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DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.54

Testable Algorithms for Approximately Counting Edges and Triangles in Sublinear Time and Space

Authors: Talya Eden, Ronitt Rubinfeld, and Arsen Vasilyan

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

Abstract

We consider the fundamental problems of approximately counting the numbers of edges and triangles in a graph in sublinear time. Previous algorithms for these tasks are significantly more efficient under a promise that the arboricity of the graph is bounded by some parameter ̅α. However, when this promise is violated, the estimates given by these algorithms are no longer guaranteed to be correct. For the triangle counting task, we give an algorithm that requires no promise on the input graph G, and computes a (1±ε)-approximation for the number of triangles t in G in time O^*((m⋅ α(G))/t + m/(t^{2/3)}), where α(G) is the arboricity of the graph. The algorithm can be used on any graph G (no prior knowledge of the arboricity α(G) is required), and the algorithm adapts its run-time on the fly based on the graph G. We accomplish this by trying a sequence of candidate values α̃ for α(G) and using a novel algorithm in the framework of testable algorithms. This ensures that wrong candidates α̃ cannot lead to wrong estimates: if the advice is incorrect, the algorithm either succeeds despite this or detects this and continues with a new candidate. Once the algorithm accepts the candidate, its output is guaranteed to be correct with high probability. We prove that this approach preserves - up to an additive overhead - the dramatic efficiency gains obtainable when good arboricity bounds are known in advance, while ensuring robustness against misleading advice. We further complement this result with a lower bound, showing that such an overhead is unavoidable whenever the advice may be faulty. We further demonstrate implications of our results for triangle counting in the streaming model.

Cite as

Talya Eden, Ronitt Rubinfeld, and Arsen Vasilyan. Testable Algorithms for Approximately Counting Edges and Triangles in Sublinear Time and Space. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 54:1-54:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{eden_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.54,
  author =	{Eden, Talya and Rubinfeld, Ronitt and Vasilyan, Arsen},
  title =	{{Testable Algorithms for Approximately Counting Edges and Triangles in Sublinear Time and Space}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{54:1--54:24},
  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.2026.54},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253417},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.54},
  annote =	{Keywords: Sublinear Algorithms, Triangle Counting, Edge Counting, Arboricity}
}

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DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.102

A Combinatorial Proof of Universal Optimality for Computing a Planar Convex Hull

Authors: Ivor van der Hoog, Eva Rotenberg, and Daniel Rutschmann

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 351, 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)

Abstract

For a planar point set P, its convex hull is the smallest convex polygon that encloses all points in P. The construction of the convex hull from an array I_P containing P is a fundamental problem in computational geometry. By sorting I_P in lexicographical order, one can construct the convex hull of P in O(n log n) time which is worst-case optimal. Standard worst-case analysis, however, has been criticized as overly coarse or pessimistic, and researchers search for more refined analyses. For an algorithm A, worst-case analysis fixes n, and considers the maximum running time of A across all size-n point sets P and permutations I_P of P. Output-sensitive analysis fixes n and k, and considers the maximum running time across all size-n points sets P with k hull points and permutations I_P of P. Universal analysis provides an even stronger guarantee. It fixes a point set P and considers the maximum running time across all permutations I_P of P. Kirkpatrick, McQueen, and Seidel [SICOMP'86] consider output-sensitive analysis. If the convex hull of P contains k points, then their algorithm runs in O(n log k) time. Afshani, Barbay, Chan [FOCS'07] prove that the algorithm by Kirkpatrick, McQueen, and Seidel is also universally optimal. Their proof restricts the model of computation to any algebraic decision tree model where the test functions have at most constant degree and at most a constant number of arguments. They rely upon involved algebraic arguments to construct a lower bound for each point set P that matches the universal running time of [SICOMP'86]. We provide a different proof of universal optimality. Instead of restricting the computational model, we further specify the output. We require as output (1) the convex hull, and (2) for each internal point of P a witness for it being internal. Our argument is shorter, perhaps simpler, and applicable in more general models of computation.

