Related papers: On the Complexity of Finding Narrow Proofs
We prove that there are 3-CNF formulas over n variables that can be refuted in resolution in width w but require resolution proofs of size n^Omega(w). This shows that the simple counting argument that any formula refutable in width w must…
In 2003, Atserias and Dalmau resolved a major open question about the resolution proof system by establishing that the space complexity of CNF formulas is always an upper bound on the width needed to refute them. Their proof is beautiful…
We show how to convert any unsatisfiable 3-CNF formula which is sparse and exponentially hard to refute in Resolution into a negative instance of the $k$-clique problem whose corresponding natural encoding as a CNF formula is…
For any unsatisfiable CNF formula we give an exponential lower bound on the size of resolution refutations of a propositional statement that the formula has a resolution refutation. We describe three applications. (1) An open question in…
We show that the problem of finding a Resolution refutation that is at most polynomially longer than a shortest one is NP-hard. In the parlance of proof complexity, Resolution is not automatizable unless P = NP. Indeed, we show it is…
NP-Complete problems have an important attribute that if one NP-Complete problem can be solved in polynomial time, all NP-Complete problems will have a polynomial solution. The 3-CNF-SAT problem is a NP-Complete problem and the primary…
We study -- within the framework of propositional proof complexity -- the problem of certifying unsatisfiability of CNF formulas under the promise that any satisfiable formula has many satisfying assignments, where ``many'' stands for an…
While 3-SAT is NP-hard, 2-SAT is solvable in polynomial time. Austrin, Guruswami, and H\r{a}stad roved a result known as "$(2+\varepsilon)$-SAT is NP-hard" [FOCS'14/SICOMP'17]. They showed that the problem of distinguishing k-CNF formulas…
We study the *refuter* problems for proof complexity lower bounds. Suppose $\varphi$ is a hard tautology that does not admit any length-$s$ proof in some proof system $P$. In the corresponding refuter problem, we are given (query access to)…
We revisit the complexity of the classical $k$-Coloring problem parameterized by clique-width. This is a very well-studied problem that becomes highly intractable when the number of colors $k$ is large. However, much less is known on its…
We prove that the problem of deciding whether a 2- or 3-dimensional simplicial complex embeds into $\mathbb{R}^3$ is NP-hard. Our construction also shows that deciding whether a 3-manifold with boundary tori admits an $\mathbb{S}^{3}$…
The exponential-time hypothesis (ETH) states that 3-SAT is not solvable in subexponential time, i.e. not solvable in O(c^n) time for arbitrary c > 1, where n denotes the number of variables. Problems like k-SAT can be viewed as special…
We show that the CNF satisfiability problem can be solved $O^*(1.2226^m)$ time, where $m$ is the number of clauses in the formula, improving the known upper bounds $O^*(1.234^m)$ given by Yamamoto 15 years ago and $O^*(1.239^m)$ given by…
We show that there are CNF formulas which can be refuted in resolution in both small space and small width, but for which any small-width proof must have space exceeding by far the linear worst-case upper bound. This significantly…
A generalized 1-in-3SAT problem is defined and found to be in complexity class P when restricted to a certain subset of CNF expressions. In particular, 1-in-kSAT with no restrictions on the number of literals per clause can be decided in…
A major open problem in proof complexity is to demonstrate that random 3-CNFs with a linear number of clauses require super-polynomial size refutations in bounded-depth Frege systems. We take the first step towards addressing this question…
The relationship between the complexity classes P and NP is an unsolved question in the field of theoretical computer science. In this paper, we investigate a descriptor approach based on lattice properties. This paper proposes a new way to…
We study the parameterized complexity of the following fundamental geometric problems with respect to the dimension $d$: i) Given $n$ points in $\Rd$, compute their minimum enclosing cylinder. ii) Given two $n$-point sets in $\Rd$, decide…
We introduce the problem of finding a satisfying assignment to a CNF formula that must further belong to a prescribed input subspace. Equivalent formulations of the problem include finding a point outside a union of subspaces (the…
We study the time complexity of the discrete $k$-center problem and related (exact) geometric set cover problems when $k$ or the size of the cover is small. We obtain a plethora of new results: - We give the first subquadratic algorithm for…