply-typed lambda calculi and Cartesian closed categories. Scott’s Representation Theorem is a cousin to this result for untyped lambda calculi. It states that every untyped lambda calculus arises from a reflexive object in some category. We present a formalization of Scott’s Representation Theorem in univalent foundations, in the (Rocq-)UniMath library. Specifically, we implement two proofs of that theorem, one by Scott and one by Hyland. We also explain the role of the Karoubi envelope - a categorical construction - in the proofs and the impact the chosen foundation has on this construction. Finally, we report on some automation we have implemented for the reduction of λ-terms.

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Arnoud van der Leer, Kobe Wullaert, and Benedikt Ahrens. Scott’s Representation Theorem and the Univalent Karoubi Envelope. In 16th International Conference on Interactive Theorem Proving (ITP 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 352, pp. 33:1-33:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{vanderleer_et_al:LIPIcs.ITP.2025.33,
  author =	{van der Leer, Arnoud and Wullaert, Kobe and Ahrens, Benedikt},
  title =	{{Scott’s Representation Theorem and the Univalent Karoubi Envelope}},
  booktitle =	{16th International Conference on Interactive Theorem Proving (ITP 2025)},
  pages =	{33:1--33:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-396-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{352},
  editor =	{Forster, Yannick and Keller, Chantal},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITP.2025.33},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-246318},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITP.2025.33},
  annote =	{Keywords: Lambda calculi, algebraic theories, categorical semantics, Karoubi envelope, formalization, Rocq-UniMath, univalent foundations}
}

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RANDOM

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.47

Time Lower Bounds for the Metropolis Process and Simulated Annealing

Authors: Zongchen Chen, Dan Mikulincer, Daniel Reichman, and Alexander S. Wein

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

Abstract

The Metropolis process (MP) and Simulated Annealing (SA) are stochastic local search heuristics that are often used in solving combinatorial optimization problems. Despite significant interest, there are very few theoretical results regarding the quality of approximation obtained by MP and SA (with polynomially many iterations) for NP-hard optimization problems. We provide rigorous lower bounds for MP and SA with respect to the classical maximum independent set problem when the algorithms are initialized from the empty set. We establish the existence of a family of graphs for which both MP and SA fail to find approximate solutions in polynomial time. More specifically, we show that for any ε ∈ (0,1) there are n-vertex graphs for which the probability SA (when limited to polynomially many iterations) will approximate the optimal solution within ratio Ω(1/n^{1-ε}) is exponentially small. Our lower bounds extend to graphs of constant average degree d, illustrating the failure of MP to achieve an approximation ratio of Ω(log(d)/d) in polynomial time. In some cases, our lower bounds apply even when the temperature is chosen adaptively. Finally, we prove exponential-time lower bounds when the inputs to these algorithms are bipartite graphs, and even trees, which are known to admit polynomial-time algorithms for the independent set problem.

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Zongchen Chen, Dan Mikulincer, Daniel Reichman, and Alexander S. Wein. Time Lower Bounds for the Metropolis Process and Simulated Annealing. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 47:1-47:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{chen_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.47,
  author =	{Chen, Zongchen and Mikulincer, Dan and Reichman, Daniel and Wein, Alexander S.},
  title =	{{Time Lower Bounds for the Metropolis Process and Simulated Annealing}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{47:1--47:22},
  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.2025.47},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-244138},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.47},
  annote =	{Keywords: Metropolis Process, Simulated Annealing, Independent Set}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.7