Cite as

Ivor van der Hoog, Eva Rotenberg, and Daniel Rutschmann. A Combinatorial Proof of Universal Optimality for Computing a Planar Convex Hull. In 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 351, pp. 102:1-102:13, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{vanderhoog_et_al:LIPIcs.ESA.2025.102,
  author =	{van der Hoog, Ivor and Rotenberg, Eva and Rutschmann, Daniel},
  title =	{{A Combinatorial Proof of Universal Optimality for Computing a Planar Convex Hull}},
  booktitle =	{33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)},
  pages =	{102:1--102:13},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-395-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{351},
  editor =	{Benoit, Anne and Kaplan, Haim and Wild, Sebastian and Herman, Grzegorz},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.102},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-245715},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.102},
  annote =	{Keywords: Convex hull, Combinatorial proofs, Universal optimality}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.5

External-Memory Priority Queues with Optimal Insertions

Authors: Gerth Stølting Brodal, Michael T. Goodrich, John Iacono, Jared Lo, Ulrich Meyer, Victor Pagan, Nodari Sitchinava, and Rolf Svenning

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 351, 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)

Abstract

We present an external-memory priority queue structure supporting Insert and DeleteMin with amortized 𝒪(1) and 𝒪(lg N) comparisons, respectively, and amortized 𝒪(1/B) and 𝒪(1/B log_{M/B} N/B) I/Os, respectively. Here, M is the size of the internal memory, B is the block size of I/Os between internal and external memory, and N is the number of elements in the priority queue just before an operation is performed. Previous external-memory priority queues required amortized 𝒪(lg N) comparisons and 𝒪(1/B log_{M/B} N/B) I/Os for both Insert and DeleteMin. The construction requires the minimal assumption M ≥ 2B.

Cite as

Gerth Stølting Brodal, Michael T. Goodrich, John Iacono, Jared Lo, Ulrich Meyer, Victor Pagan, Nodari Sitchinava, and Rolf Svenning. External-Memory Priority Queues with Optimal Insertions. In 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 351, pp. 5:1-5:14, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{brodal_et_al:LIPIcs.ESA.2025.5,
  author =	{Brodal, Gerth St{\o}lting and Goodrich, Michael T. and Iacono, John and Lo, Jared and Meyer, Ulrich and Pagan, Victor and Sitchinava, Nodari and Svenning, Rolf},
  title =	{{External-Memory Priority Queues with Optimal Insertions}},
  booktitle =	{33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)},
  pages =	{5:1--5:14},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-395-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{351},
  editor =	{Benoit, Anne and Kaplan, Haim and Wild, Sebastian and Herman, Grzegorz},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.5},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-244734},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.5},
  annote =	{Keywords: priority queues, external memory, cache aware, amortized complexity}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.25

Instance-Optimal Imprecise Convex Hull

Authors: Sarita de Berg, Ivor van der Hoog, Eva Rotenberg, Daniel Rutschmann, and Sampson Wong

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 351, 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)

Abstract

Imprecise measurements of a point set P = (p₁, …, p_n) can be modelled by a family of regions F = (R₁, …, R_n), where each imprecise region R_i ∈ F contains a unique point p_i ∈ P. A retrieval models an accurate measurement by replacing an imprecise region R_i with its corresponding point p_i. We construct the convex hull of an imprecise point set in the plane, by determining the cyclic ordering of the convex hull vertices of P as efficiently as possible. Efficiency is interpreted in two ways: (i) minimising the number of retrievals, and (ii) the computation time to determine the set of regions that must be retrieved. Previous works focused on only one of these two aspects: either minimising retrievals or optimising algorithmic runtime. Our contribution is the first to simultaneously achieve both. Let r(F, P) denote the minimal number of retrievals required by any algorithm to determine the convex hull of P for a given instance (F, P). For a family F of n constant-complexity polygons, our main result is a reconstruction algorithm that performs Θ(r(F, P)) retrievals in O(r(F, P) log³ n) time. Compared to previous approaches that achieve optimal retrieval counts, we improve the runtime per retrieval from polynomial to polylogarithmic. We extend the generality of previous results to simple k-gons, to pairwise disjoint disks with radii in [1,k], and to unit disks where at most k disks overlap in a single point. Our runtime scales linearly with k.

