Related papers: Bounded-Depth Frege Lower Bounds for Random 3-CNFs…
Random 3CNF formulas constitute an important distribution for measuring the average-case behavior of propositional proof systems. Lower bounds for random 3CNF refutations in many propositional proof systems are known. Most notably are the…
In this paper, we investigate the proof complexity of a wide range of substructural systems. For any proof system $\mathbf{P}$ at least as strong as Full Lambek calculus, $\mathbf{FL}$, and polynomially simulated by the extended Frege…
We prove superpolynomial length lower bounds for the semantic tree-like Frege refutation system with bounded line size. Concretely, for any function $n^{2-\varepsilon} \leq s(n) \leq 2^{n^{1-\varepsilon}}$ we exhibit an explicit family…
We present a general method for converting any family of unsatisfiable CNF formulas that is hard for one of the simplest proof systems, tree resolution, into formulas that require large rank in any proof system that manipulates polynomials…
Random constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs) such as random $3$-SAT are conjectured to be computationally intractable. The average case hardness of random $3$-SAT and other CSPs has broad and far-reaching implications on problems in…
We analyse how the standard reductions between constraint satisfaction problems affect their proof complexity. We show that, for the most studied propositional, algebraic, and semi-algebraic proof systems, the classical constructions of…
We investigate the space complexity of refuting $3$-CNFs in Resolution and algebraic systems. We prove that every Polynomial Calculus with Resolution refutation of a random $3$-CNF $\phi$ in $n$ variables requires, with high probability,…
Our contribution is a bounded cubic compilation theorem. For each fixed resource parameter $k$, syntactic proof checking at resource level $k$ is faithfully represented by a finite bounded-domain system of cubic polynomial equations. Every…
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…
We study whether lower bounds against constant-depth algebraic circuits computing the Permanent over finite fields (Limaye-Srinivasan-Tavenas, J. ACM 2025; Forbes, CCC 2024) are hard to prove in certain proof systems. We focus on a DNF…
We investigate the space complexity of refuting $3$-CNFs in Resolution and algebraic systems. No lower bound for refuting any family of $3$-CNFs was previously known for the total space in resolution or for the monomial space in algebraic…
We display an application of the notions of kernelization and data reduction from parameterized complexity to proof complexity: Specifically, we show that the existence of data reduction rules for a parameterized problem having (a). a…
Does every Boolean tautology have a short propositional-calculus proof? Here, a propositional calculus (i.e. Frege) proof is a proof starting from a set of axioms and deriving new Boolean formulas using a set of fixed sound derivation…
Itsykson and Sokolov [IS14] identified resolution over parities, denoted by $\text{Res}(\oplus)$, as a natural and simple fragment of $\text{AC}^0[2]$-Frege for which no super-polynomial lower bounds on size of proofs are known. Building on…
The Strong Exponential Time Hypothesis (SETH) asserts that for every $\varepsilon>0$ there exists $k$ such that $k$-SAT requires time $(2-\varepsilon)^n$. The field of fine-grained complexity has leveraged SETH to prove quite tight…
The best known size lower bounds against unrestricted circuits have remained around $3n$ for several decades. Moreover, the only known technique for proving lower bounds in this model, gate elimination, is inherently limited to proving…
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 study the complexity of small-depth Frege proofs and give the first tradeoffs between the size of each line and the number of lines. Existing lower bounds apply to the overall proof size -- the sum of sizes of all lines -- and do not…
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 -- 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…