Sparser Abelian High Dimensional Expanders

Authors: Yotam Dikstein, Siqi Liu, and Avi Wigderson

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

Abstract

The focus of this paper is the development of new elementary techniques for the construction and analysis of high dimensional expanders. Specifically, we present two new explicit constructions of Cayley high dimensional expanders (HDXs) over the abelian group 𝔽₂ⁿ. Our expansion proofs use only linear algebra and combinatorial arguments. The first construction gives local spectral HDXs of any constant dimension and subpolynomial degree exp(n^ε) for every ε > 0, improving on a construction by Golowich [Golowich, 2023] which achieves ε = 1/2. [Golowich, 2023] derives these HDXs by sparsifying the complete Grassmann poset of subspaces. The novelty in our construction is the ability to sparsify any expanding Grassmann posets, leading to iterated sparsification and much smaller degrees. The sparse Grassmannian (which is of independent interest in the theory of HDXs) serves as the generating set of the Cayley graph. Our second construction gives a 2-dimensional HDX of any polynomial degree exp(ε n) for any constant ε > 0, which is simultaneously a spectral expander and a coboundary expander. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first such non-trivial construction. We name it the Johnson complex, as it is derived from the classical Johnson scheme, whose vertices serve as the generating set of this Cayley graph. This construction may be viewed as a derandomization of the recent random geometric complexes of [Liu et al., 2023]. Establishing coboundary expansion through Gromov’s "cone method" and the associated isoperimetric inequalities is the most intricate aspect of this construction. While these two constructions are quite different, we show that they both share a common structure, resembling the intersection patterns of vectors in the Hadamard code. We propose a general framework of such "Hadamard-like" constructions in the hope that it will yield new HDXs.

Cite as

Yotam Dikstein, Siqi Liu, and Avi Wigderson. Sparser Abelian High Dimensional Expanders. In 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 339, pp. 7:1-7:98, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{dikstein_et_al:LIPIcs.CCC.2025.7,
  author =	{Dikstein, Yotam and Liu, Siqi and Wigderson, Avi},
  title =	{{Sparser Abelian High Dimensional Expanders}},
  booktitle =	{40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)},
  pages =	{7:1--7:98},
  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.2025.7},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-237013},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.7},
  annote =	{Keywords: Local spectral expander, coboundary expander, Grassmannian expander}
}

Document

Track A: Algorithms, Complexity and Games

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.18

q-Partitioning Valuations: Exploring the Space Between Subadditive and Fractionally Subadditive Valuations

Authors: Kiril Bangachev and S. Matthew Weinberg

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

Abstract

For a set M of m elements, we define a decreasing chain of classes of normalized monotone-increasing valuation functions from 2^M to ℝ_{≥ 0}, parameterized by an integer q ∈ [2,m]. For a given q, we refer to the class as q-partitioning. A valuation function is subadditive if and only if it is 2-partitioning, and fractionally subadditive if and only if it is m-partitioning. Thus, our chain establishes an interpolation between subadditive and fractionally subadditive valuations. We show that this interpolation is smooth (q-partitioning valuations are "nearly" (q-1)-partitioning in a precise sense, Theorem 6), interpretable (the definition arises by analyzing the core of a cost-sharing game, à la the Bondareva-Shapley Theorem for fractionally subadditive valuations, Section 3.1), and non-trivial (the class of q-partitioning valuations is distinct for all q, Proposition 3). For domains where provable separations exist between subadditive and fractionally subadditive, we interpolate the stronger guarantees achievable for fractionally subadditive valuations to all q ∈ {2,…, m}. Two highlights are the following: 1) An Ω ((log log q)/(log log m))-competitive posted price mechanism for q-partitioning valuations. Note that this matches asymptotically the state-of-the-art for both subadditive (q = 2) [Paul Dütting et al., 2020], and fractionally subadditive (q = m) [Feldman et al., 2015]. 2) Two upper-tail concentration inequalities on 1-Lipschitz, q-partitioning valuations over independent items. One extends the state-of-the-art for q = m to q < m, the other improves the state-of-the-art for q = 2 for q > 2. Our concentration inequalities imply several corollaries that interpolate between subadditive and fractionally subadditive, for example: 𝔼[v(S)] ≤ (1 + 1/log q)Median[v(S)] + O(log q). To prove this, we develop a new isoperimetric inequality using Talagrand’s method of control by q points, which may be of independent interest. We also discuss other probabilistic inequalities and game-theoretic applications of q-partitioning valuations, and connections to subadditive MPH-k valuations [Tomer Ezra et al., 2019].