Cite as

Sarita de Berg, Ivor van der Hoog, Eva Rotenberg, Daniel Rutschmann, and Sampson Wong. Instance-Optimal Imprecise Convex Hull. In 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 351, pp. 25:1-25:15, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{deberg_et_al:LIPIcs.ESA.2025.25,
  author =	{de Berg, Sarita and van der Hoog, Ivor and Rotenberg, Eva and Rutschmann, Daniel and Wong, Sampson},
  title =	{{Instance-Optimal Imprecise Convex Hull}},
  booktitle =	{33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)},
  pages =	{25:1--25:15},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-395-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{351},
  editor =	{Benoit, Anne and Kaplan, Haim and Wild, Sebastian and Herman, Grzegorz},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.25},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-244932},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.25},
  annote =	{Keywords: convex hull, imprecise geometry preprocessing model, partial information}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.71

Simpler Universally Optimal Dijkstra

Authors: Ivor van der Hoog, Eva Rotenberg, and Daniel Rutschmann

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 351, 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)

Abstract

Let G be a weighted (directed) graph with n vertices and m edges. Given a source vertex s, Dijkstra’s algorithm computes the shortest path lengths from s to all other vertices in O(m + n log n) time. This bound is known to be worst-case optimal via a reduction to sorting. Theoretical computer science has developed numerous fine-grained frameworks for analyzing algorithmic performance beyond standard worst-case analysis, such as instance optimality and output sensitivity. Haeupler, Hladík, Rozhoň, Tarjan, and Tětek [FOCS '24] consider the notion of universal optimality, a refined complexity measure that accounts for both the graph topology and the edge weights. For a fixed graph topology, the universal running time of a weighted graph algorithm is defined as its worst-case running time over all possible edge weightings of G. An algorithm is universally optimal if no other algorithm achieves a better asymptotic universal running time on any particular graph topology. Haeupler, Hladík, Rozhoň, Tarjan, and Tětek show that Dijkstra’s algorithm can be made universally optimal by replacing the heap with a custom data structure. Their approach builds on Iacono’s [SWAT '00] working-set bound ϕ(x). This is a technical definition that, intuitively, for a heap element x, counts the maximum number of simultaneously-present elements y that were pushed onto the heap whilst x was in the heap. They design a new heap data structure that can pop an element x in O(1 + log ϕ(x)) time. They show that Dijkstra’s algorithm with their heap data structure is universally optimal. In this work, we revisit their result. We use a simpler heap property that we will call timestamp optimality, where the cost of popping an element x is logarithmic in the number of elements inserted between pushing and popping x. We show that timestamp optimal heaps are not only easier to define but also easier to implement. Using these time stamps, we provide a significantly simpler proof that Dijkstra’s algorithm, with the right kind of heap, is universally optimal.

Cite as

Ivor van der Hoog, Eva Rotenberg, and Daniel Rutschmann. Simpler Universally Optimal Dijkstra. In 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 351, pp. 71:1-71:9, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{vanderhoog_et_al:LIPIcs.ESA.2025.71,
  author =	{van der Hoog, Ivor and Rotenberg, Eva and Rutschmann, Daniel},
  title =	{{Simpler Universally Optimal Dijkstra}},
  booktitle =	{33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)},
  pages =	{71:1--71:9},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-395-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{351},
  editor =	{Benoit, Anne and Kaplan, Haim and Wild, Sebastian and Herman, Grzegorz},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.71},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-245390},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.71},
  annote =	{Keywords: Graph algorithms, instance optimality, Fibonnacci heaps, simplification}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.104

Optimal Antimatroid Sorting

Authors: Benjamin Aram Berendsohn

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 351, 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)

