English

An order out of nowhere: a new algorithm for infinite-domain CSPs

Logic in Computer Science 2025-08-25 v4 Computational Complexity Logic

Abstract

We consider the problem of satisfiability of sets of constraints in a given set of finite uniform hypergraphs. While the problem under consideration is similar in nature to the problem of satisfiability of constraints in graphs, the classical complexity reduction to finite-domain CSPs that was used in the proof of the complexity dichotomy for such problems cannot be used as a black box in our case. We therefore introduce an algorithmic technique inspired by classical notions from the theory of finite-domain CSPs, and prove its correctness based on symmetries that depend on a linear order that is external to the structures under consideration. Our second main result is a P/NP-complete complexity dichotomy for such problems over many sets of uniform hypergraphs. The proof is based on the translation of the problem into the framework of constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs) over infinite uniform hypergraphs. Our result confirms in particular the Bodirsky-Pinsker conjecture for CSPs of first-order reducts of many homogeneous hypergraphs including the random hypergraphs and hypergraphs omitting a generalised clique. This forms a vast generalisation of previous work by Bodirsky-Pinsker (STOC'11) and Bodirsky-Martin-Pinsker-Pongr\'acz (ICALP'16) on graph satisfiability.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2301.12977,
  title  = {An order out of nowhere: a new algorithm for infinite-domain CSPs},
  author = {Antoine Mottet and Tomáš Nagy and Michael Pinsker},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2301.12977},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

35 pages. Journal version; minor corrections

R2 v1 2026-06-28T08:26:56.674Z