Cite as

Kiril Bangachev and S. Matthew Weinberg. q-Partitioning Valuations: Exploring the Space Between Subadditive and Fractionally Subadditive Valuations. In 52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 334, pp. 18:1-18:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{bangachev_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.18,
  author =	{Bangachev, Kiril and Weinberg, S. Matthew},
  title =	{{q-Partitioning Valuations: Exploring the Space Between Subadditive and Fractionally Subadditive Valuations}},
  booktitle =	{52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025)},
  pages =	{18:1--18:20},
  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.2025.18},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-233956},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.18},
  annote =	{Keywords: Subadditive Functions, Fractionally Subadditive Functions, Posted Price Mechanisms, Concentration Inequalities}
}

@InProceedings{bangachev_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.18,
  author =	{Bangachev, Kiril and Weinberg, S. Matthew},
  title =	{{q-Partitioning Valuations: Exploring the Space Between Subadditive and Fractionally Subadditive Valuations}},
  booktitle =	{52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025)},
  pages =	{18:1--18:20},
  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.2025.18},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-233956},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.18},
  annote =	{Keywords: Subadditive Functions, Fractionally Subadditive Functions, Posted Price Mechanisms, Concentration Inequalities}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2025.8

Rapid Mixing of the Flip Chain over Non-Crossing Spanning Trees

Authors: Konrad Anand, Weiming Feng, Graham Freifeld, Heng Guo, Mark Jerrum, and Jiaheng Wang

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 332, 41st International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2025)

Abstract

We show that the flip chain for non-crossing spanning trees of n+1 points in convex position mixes in time O(n⁸log n). We use connections between Fuss-Catalan structures to construct a comparison argument with a chain similar to Wilson’s lattice path chain (Wilson 2004).

Cite as

Konrad Anand, Weiming Feng, Graham Freifeld, Heng Guo, Mark Jerrum, and Jiaheng Wang. Rapid Mixing of the Flip Chain over Non-Crossing Spanning Trees. In 41st International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 332, pp. 8:1-8:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{anand_et_al:LIPIcs.SoCG.2025.8,
  author =	{Anand, Konrad and Feng, Weiming and Freifeld, Graham and Guo, Heng and Jerrum, Mark and Wang, Jiaheng},
  title =	{{Rapid Mixing of the Flip Chain over Non-Crossing Spanning Trees}},
  booktitle =	{41st International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2025)},
  pages =	{8:1--8:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-370-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{332},
  editor =	{Aichholzer, Oswin and Wang, Haitao},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2025.8},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-231607},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2025.8},
  annote =	{Keywords: non-crossing spanning trees, Markov chain, mixing time}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CPM.2025.27

Succinct Data Structures for Segments

Authors: Philip Bille, Inge Li Gørtz, and Simon R. Tarnow

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 331, 36th Annual Symposium on Combinatorial Pattern Matching (CPM 2025)

Abstract

We consider succinct data structures for representing a set of n horizontal line segments in the plane given in rank space to support segment access, segment selection, and segment rank queries. A segment access query finds the segment (x₁, x₂, y) given its y-coordinate (y-coordinates of the segments are distinct), a segment selection query finds the jth smallest segment (the segment with the jth smallest y-coordinate) among the segments crossing the vertical line for a given x-coordinate, and a segment rank query finds the number of segments crossing the vertical line through x-coordinate i with y-coordinate at most y, for a given x and y. This problem is a central component in compressed data structures for persistent strings supporting random access. Our main result is a data structure using 2n lg n + O(n lg n / lg lg n) bits of space and O(lg n / lg lg n) query time for all operations. We show that this space bound is optimal up to lower-order terms. We will also show that the query time for segment rank is optimal. The query time for segment selection is also optimal by a previous bound. To obtain our results, we present a novel segment wavelet tree data structure of independent interest. This structure is inspired by and extends the classic wavelet tree for sequences. This leads to a simple, succinct solution with O(log n) query times. We then extend this solution to obtain optimal query time. Our space lower bound follows from a simple counting argument, and our lower bound for segment rank is obtained by a reduction from 2-dimensional counting.