Abstract

The classical comparison-based sorting problem asks us to find the underlying total ordering of a given set of elements, where we can only access the elements via comparisons. In this paper, we study a restricted version, where, as a hint, a set T of possible total orderings is given, usually in some compressed form. Recently, an algorithm called topological heapsort with optimal running time was found for case where T is the set of topological orderings of a given directed acyclic graph, or, equivalently, T is the set of linear extensions of a partial ordering [Haeupler et al. 2024]. We show that a simple generalization of topological heapsort is applicable to a much broader class of restricted sorting problems, where T corresponds to a given antimatroid. As a consequence, we obtain optimal algorithms for the following restricted sorting problems, where the allowed total orders are … - … restricted by a given set of monotone precedence formulas; - … the perfect elimination orders of a given chordal graph; or - … the possible vertex search orders of a given connected rooted graph.

Cite as

Benjamin Aram Berendsohn. Optimal Antimatroid Sorting. In 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 351, pp. 104:1-104:14, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{berendsohn:LIPIcs.ESA.2025.104,
  author =	{Berendsohn, Benjamin Aram},
  title =	{{Optimal Antimatroid Sorting}},
  booktitle =	{33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)},
  pages =	{104:1--104:14},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-395-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{351},
  editor =	{Benoit, Anne and Kaplan, Haim and Wild, Sebastian and Herman, Grzegorz},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.104},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-245735},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.104},
  annote =	{Keywords: sorting, working-set heap, greedy, antimatroid}
}

Document

Track A: Algorithms, Complexity and Games

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.23

On the Instance Optimality of Detecting Collisions and Subgraphs

Authors: Omri Ben-Eliezer, Tomer Grossman, and Moni Naor

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

Abstract

Suppose you are given a function f: [n] → [n] via (black-box) query access to the function. You are looking to find something local, like a collision (a pair x ≠ y s.t. f(x) = f(y)). The question is whether knowing the "shape" of the function helps you or not (by shape we mean that some permutation of the function is known). Formally, we investigate the unlabeled instance optimality of substructure detection problems in graphs and functions. A problem is g(n)-instance optimal if it admits an algorithm A satisfying that for any possible input, the (randomized) query complexity of A is at most g(n) times larger than the query complexity of any algorithm A' which solves the same problem while holding an unlabeled copy of the input (i.e., any A' that "knows the structure of the input"). Our results point to a trichotomy of unlabeled instance optimality among substructure detection problems in graphs and functions: - A few very simple properties have an O(1)-instance optimal algorithm. - Most properties of graphs and functions, with examples such as containing a fixed point or a 3-collision in functions, or a triangle in graphs, are n^{c}-far from instance optimal for some constant c > 0. - The problems of collision detection in functions and finding a claw in a graph serve as a middle ground between the two regimes. We show that these two properties are not Ω(log n)-instance optimal, and conjecture that this bound is tight. We provide evidence towards this conjecture, by proving that finding a claw in a graph is O(log(n))-instance optimal among all input graphs for which the query complexity of an algorithm holding an unlabeled certificate is O(√{n/(log n)}).

Cite as

Omri Ben-Eliezer, Tomer Grossman, and Moni Naor. On the Instance Optimality of Detecting Collisions and Subgraphs. In 52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 334, pp. 23:1-23:14, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{beneliezer_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.23,
  author =	{Ben-Eliezer, Omri and Grossman, Tomer and Naor, Moni},
  title =	{{On the Instance Optimality of Detecting Collisions and Subgraphs}},
  booktitle =	{52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025)},
  pages =	{23:1--23:14},
  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.2025.23},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-234002},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.23},
  annote =	{Keywords: instance optimality, instance complexity, unlabeled certificate, subgraph detection, collision detection}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.FORC.2025.6

Near-Universally-Optimal Differentially Private Minimum Spanning Trees

Authors: Richard Hladík and Jakub Tětek

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 329, 6th Symposium on Foundations of Responsible Computing (FORC 2025)

