Related papers: Constructive Discrepancy Minimization with Heredit…

We study one of the key tools in data approximation and optimization: low-discrepancy colorings. Formally, given a finite set system $(X,\mathcal S)$, the \emph{discrepancy} of a two-coloring $\chi:X\to\{-1,1\}$ is defined as $\max_{S \in…

Given a set system (V,S), V={1,...,n} and S={S1,...,Sm}, the minimum discrepancy problem is to find a 2-coloring of V, such that each set is colored as evenly as possible. In this paper we give the first polynomial time algorithms for…

Let $(X,\S)$ be a set system on an $n$-point set $X$. The \emph{discrepancy} of $\S$ is defined as the minimum of the largest deviation from an even split, over all subsets of $S \in \S$ and two-colorings $\chi$ on $X$. We consider the…

Efficiently computing low discrepancy colorings of various set systems, has been studied extensively since the breakthrough work by Bansal (FOCS 2010), who gave the first polynomial time algorithms for several important settings, including…

Minimizing the discrepancy of a set system is a fundamental problem in combinatorics. One of the cornerstones in this area is the celebrated six standard deviations result of Spencer (AMS 1985): In any system of n sets in a universe of size…

For an integer $r \ge 2$ and an order $n \equiv 1, 3 \pmod{6}$, write $\delta_r(n)$ for the minimum, over all $r$-colourings $\chi : \binom{[n]}{3} \to [r]$, of $\max_{\mathcal{S}} \mathrm{disc}(\mathcal{S}, \chi)$, where the maximum is…

We consider the problem of finding a low discrepancy coloring for sparse set systems where each element lies in at most $t$ sets. We give an algorithm that finds a coloring with discrepancy $O((t \log n \log s)^{1/2})$ where $s$ is the…

The hereditary discrepancy of a set system is a certain quantitative measure of the pseudorandom properties of the system. Roughly, hereditary discrepancy measures how well one can $2$-color the elements of the system so that each set…

The partial coloring method is one of the most powerful and widely used method in combinatorial discrepancy problems. However, in many cases it leads to sub-optimal bounds as the partial coloring step must be iterated a logarithmic number…

The Discrepancy of a hypergraph is the minimum attainable value, over two-colorings of its vertices, of the maximum absolute imbalance of any hyperedge. The Hereditary Discrepancy of a hypergraph, defined as the maximum discrepancy of a…

A recent work by [Larsen, SODA 2023] introduced a faster combinatorial alternative to Bansal's SDP algorithm for finding a coloring $x \in \{-1, 1\}^n$ that approximately minimizes the discrepancy $\mathrm{disc}(A, x) := | A x |_{\infty}$…

A hypergraph is said to be $\chi$-colorable if its vertices can be colored with $\chi$ colors so that no hyperedge is monochromatic. $2$-colorability is a fundamental property (called Property B) of hypergraphs and is extensively studied in…

Discrepancy theory provides powerful tools for producing higher-quality objects which "beat the union bound" in fundamental settings throughout combinatorics and computer science. However, this quality has often come at the price of more…

The $\gamma_2$ norm of a real $m\times n$ matrix $A$ is the minimum number $t$ such that the column vectors of $A$ are contained in a $0$-centered ellipsoid $E\subseteq\mathbb{R}^m$ which in turn is contained in the hypercube $[-t, t]^m$.…

We consider the discrepancy problem of coloring $n$ intervals with $k$ colors such that at each point on the line, the maximal difference between the number of intervals of any two colors is minimal. Somewhat surprisingly, a coloring with…

The chromatic discrepancy of a graph $G$, denoted $\phi(G)$, is the least over all proper colourings $\sigma$ of $G$ of the greatest difference between the number of colours $|\sigma(V(H))|$ spanned by an induced subgraph $H$ of $G$ and its…

For a non-decreasing sequence $S=(s_1,s_2,\ldots)$ of positive integers, a partition of the vertex set of a graph $G$ into subsets $X_1,\ldots, X_\ell$, such that vertices in $X_i$ are pairwise at distance greater than $s_i$ for every…

The \emph{signed series} problem in the $\ell_2$ norm asks, given set of vectors $v_1,\ldots,v_n\in \mathbf{R}^d$ having at most unit $\ell_2$ norm, does there always exist a series $(\varepsilon_i)_{i\in [n]}$ of $\pm 1$ signs such that…

A result of Spencer states that every collection of $n$ sets over a universe of size $n$ has a coloring of the ground set with $\{-1,+1\}$ of discrepancy $O(\sqrt{n})$. A geometric generalization of this result was given by Gluskin (see…

Let $S$ be a 2-colored (red and blue) set of $n$ points in the plane. A subset $I$ of $S$ is an island if there exits a convex set $C$ such that $I=C\cap S$. The discrepancy of an island is the absolute value of the number of red minus the…