Cite as

Philip Bille, Inge Li Gørtz, and Simon R. Tarnow. Succinct Data Structures for Segments. In 36th Annual Symposium on Combinatorial Pattern Matching (CPM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 331, pp. 27:1-27:14, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{bille_et_al:LIPIcs.CPM.2025.27,
  author =	{Bille, Philip and G{\o}rtz, Inge Li and Tarnow, Simon R.},
  title =	{{Succinct Data Structures for Segments}},
  booktitle =	{36th Annual Symposium on Combinatorial Pattern Matching (CPM 2025)},
  pages =	{27:1--27:14},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-369-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{331},
  editor =	{Bonizzoni, Paola and M\"{a}kinen, Veli},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CPM.2025.27},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-231218},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CPM.2025.27},
  annote =	{Keywords: Succinct, Data structures, Selection}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2025.74

Nearly-Optimal Algorithm for Non-Clairvoyant Service with Delay

Authors: Noam Touitou

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 327, 42nd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2025)

Abstract

We consider the online service with delay problem, in which a server traverses a metric space to serve requests that arrive over time. Requests gather individual delay cost while awaiting service, penalizing service latency; an algorithm seeks to minimize both its movement cost and the total delay cost. Algorithms for the problem (on general metric spaces) are only known for the clairvoyant model, where the algorithm knows future delay cost in advance (e.g., Azar et al., STOC'17; Azar and Touitou, FOCS'19; Touitou, STOC'23). However, in the non-clairvoyant setting, only negative results are known: where n is the size of the metric space and m is the number of requests, there are lower bounds of Ω(√n) and Ω(√m) on competitiveness (Azar et al., STOC'17), that hold even for randomized algorithms (Le et al., SODA'23). In this paper, we present the first algorithm for non-clairvoyant online service with delay. Our algorithm is deterministic and O(min{√n log n, √m log m})-competitive; combined with the lower bounds of Azar et al., this settles the correct competitive ratio for the problem up to logarithmic factors, in terms of both n and m.

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Noam Touitou. Nearly-Optimal Algorithm for Non-Clairvoyant Service with Delay. In 42nd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 327, pp. 74:1-74:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{touitou:LIPIcs.STACS.2025.74,
  author =	{Touitou, Noam},
  title =	{{Nearly-Optimal Algorithm for Non-Clairvoyant Service with Delay}},
  booktitle =	{42nd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2025)},
  pages =	{74:1--74:21},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-365-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{327},
  editor =	{Beyersdorff, Olaf and Pilipczuk, Micha{\l} and Pimentel, Elaine 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.2025.74},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-228995},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2025.74},
  annote =	{Keywords: Online, Delay, Deadlines, k-server, Non-clairvoyant}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2025.59

Online Matching with Delays and Size-Based Costs

Authors: Yasushi Kawase and Tomohiro Nakayoshi

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 327, 42nd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2025)

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce the problem of Online Matching with Delays and Size-based Costs (OMDSC). The OMDSC problem involves m requests arriving online. At any time, a group can be formed by matching any number of requests that have been received but remain unmatched. The cost associated with each group is determined by the waiting time for each request within the group and size-dependent cost. The size-dependent cost is specified by a penalty function. Our goal is to partition all the incoming requests into multiple groups while minimizing the total associated cost. This problem is an extension of the TCP acknowledgment problem proposed by Dooly et al. (J. ACM, 2001). It generalizes the cost model for sending acknowledgments. This study reveals the competitive ratios for a fundamental case, in which the penalty function takes only values of either 0 or 1. We classify such penalty functions into three distinct cases: (i) a fixed penalty of 1 regardless of the group size, (ii) a penalty of 0 if and only if the group size is a multiple of a specific integer k, and (iii) other situations. The problem in case (i) is equivalent to the TCP acknowledgment problem, for which Dooly et al. proposed a 2-competitive algorithm. For case (ii), we first show that natural algorithms that match all remaining requests are Ω(√k)-competitive. We then propose an O(log k / log log k)-competitive deterministic algorithm by carefully managing the match size and timing, and prove its optimality. For any penalty function in case (iii), we demonstrate the non-existence of a competitive online algorithm. Additionally, we discuss competitive ratios for other typical penalty functions that are not restricted to take values of 0 or 1.