Abstract

Devising mechanisms with good beyond-worst-case input-dependent performance has been an important focus of differential privacy, with techniques such as smooth sensitivity, propose-test-release, or inverse sensitivity mechanism being developed to achieve this goal. This makes it very natural to use the notion of universal optimality in differential privacy. Universal optimality is a strong instance-specific optimality guarantee for problems on weighted graphs, which roughly states that for any fixed underlying (unweighted) graph, the algorithm is optimal in the worst-case sense, with respect to the possible setting of the edge weights. In this paper, we give the first such result in differential privacy. Namely, we prove that a simple differentially private mechanism for approximately releasing the minimum spanning tree is near-optimal in the sense of universal optimality for the 𝓁₁ neighbor relation. Previously, it was only known that this mechanism is nearly optimal in the worst case. We then focus on the 𝓁_∞ neighbor relation, for which the described mechanism is not optimal. We show that one may implement the exponential mechanism for MST in polynomial time, and that this results in universal near-optimality for both the 𝓁₁ and the 𝓁_∞ neighbor relations.

Cite as

Richard Hladík and Jakub Tětek. Near-Universally-Optimal Differentially Private Minimum Spanning Trees. In 6th Symposium on Foundations of Responsible Computing (FORC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 329, pp. 6:1-6:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{hladik_et_al:LIPIcs.FORC.2025.6,
  author =	{Hlad{\'\i}k, Richard and T\v{e}tek, Jakub},
  title =	{{Near-Universally-Optimal Differentially Private Minimum Spanning Trees}},
  booktitle =	{6th Symposium on Foundations of Responsible Computing (FORC 2025)},
  pages =	{6:1--6:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-367-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{329},
  editor =	{Bun, Mark},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.FORC.2025.6},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-231337},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.FORC.2025.6},
  annote =	{Keywords: differential privacy, universal optimality, minimum spanning trees}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.FORC.2025.2

Smooth Sensitivity Revisited: Towards Optimality

Authors: Richard Hladík and Jakub Tětek

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 329, 6th Symposium on Foundations of Responsible Computing (FORC 2025)

Abstract

Smooth sensitivity is one of the most commonly used techniques for designing practical differentially private mechanisms. In this approach, one computes the smooth sensitivity of a given query q on the given input D and releases q(D) with noise added proportional to this smooth sensitivity. One question remains: what distribution should we pick the noise from? In this paper, we give a new class of distributions suitable for the use with smooth sensitivity, which we name the PolyPlace distribution. This distribution improves upon the state-of-the-art Student’s T distribution in terms of standard deviation by arbitrarily large factors, depending on a "smoothness parameter" γ, which one has to set in the smooth sensitivity framework. Moreover, our distribution is defined for a wider range of parameter γ, which can lead to significantly better performance. Furthermore, we prove that the PolyPlace distribution converges for γ → 0 to the Laplace distribution and so does its variance. This means that the Laplace mechanism is a limit special case of the PolyPlace mechanism. This implies that our mechanism is in a certain sense optimal for γ → 0.

Cite as

Richard Hladík and Jakub Tětek. Smooth Sensitivity Revisited: Towards Optimality. In 6th Symposium on Foundations of Responsible Computing (FORC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 329, pp. 2:1-2:17, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{hladik_et_al:LIPIcs.FORC.2025.2,
  author =	{Hlad{\'\i}k, Richard and T\v{e}tek, Jakub},
  title =	{{Smooth Sensitivity Revisited: Towards Optimality}},
  booktitle =	{6th Symposium on Foundations of Responsible Computing (FORC 2025)},
  pages =	{2:1--2:17},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-367-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{329},
  editor =	{Bun, Mark},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.FORC.2025.2},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-231292},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.FORC.2025.2},
  annote =	{Keywords: differential privacy, smooth sensitivity}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.FORC.2025.23

The Correlated Gaussian Sparse Histogram Mechanism

Authors: Christian Janos Lebeda and Lukas Retschmeier

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 329, 6th Symposium on Foundations of Responsible Computing (FORC 2025)

