Related papers: Probabilistically Checkable Reconfiguration Proofs…
Combinatorial reconfiguration is a growing research field studying problems on the transformability between a pair of solutions of a search problem. We consider the approximability of optimization variants of reconfiguration problems; e.g.,…
Recently, Ohsaka [STACS'23] put forth the Reconfiguration Inapproximability Hypothesis (RIH), which roughly asserts that there is some $\epsilon>0$ such that given as input a $k$-CSP instance (for some constant $k$) over some constant sized…
In this paper, we demonstrate gap amplification for reconfiguration problems. In particular, we prove an explicit factor of PSPACE-hardness of approximation for three popular reconfiguration problems only assuming the Reconfiguration…
We consider the computational complexity of reconfiguration problems, in which one is given two combinatorial configurations satisfying some constraints, and is asked to transform one into the other using elementary transformations, while…
In the Minmax Set Cover Reconfiguration problem, given a set system $\mathcal{F}$ over a universe and its two covers $\mathcal{C}^\mathsf{start}$ and $\mathcal{C}^\mathsf{goal}$ of size $k$, we wish to transform $\mathcal{C}^\mathsf{start}$…
The PCP Theorem is one of the most stunning results in computational complexity theory, a culmination of a series of results regarding proof checking it exposes some deep structure of computational problems. As a surprising side-effect, it…
We study reconfiguration problems for cliques in a graph, which determine whether there exists a sequence of cliques that transforms a given clique into another one in a step-by-step fashion. As one step of a transformation, we consider…
We study the perfect matching reconfiguration problem: Given two perfect matchings of a graph, is there a sequence of flip operations that transforms one into the other? Here, a flip operation exchanges the edges in an alternating cycle of…
We present the first results on the parameterized complexity of reconfiguration problems, where a reconfiguration version of an optimization problem $Q$ takes as input two feasible solutions $S$ and $T$ and determines if there is a sequence…
$k$-Coloring Reconfiguration is one of the most well-studied reconfiguration problems, which asks to transform a given proper $k$-coloring of a graph to another by repeatedly recoloring a single vertex. Its approximate version, Maxmin…
In the Maxmin E$k$-SAT Reconfiguration problem, we are given a satisfiable $k$-CNF formula $\varphi$ where each clause contains exactly $k$ literals, along with a pair of its satisfying assignments. The objective is transform one satisfying…
We show that several reconfiguration problems known to be PSPACE-complete remain so even when limited to graphs of bounded bandwidth. The essential step is noticing the similarity to very limited string rewriting systems, whose ability to…
In this paper we study the fine-grained complexity of finding exact and approximate solutions to problems in P. Our main contribution is showing reductions from exact to approximate solution for a host of such problems. As one (notable)…
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…
The Reconfiguration Inapproximability Hypothesis (RIH), recently established by Hirahara-Ohsaka (STOC'24) and Karthik-Manurangsi (ECCC'24), studies the hardness of reconfiguring one solution into another in constraint satisfaction problems…
MAX CLIQUE problem (MCP) is an NPO problem, which asks to find the largest complete sub-graph in a graph $G, G = (V, E)$ (directed or undirected). MCP is well known to be $NP-Hard$ to approximate in polynomial time with an approximation…
Constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) is a well-studied combinatorial search problem, in which we are asked to find an assignment of values to given variables so as to satisfy all of given constraints. We study a reconfiguration variant of…
Probabilistically checkable proofs of proximity (PCPP) are proof systems where the verifier is given a 3SAT formula, but has only oracle access to an assignment and a proof. The verifier accepts a satisfying assignment with a valid proof,…
We present a new distributed model of probabilistically checkable proofs (PCP). A satisfying assignment $x \in \{0,1\}^n$ to a CNF formula $\varphi$ is shared between two parties, where Alice knows $x_1, \dots, x_{n/2}$, Bob knows…
We extend the concept of polynomial time approximation algorithms to apply to problems for hierarchically specified graphs, many of which are PSPACE-complete. Assuming P != PSPACE, the existence or nonexistence of such efficient…