Cite as

Yasushi Kawase and Tomohiro Nakayoshi. Online Matching with Delays and Size-Based Costs. In 42nd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 327, pp. 59:1-59:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{kawase_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2025.59,
  author =	{Kawase, Yasushi and Nakayoshi, Tomohiro},
  title =	{{Online Matching with Delays and Size-Based Costs}},
  booktitle =	{42nd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2025)},
  pages =	{59:1--59:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-365-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{327},
  editor =	{Beyersdorff, Olaf and Pilipczuk, Micha{\l} and Pimentel, Elaine 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.2025.59},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-228846},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2025.59},
  annote =	{Keywords: Online matching, competitive analysis, delayed service}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2025.83

Fine-Grained Equivalence for Problems Related to Integer Linear Programming

Authors: Lars Rohwedder and Karol Węgrzycki

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 325, 16th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2025)

Abstract

Integer Linear Programming with n binary variables and m many 0/1-constraints can be solved in time 2^Õ(m²) poly(n) and it is open whether the dependence on m is optimal. Several seemingly unrelated problems, which include variants of Closest String, Discrepancy Minimization, Set Cover, and Set Packing, can be modelled as Integer Linear Programming with 0/1 constraints to obtain algorithms with the same running time for a natural parameter m in each of the problems. Our main result establishes through fine-grained reductions that these problems are equivalent, meaning that a 2^O(m^{2-ε}) poly(n) algorithm with ε > 0 for one of them implies such an algorithm for all of them. In the setting above, one can alternatively obtain an n^O(m) time algorithm for Integer Linear Programming using a straightforward dynamic programming approach, which can be more efficient if n is relatively small (e.g., subexponential in m). We show that this can be improved to {n'}^O(m) + O(nm), where n' is the number of distinct (i.e., non-symmetric) variables. This dominates both of the aforementioned running times.

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Lars Rohwedder and Karol Węgrzycki. Fine-Grained Equivalence for Problems Related to Integer Linear Programming. In 16th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 325, pp. 83:1-83:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{rohwedder_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2025.83,
  author =	{Rohwedder, Lars and W\k{e}grzycki, Karol},
  title =	{{Fine-Grained Equivalence for Problems Related to Integer Linear Programming}},
  booktitle =	{16th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2025)},
  pages =	{83:1--83:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-361-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{325},
  editor =	{Meka, Raghu},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2025.83},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-227114},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2025.83},
  annote =	{Keywords: Integer Programming, Fine-Grained Complexity, Fixed-Parameter Tractable Algorithms}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2024.34

Single Bridge Formation in Self-Organizing Particle Systems

Authors: Shunhao Oh, Joseph L. Briones, Jacob Calvert, Noah Egan, Dana Randall, and Andréa W. Richa

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 319, 38th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2024)

Abstract

Local interactions of uncoordinated individuals produce the collective behaviors of many biological systems, inspiring much of the current research in programmable matter. A striking example is the spontaneous assembly of fire ants into "bridges" comprising their own bodies to traverse obstacles and reach sources of food. Experiments and simulations suggest that, remarkably, these ants always form one bridge - instead of multiple, competing bridges - despite a lack of central coordination. We argue that the reliable formation of a single bridge does not require sophistication on behalf of the individuals by provably reproducing this behavior in a self-organizing particle system. We show that the formation of a single bridge by the particles is a statistical inevitability of their preferences to move in a particular direction, such as toward a food source, and their preference for more neighbors. Two parameters, η and β, reflect the strengths of these preferences and determine the Gibbs stationary measure of the corresponding particle system’s Markov chain dynamics. We show that a single bridge almost certainly forms when η and β are sufficiently large. Our proof introduces an auxiliary Markov chain, called an "occupancy chain," that captures only the significant, global changes to the system. Through the occupancy chain, we abstract away information about the motion of individual particles, but we gain a more direct means of analyzing their collective behavior. Such abstractions provide a promising new direction for understanding many other systems of programmable matter.