Abstract

We consider the problem of releasing a sparse histogram under (ε, δ)-differential privacy. The stability histogram independently adds noise from a Laplace or Gaussian distribution to the non-zero entries and removes those noisy counts below a threshold. Thereby, the introduction of new non-zero values between neighboring histograms is only revealed with probability at most δ, and typically, the value of the threshold dominates the error of the mechanism. We consider the variant of the stability histogram with Gaussian noise. Recent works ([Joseph and Yu, COLT '24] and [Lebeda, SOSA '25]) reduced the error for private histograms using correlated Gaussian noise. However, these techniques can not be directly applied in the very sparse setting. Instead, we adopt Lebeda’s technique and show that adding correlated noise to the non-zero counts only allows us to reduce the magnitude of noise when we have a sparsity bound. This, in turn, allows us to use a lower threshold by up to a factor of 1/2 compared to the non-correlated noise mechanism. We then extend our mechanism to a setting without a known bound on sparsity. Additionally, we show that correlated noise can give a similar improvement for the more practical discrete Gaussian mechanism.

Cite as

Christian Janos Lebeda and Lukas Retschmeier. The Correlated Gaussian Sparse Histogram Mechanism. In 6th Symposium on Foundations of Responsible Computing (FORC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 329, pp. 23:1-23:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{lebeda_et_al:LIPIcs.FORC.2025.23,
  author =	{Lebeda, Christian Janos and Retschmeier, Lukas},
  title =	{{The Correlated Gaussian Sparse Histogram Mechanism}},
  booktitle =	{6th Symposium on Foundations of Responsible Computing (FORC 2025)},
  pages =	{23:1--23:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-367-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{329},
  editor =	{Bun, Mark},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.FORC.2025.23},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-231503},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.FORC.2025.23},
  annote =	{Keywords: differential privacy, correlated noise, sparse gaussian histograms}
}

Document

RANDOM

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2024.73

Additive Noise Mechanisms for Making Randomized Approximation Algorithms Differentially Private

Authors: Jakub Tětek

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

Abstract

The exponential increase in the amount of available data makes taking advantage of them without violating users' privacy one of the fundamental problems of computer science. This question has been investigated thoroughly under the framework of differential privacy. However, most of the literature has not focused on settings where the amount of data is so large that we are not even able to compute the exact answer in the non-private setting (such as in the streaming setting, sublinear-time setting, etc.). This can often make the use of differential privacy unfeasible in practice. In this paper, we show a general approach for making Monte-Carlo randomized approximation algorithms differentially private. We only need to assume the error R of the approximation algorithm is sufficiently concentrated around 0 (e.g. 𝔼[|R|] is bounded) and that the function being approximated has a small global sensitivity Δ. Specifically, if we have a randomized approximation algorithm with sufficiently concentrated error which has time/space/query complexity T(n,ρ) with ρ being an accuracy parameter, we can generally speaking get an algorithm with the same accuracy and complexity T(n,Θ(ε ρ)) that is ε-differentially private. Our technical results are as follows. First, we show that if the error is subexponential, then the Laplace mechanism with error magnitude proportional to the sum of the global sensitivity Δ and the subexponential diameter of the error of the algorithm makes the algorithm differentially private. This is true even if the worst-case global sensitivity of the algorithm is large or infinite. We then introduce a new additive noise mechanism, which we call the zero-symmetric Pareto mechanism. We show that using this mechanism, we can make an algorithm differentially private even if we only assume a bound on the first absolute moment of the error 𝔼[|R|]. Finally, we use our results to give either the first known or improved sublinear-complexity differentially private algorithms for various problems. This includes results for frequency moments, estimating the average degree of a graph in subliinear time, rank queries, or estimating the size of the maximum matching. Our results raise many new questions and we state multiple open problems.

