Related papers: Lower Bounding the AND-OR Tree via Symmetrization

We prove the first nontrivial worst-case lower bounds for two closely related problems. First, $\Omega(n^{3/2})$ degree-1 reductions, series-parallel reductions, and $\Delta$Y transformations are required in the worst case to reduce an…

In this paper we improve the lower bound of Chatterjee et al.\ (ECCC 2019) to an $\Omega(n^2)$ lower bound for unlayered Algebraic Branching Programs. We also study the impact layerization has on Algebraic Branching Programs. We exhibit a…

This paper studies lower bounds for fundamental optimization problems in the CONGEST model. We show that solving problems exactly in this model can be a hard task, by providing $\tilde{\Omega}(n^2)$ lower bounds for cornerstone problems,…

We present a novel algorithm for the minimum-depth elimination tree problem, which is equivalent to the optimal treedepth decomposition problem. Our algorithm makes use of two cheaply-computed lower bound functions to prune the search tree,…

Let $s(n)$ be the minimum number of edges in a graph that contains every $n$-vertex tree as a subgraph. Chung and Graham [J. London Math. Soc. 1983] claim to prove that $s(n)\leqslant O(n\log n)$. We point out a mistake in their proof. The…

Given a non-negative $n \times n$ matrix viewed as a set of distances between $n$ points, we consider the property testing problem of deciding if it is a metric. We also consider the same problem for two special classes of metrics, tree…

In this paper, we prove super-polynomial lower bounds for the model of \emph{sum of ordered set-multilinear algebraic branching programs}, each with a possibly different ordering ($\sum \mathsf{smABP}$). Specifically, we give an explicit…

We propose a new method for proving lower bounds on quantum query algorithms. Instead of a classical adversary that runs the algorithm with one input and then modifies the input, we use a quantum adversary that runs the algorithm with a…

We introduce a method for proving Sum-of-Squares (SoS)/ Lasserre hierarchy lower bounds when the initial problem formulation exhibits a high degree of symmetry. Our main technical theorem allows us to reduce the study of the positive…

The approximate degree of a Boolean function is the minimum degree of real polynomial that approximates it pointwise. For any Boolean function, its approximate degree serves as a lower bound on its quantum query complexity, and generically…

A variant of the Erd\H{o}s-S\'os conjecture, posed by Havet, Reed, Stein and Wood, states that every graph with minimum degree at least $\lfloor 2k/3 \rfloor$ and maximum degree at least $k$ contains a copy of every tree with $k$ edges.…

$\newcommand{\ACz}{\mathbf{AC}^0}$ H\r{a}stad showed that any De Morgan formula (composed of AND, OR and NOT gates) shrinks by a factor of $\tilde{O}(p^{2})$ under a random restriction that leaves each variable alive independently with…

Given an $n$-point metric space $(X,d_X)$, a tree cover $\mathcal{T}$ is a set of $|\mathcal{T}|=k$ trees on $X$ such that every pair of vertices in $X$ has a low-distortion path in one of the trees in $\mathcal{T}$. Tree covers have been…

Let $G$ be a connected $n$-vertex graph in a proper minor-closed class $\mathcal G$. We prove that the extension complexity of the spanning tree polytope of $G$ is $O(n^{3/2})$. This improves on the $O(n^2)$ bounds following from the work…

We prove new upper and lower bounds on $\epsilon$-approximate sign-rank, a relaxation of sign-rank introduced by Chornomaz, Moran, and Waknine (STOC 2025). We show that every $m \times n$ sign matrix with approximate sign-rank $d$ contains…

We give a lower bound of $\tilde{\Omega}(\sqrt{n})$ for the degree-4 Sum-of-Squares SDP relaxation for the planted clique problem. Specifically, we show that on an Erd\"os-R\'enyi graph $G(n,\tfrac{1}{2})$, with high probability there is a…

We give an O(sqrt n log n)-query quantum algorithm for evaluating size-n AND-OR formulas. Its running time is poly-logarithmically greater after efficient preprocessing. Unlike previous approaches, the algorithm is based on a quantum walk…

We study search trees with 2-way comparisons (2WCST's), which involve separate less-than and equal-to tests in their nodes, each test having two possible outcomes, yes and no. These trees have a much subtler structure than standard search…

Computing optimal transport (OT) distances such as the earth mover's distance is a fundamental problem in machine learning, statistics, and computer vision. In this paper, we study the problem of approximating the general OT distance…

We introduce three new cut tree structures of graphs $G$ in which the vertex set of the tree is a partition of $V(G)$ and contractions of tree vertices satisfy sparsification requirements that preserve various types of cuts. Recently,…