Related papers: The complexity of approximating conservative count…
In this paper we study the approximability of (Finite-)Valued Constraint Satisfaction Problems (VCSPs) with a fixed finite constraint language {\Gamma} consisting of finitary functions on a fixed finite domain. An instance of VCSP is given…
We consider the class of counting problems,i.e. functions in $\#$P, which are self reducible, and have easy decision version, i.e. for every input it is easy to decide if the value of the function $f(x)$ is zero. For example,…
The problem of estimating the proportion of satisfiable instances of a given CSP (constraint satisfaction problem) can be tackled through weighting. It consists in putting onto each solution a non-negative real value based on its…
Valued constraint satisfaction problems (VCSPs) are discrete optimisation problems with a $(\mathbb{Q}\cup\{\infty\})$-valued objective function given as a sum of fixed-arity functions. In Boolean surjective VCSPs, variables take on labels…
We report new results on the complexity of the valued constraint satisfaction problem (VCSP). Under the unique games conjecture, the approximability of finite-valued VCSP is fairly well-understood. However, there is yet no characterisation…
This paper depicts algorithms for solving the decision Boolean Satisfiability Problem. An extreme problem is formulated to analyze the complexity of algorithms and the complexity for solving it. A novel and easy reformulation as a lottery…
The constraint satisfaction problem asks to decide if a set of constraints over a relational structure $\mathcal{A}$ is satisfiable (CSP$(\mathcal{A})$). We consider CSP$(\mathcal{A} \cup \mathcal{B})$ where $\mathcal{A}$ is a structure and…
A constraint satisfaction problem (CSP), $\textsf{Max-CSP}(\mathcal{F})$, is specified by a finite set of constraints $\mathcal{F} \subseteq \{[q]^k \to \{0,1\}\}$ for positive integers $q$ and $k$. An instance of the problem on $n$…
Constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs) are ubiquitous in theoretical computer science. We study the problem of StrongCSPs, i.e. instances where a large induced sub-instance has a satisfying assignment. More formally, given a CSP instance…
Finite valued constraint satisfaction problems are a formalism for describing many natural optimization problems, where constraints on the values that variables can take come with rational weights and the aim is to find an assignment of…
A classic result due to Schaefer (1978) classifies all constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs) over the Boolean domain as being either in $\mathsf{P}$ or $\mathsf{NP}$-hard. This paper considers a promise-problem variant of CSPs called…
We consider the hardness of approximation of optimization problems from the point of view of definability. For many NP-hard optimization problems it is known that, unless P = NP, no polynomial-time algorithm can give an approximate solution…
The workflow satisfiability problem (WSP) asks whether there exists an assignment of authorized users to the steps in a workflow specification that satisfies the constraints in the specification. The problem is NP-hard in general, but…
A monotone CNF formula is a Boolean formula in conjunctive normal form where each variable appears positively. We design a deterministic fully polynomial-time approximation scheme (FPTAS) for counting the number of satisfying assignments…
This thesis investigates the extent to which the optimal value of a constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) can be approximated by some sentence of fixed point logic with counting (FPC). It is known that, assuming $\mathsf{P} \neq…
Valued constraint satisfaction problems (VCSPs) constitute a large class of computational optimization problems. It was shown recently that, over finite domains, every VCSP is in P or NP-complete, depending on the admitted cost functions.…
A constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) is said to be \emph{approximation resistant} if it is hard to approximate better than the trivial algorithm which picks a uniformly random assignment. Assuming the Unique Games Conjecture, we give a…
The Constraint-satisfaction problem (CSP) is fundamental in mathematics, physics, and theoretical computer science. Continuous local search (CLS) solvers, as recent advancements, can achieve highly competitive results on certain classes of…
We provide evidence that it is computationally difficult to approximate the partition function of the ferromagnetic q-state Potts model when q>2. Specifically we show that the partition function is hard for the complexity class #RHPi_1…
In 2007 it was conjectured that the Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) over a constraint language $\Gamma$ is tractable if and only if $\Gamma$ is preserved by a weak near-unanimity (WNU) operation. After many efforts and partial…