Cite as

Jakub Tětek. Additive Noise Mechanisms for Making Randomized Approximation Algorithms Differentially Private. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 317, pp. 73:1-73:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)

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@InProceedings{tetek:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2024.73,
  author =	{T\v{e}tek, Jakub},
  title =	{{Additive Noise Mechanisms for Making Randomized Approximation Algorithms Differentially Private}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2024)},
  pages =	{73:1--73:20},
  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.2024.73},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-210660},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2024.73},
  annote =	{Keywords: Differential privacy, Randomized approximation algorithms}
}

Document

RANDOM

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2023.62

Bias Reduction for Sum Estimation

Authors: Talya Eden, Jakob Bæk Tejs Houen, Shyam Narayanan, Will Rosenbaum, and Jakub Tětek

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 275, Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2023)

Abstract

In classical statistics and distribution testing, it is often assumed that elements can be sampled exactly from some distribution 𝒫, and that when an element x is sampled, the probability 𝒫(x) of sampling x is also known. In this setting, recent work in distribution testing has shown that many algorithms are robust in the sense that they still produce correct output if the elements are drawn from any distribution 𝒬 that is sufficiently close to 𝒫. This phenomenon raises interesting questions: under what conditions is a "noisy" distribution 𝒬 sufficient, and what is the algorithmic cost of coping with this noise? In this paper, we investigate these questions for the problem of estimating the sum of a multiset of N real values x_1, …, x_N. This problem is well-studied in the statistical literature in the case 𝒫 = 𝒬, where the Hansen-Hurwitz estimator [Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 1943] is frequently used. We assume that for some (known) distribution 𝒫, values are sampled from a distribution 𝒬 that is pointwise close to 𝒫. That is, there is a parameter γ < 1 such that for all x_i, (1 - γ) 𝒫(i) ≤ 𝒬(i) ≤ (1 + γ) 𝒫(i). For every positive integer k we define an estimator ζ_k for μ = ∑_i x_i whose bias is proportional to γ^k (where our ζ₁ reduces to the classical Hansen-Hurwitz estimator). As a special case, we show that if 𝒬 is pointwise γ-close to uniform and all x_i ∈ {0, 1}, for any ε > 0, we can estimate μ to within additive error ε N using m = Θ(N^{1-1/k}/ε^{2/k}) samples, where k = ⌈lg ε/lg γ⌉. We then show that this sample complexity is essentially optimal. Interestingly, our upper and lower bounds show that the sample complexity need not vary uniformly with the desired error parameter ε: for some values of ε, perturbations in its value have no asymptotic effect on the sample complexity, while for other values, any decrease in its value results in an asymptotically larger sample complexity.

Cite as

Talya Eden, Jakob Bæk Tejs Houen, Shyam Narayanan, Will Rosenbaum, and Jakub Tětek. Bias Reduction for Sum Estimation. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2023). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 275, pp. 62:1-62:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2023)

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@InProceedings{eden_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2023.62,
  author =	{Eden, Talya and Houen, Jakob B{\ae}k Tejs and Narayanan, Shyam and Rosenbaum, Will and T\v{e}tek, Jakub},
  title =	{{Bias Reduction for Sum Estimation}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2023)},
  pages =	{62:1--62:21},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-296-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2023},
  volume =	{275},
  editor =	{Megow, Nicole and Smith, Adam},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2023.62},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-188872},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2023.62},
  annote =	{Keywords: bias reduction, sum estimation, sublinear time algorithms, sample complexity}
}

Document

Track A: Algorithms, Complexity and Games

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2022.26

Privately Estimating Graph Parameters in Sublinear Time

Authors: Jeremiah Blocki, Elena Grigorescu, and Tamalika Mukherjee

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 229, 49th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2022)

Abstract

We initiate a systematic study of algorithms that are both differentially-private and run in sublinear time for several problems in which the goal is to estimate natural graph parameters. Our main result is a differentially-private (1+ρ)-approximation algorithm for the problem of computing the average degree of a graph, for every ρ > 0. The running time of the algorithm is roughly the same (for sparse graphs) as its non-private version proposed by Goldreich and Ron (Sublinear Algorithms, 2005). We also obtain the first differentially-private sublinear-time approximation algorithms for the maximum matching size and the minimum vertex cover size of a graph. An overarching technique we employ is the notion of coupled global sensitivity of randomized algorithms. Related variants of this notion of sensitivity have been used in the literature in ad-hoc ways. Here we formalize the notion and develop it as a unifying framework for privacy analysis of randomized approximation algorithms.