Cite as

Shunhao Oh, Joseph L. Briones, Jacob Calvert, Noah Egan, Dana Randall, and Andréa W. Richa. Single Bridge Formation in Self-Organizing Particle Systems. In 38th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 319, pp. 34:1-34:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)

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@InProceedings{oh_et_al:LIPIcs.DISC.2024.34,
  author =	{Oh, Shunhao and Briones, Joseph L. and Calvert, Jacob and Egan, Noah and Randall, Dana and Richa, Andr\'{e}a W.},
  title =	{{Single Bridge Formation in Self-Organizing Particle Systems}},
  booktitle =	{38th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2024)},
  pages =	{34:1--34:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-352-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2024},
  volume =	{319},
  editor =	{Alistarh, Dan},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2024.34},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-212606},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2024.34},
  annote =	{Keywords: Self-organizing particle systems, programmable matter, bridging, jump chain}
}

Document

Invited Talk

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SAND.2024.3

Algorithmic Programmable Matter: From Local Markov Chains to "Dumb" Robots (Invited Talk)

Authors: Andréa Werneck Richa

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 292, 3rd Symposium on Algorithmic Foundations of Dynamic Networks (SAND 2024)

Abstract

Many programmable matter systems have been developed, including modular and swarm robotics, synthetic biology, DNA tiling, and smart materials. We describe programmable matter as an abstract collection of simple computational elements (particles) with limited memory that each execute distributed, local algorithms to self-organize and solve system-wide problems, such as movement, reconfiguration, and coordination. Self-organizing particle systems (SOPS) have many interesting potential applications like coating objects for monitoring and repair purposes, and forming nano-scale devices for surgery and molecular-scale electronic structures. We describe some of our work on the algorithmic foundations of programmable matter, investigating how macro-scale system behaviors can naturally emerge from local micro-behaviors by individual particles: We utilize tools from statistical physics and Markov chain analysis to translate Markov chains defined at a system level into distributed, local algorithms for SOPS that drive the desired emergent collective behavior for the problems of compression, separation, and foraging, among others. We further establish the notion of algorithmic matter, where we leverage standard binary computation, as well as physical characteristics of the robots and interactions with the environment in order to implement our micro-level algorithms in actual testbeds composed of robots that are not capable of any standard computation. We conclude by addressing full concurrency and asynchrony in SOPS. This is joint work with Dana Randall and Dan Goldman (Georgia Tech), Michael Strano (MIT), Todd Murphey (Northwestern), Josh Daymude (Arizona State University), Sarah Cannon (Claremont McKenna), Christian Scheideler (University of Paderborn) and their research labs.

Cite as

Andréa Werneck Richa. Algorithmic Programmable Matter: From Local Markov Chains to "Dumb" Robots (Invited Talk). In 3rd Symposium on Algorithmic Foundations of Dynamic Networks (SAND 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 292, p. 3:1, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)

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@InProceedings{richa:LIPIcs.SAND.2024.3,
  author =	{Richa, Andr\'{e}a Werneck},
  title =	{{Algorithmic Programmable Matter: From Local Markov Chains to "Dumb" Robots}},
  booktitle =	{3rd Symposium on Algorithmic Foundations of Dynamic Networks (SAND 2024)},
  pages =	{3:1--3:1},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-315-7},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2024},
  volume =	{292},
  editor =	{Casteigts, Arnaud and Kuhn, Fabian},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SAND.2024.3},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-198811},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SAND.2024.3},
  annote =	{Keywords: Programmable matter, Self-organizing particle systems, Biologically-inspired distributed algorithms, Local Markov chains, Emergent collective behavior}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SAND.2023.6

Adaptive Collective Responses to Local Stimuli in Anonymous Dynamic Networks

Authors: Shunhao Oh, Dana Randall, and Andréa W. Richa

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 257, 2nd Symposium on Algorithmic Foundations of Dynamic Networks (SAND 2023)

