English

Polynomial-time kernel reductions

Computational Complexity 2016-04-29 v1

Abstract

In the framework of computational complexity and in an effort to define a more natural reduction for problems of equivalence, we investigate the recently introduced kernel reduction, a reduction that operates on each element of a pair independently. This paper details the limitations and uses of kernel reductions. We show that kernel reductions are weaker than many-one reductions and provide conditions under which complete problems exist. Ultimately, the number and size of equivalence classes can dictate the existence of a kernel reduction. We leave unsolved the unconditional existence of a complete problem under polynomial-time kernel reductions for the standard complexity classes.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1604.08558,
  title  = {Polynomial-time kernel reductions},
  author = {Jeffrey Finkelstein and Benjamin Hescott},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1604.08558},
  year   = {2016}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-22T13:43:51.158Z