Cite as

Jeremiah Blocki, Elena Grigorescu, and Tamalika Mukherjee. Privately Estimating Graph Parameters in Sublinear Time. In 49th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2022). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 229, pp. 26:1-26:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2022)

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@InProceedings{blocki_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2022.26,
  author =	{Blocki, Jeremiah and Grigorescu, Elena and Mukherjee, Tamalika},
  title =	{{Privately Estimating Graph Parameters in Sublinear Time}},
  booktitle =	{49th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2022)},
  pages =	{26:1--26:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-235-8},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2022},
  volume =	{229},
  editor =	{Boja\'{n}czyk, Miko{\l}aj and Merelli, Emanuela and Woodruff, David P.},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2022.26},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-163674},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2022.26},
  annote =	{Keywords: differential privacy, sublinear time, graph algorithms}
}

Document

Track A: Algorithms, Complexity and Games

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2022.107

Approximate Triangle Counting via Sampling and Fast Matrix Multiplication

Authors: Jakub Tětek

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 229, 49th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2022)

Abstract

There is a simple O(n³/{ε²T}) time algorithm for 1±ε-approximate triangle counting where T is the number of triangles in the graph and n the number of vertices. At the same time, one may count triangles exactly using fast matrix multiplication in time Õ(n^ω). Is it possible to get a negative dependency on the number of triangles T while retaining the state-of-the-art n^ω dependency on n? We answer this question positively by providing an algorithm which runs in time O({n^ω}/T^{ω-2})⋅poly(n^o(1)/ε). This is optimal in the sense that as long as the exponent of T is independent of n, T, it cannot be improved while retaining the dependency on n. Our algorithm improves upon the state of the art when T ≫ 1 and T ≪ n. We also consider the problem of approximate triangle counting in sparse graphs, parameterized by the number of edges m. The best known algorithm runs in time Õ_ε(m^{3/2}/T) [Eden et al., SIAM Journal on Computing, 2017]. An algorithm by Alon et al. [JACM, 1995] for exact triangle counting that runs in time Õ(m^{2ω/(ω + 1)}). We again get an algorithm whose complexity has a state-of-the-art dependency on m while having negative dependency on T. Specifically, our algorithm runs in time O({m^{2ω/(ω+1)}}/{T^{2(ω-1)/(ω+1)}}) ⋅ poly(n^o(1)/ε). This is again optimal in the sense that no better constant exponent of T is possible without worsening the dependency on m. This algorithm improves upon the state of the art when T ≫ 1 and T ≪ √m. In both cases, algorithms with time complexity matching query complexity lower bounds were known on some range of parameters. While those algorithms have optimal query complexity for the whole range of T, the time complexity departs from the query complexity and is no longer optimal (as we show) for T ≪ n and T ≪ √m, respectively. We focus on the time complexity in this range of T. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper considering the discrepancy between query and time complexity in graph parameter estimation.

Cite as

Jakub Tětek. Approximate Triangle Counting via Sampling and Fast Matrix Multiplication. In 49th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2022). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 229, pp. 107:1-107:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2022)

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@InProceedings{tetek:LIPIcs.ICALP.2022.107,
  author =	{T\v{e}tek, Jakub},
  title =	{{Approximate Triangle Counting via Sampling and Fast Matrix Multiplication}},
  booktitle =	{49th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2022)},
  pages =	{107:1--107:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-235-8},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2022},
  volume =	{229},
  editor =	{Boja\'{n}czyk, Miko{\l}aj and Merelli, Emanuela and Woodruff, David P.},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2022.107},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-164485},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2022.107},
  annote =	{Keywords: Approximate triangle counting, Fast matrix multiplication, Sampling}
}

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