Abstract

We develop a framework for self-induced phase changes in programmable matter in which a collection of agents with limited computational and communication capabilities can collectively perform appropriate global tasks in response to local stimuli that dynamically appear and disappear. Agents reside on graph vertices, where each stimulus is only recognized locally, and agents communicate via token passing along edges to alert other agents to transition to an Aware state when stimuli are present and an Unaware state when the stimuli disappear. We present an Adaptive Stimuli Algorithm that is robust to competing waves of messages as multiple stimuli change, possibly adversarially. Moreover, in addition to handling arbitrary stimulus dynamics, the algorithm can handle agents reconfiguring the connections (edges) of the graph over time in a controlled way. As an application, we show how this Adaptive Stimuli Algorithm on reconfigurable graphs can be used to solve the foraging problem, where food sources may be discovered, removed, or shifted at arbitrary times. We would like the agents to consistently self-organize, using only local interactions, such that if the food remains in a position long enough, the agents transition to a gather phase in which many collectively form a single large component with small perimeter around the food. Alternatively, if no food source has existed recently, the agents should undergo a self-induced phase change and switch to a search phase in which they distribute themselves randomly throughout the lattice region to search for food. Unlike previous approaches to foraging, this process is indefinitely repeatable, withstanding competing waves of messages that may interfere with each other. Like a physical phase change, microscopic changes such as the deletion or addition of a single food source trigger these macroscopic, system-wide transitions as agents share information about the environment and respond locally to get the desired collective response.

Cite as

Shunhao Oh, Dana Randall, and Andréa W. Richa. Adaptive Collective Responses to Local Stimuli in Anonymous Dynamic Networks. In 2nd Symposium on Algorithmic Foundations of Dynamic Networks (SAND 2023). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 257, pp. 6:1-6:23, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2023)

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@InProceedings{oh_et_al:LIPIcs.SAND.2023.6,
  author =	{Oh, Shunhao and Randall, Dana and Richa, Andr\'{e}a W.},
  title =	{{Adaptive Collective Responses to Local Stimuli in Anonymous Dynamic Networks}},
  booktitle =	{2nd Symposium on Algorithmic Foundations of Dynamic Networks (SAND 2023)},
  pages =	{6:1--6:23},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-275-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2023},
  volume =	{257},
  editor =	{Doty, David and Spirakis, Paul},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SAND.2023.6},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-179424},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SAND.2023.6},
  annote =	{Keywords: Dynamic networks, adaptive stimuli, foraging, self-organizing particle systems, programmable matter}
}

Document

Brief Announcement

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2022.51

Brief Announcement: Foraging in Particle Systems via Self-Induced Phase Changes

Authors: Shunhao Oh, Dana Randall, and Andréa W. Richa

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 246, 36th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2022)

Abstract

The foraging problem asks how a collective of particles with limited computational, communication and movement capabilities can autonomously compress around a food source and disperse when the food is depleted or shifted, which may occur at arbitrary times. We would like the particles to iteratively self-organize, using only local interactions, to correctly gather whenever a food particle remains in a position long enough and search if no food particle has existed recently. Unlike previous approaches, these search and gather phases should be self-induced so as to be indefinitely repeatable as the food evolves, with microscopic changes to the food triggering macroscopic, system-wide phase transitions. We present a stochastic foraging algorithm based on a phase change in the fixed magnetization Ising model from statistical physics: Our algorithm is the first to leverage self-induced phase changes as an algorithmic tool. A key component of our algorithm is a careful token passing mechanism ensuring a dispersion broadcast wave will always outpace a compression wave.

Cite as

Shunhao Oh, Dana Randall, and Andréa W. Richa. Brief Announcement: Foraging in Particle Systems via Self-Induced Phase Changes. In 36th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2022). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 246, pp. 51:1-51:3, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2022)

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@InProceedings{oh_et_al:LIPIcs.DISC.2022.51,
  author =	{Oh, Shunhao and Randall, Dana and Richa, Andr\'{e}a W.},
  title =	{{Brief Announcement: Foraging in Particle Systems via Self-Induced Phase Changes}},
  booktitle =	{36th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2022)},
  pages =	{51:1--51:3},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-255-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2022},
  volume =	{246},
  editor =	{Scheideler, Christian},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2022.51},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-172423},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2022.51},
  annote =	{Keywords: Foraging, self-organized particle systems, compression, phase changes}
}

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