English

Analyzing Ta-Shma's Code via the Expander Mixing Lemma

Information Theory 2022-01-28 v1 math.IT

Abstract

Random walks in expander graphs and their various derandomizations (e.g., replacement/zigzag product) are invaluable tools from pseudorandomness. Recently, Ta-Shma used s-wide replacement walks in his breakthrough construction of a binary linear code almost matching the Gilbert-Varshamov bound (STOC 2017). Ta-Shma's original analysis was entirely linear algebraic, and subsequent developments have inherited this viewpoint. In this work, we rederive Ta-Shma's analysis from a combinatorial point of view using repeated application of the expander mixing lemma. We hope that this alternate perspective will yield a better understanding of Ta-Shma's construction. As an additional application of our techniques, we give an alternate proof of the expander hitting set lemma.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2201.11166,
  title  = {Analyzing Ta-Shma's Code via the Expander Mixing Lemma},
  author = {Silas Richelson and Sourya Roy},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2201.11166},
  year   = {2022}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-24T09:04:24.003Z