Unbounded-width CSPs are Untestable in a Sublinear Number of Queries
Abstract
The bounded-degree query model, introduced by Goldreich and Ron (\textit{Algorithmica, 2002}), is a standard framework in graph property testing and sublinear-time algorithms. Many properties studied in this model, such as bipartiteness and 3-colorability of graphs, can be expressed as satisfiability of constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs). We prove that for the entire class of \emph{unbounded-width} CSPs, testing satisfiability requires queries in the bounded-degree model. This result unifies and generalizes several previous lower bounds. In particular, it applies to all CSPs that are known to be -hard to solve, including -colorability of -uniform hypergraphs for any with . Our proof combines the techniques from Bogdanov, Obata, and Trevisan (\textit{FOCS, 2002}), who established the first query lower bound for CSP testing in the bounded-degree model, with known results from universal algebra.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2510.27012,
title = {Unbounded-width CSPs are Untestable in a Sublinear Number of Queries},
author = {Yumou Fei},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2510.27012},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
added in the second version: handling repetition of variables in constraints