Related papers: Lower Bounds for CSP Hierarchies Through Ideal Red…
This thesis explores algorithmic applications and limitations of convex relaxation hierarchies for approximating some discrete and continuous optimization problems. - We show a dichotomy of approximability of constraint satisfaction…
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 present the first super-linear lower bounds for natural graph problems in the CONGEST model, answering a long-standing open question. Specifically, we show that any exact computation of a minimum vertex cover or a maximum independent set…
Raghavendra (STOC 2008) gave an elegant and surprising result: if Khot's Unique Games Conjecture (STOC 2002) is true, then for every constraint satisfaction problem (CSP), the best approximation ratio is attained by a certain simple…
We develop a unified framework to characterize the power of higher-level algorithms for the constraint satisfaction problem (CSP), such as $k$-consistency, the Sherali-Adams LP hierarchy, and the affine IP hierarchy. As a result,…
We introduce a method for proving lower bounds on the efficacy of semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxations for combinatorial problems. In particular, we show that the cut, TSP, and stable set polytopes on $n$-vertex graphs are not the…
We define a reduction mechanism for LP and SDP formulations that degrades approximation factors in a controlled fashion. Our reduction mechanism is a minor restriction of classical reductions establishing inapproximability in the context of…
Constraint satisfaction (CSP) and structure isomorphism (SI) are among the most well-studied computational problems in Computer Science. While neither problem is thought to be in $\texttt{PTIME},$ much work is done on $\texttt{PTIME}$…
A recent work (Korten, Pitassi, and Impagliazzo, FOCS 2025) established an insightful connection between static data structure lower bounds, range avoidance of $\text{NC}^0$ circuits, and the refutation of pseudorandom CSP instances,…
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…
The bounded-degree query model, introduced by Goldreich and Ron (\textit{Algorithmica, 2002}), is a standard framework in graph property testing and sublinear-time algorithms. Many properties studied in this model, such as bipartiteness and…
This paper describes a new approach on optimization of constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs) by means of substituting sub-CSPs with locally consistent regular membership constraints. The purpose of this approach is to reduce the number of…
We develop a new theory of strong subalgebras and linear congruences that are defined globally. Using this theory we provide a new proof of the correctness of Zhuk's algorithm for all tractable CSPs on a finite domain, and therefore a new…
A code $C \colon \{0,1\}^k \to \{0,1\}^n$ is a $q$-locally decodable code ($q$-LDC) if one can recover any chosen bit $b_i$ of the message $b \in \{0,1\}^k$ with good confidence by randomly querying the encoding $x := C(b)$ on at most $q$…
For a $k$-ary predicate $P$, a random instance of CSP$(P)$ with $n$ variables and $m$ constraints is unsatisfiable with high probability when $m \gg n$. The natural algorithmic task in this regime is \emph{refutation}: finding a proof that…
The "exact subgraph" approach was recently introduced as a hierarchical scheme to get increasingly tight semidefinite programming relaxations of several NP-hard graph optimization problems. Solving these relaxations is a computational…
The complexity and approximability of the constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) has been actively studied over the last 20 years. A new version of the CSP, the promise CSP (PCSP) has recently been proposed, motivated by open questions about…
In this paper, we consider lower bounds on the query complexity for testing CSPs in the bounded-degree model. First, for any ``symmetric'' predicate $P:{0,1}^{k} \to {0,1}$ except \equ where $k\geq 3$, we show that every (randomized)…
Signomial programs (SPs) are optimization problems specified in terms of signomials, which are weighted sums of exponentials composed with linear functionals of a decision variable. SPs are non-convex optimization problems in general, and…
For a given curve X and divisor class C, we give lower bounds on the degree of a divisor A such that A and A-C belong to specified semigroups of divisors. For suitable choices of the semigroups we obtain (1) lower bounds for the size of a…