English

Complexity lower bounds for succinct binary structures of bounded clique-width with restrictions

Computational Complexity 2026-02-23 v1 Discrete Mathematics Logic in Computer Science

Abstract

We present a Rice-like complexity lower bound for any MSO-definable problem on binary structures succinctly encoded by circuits. This work extends the framework recently developed as a counterpoint to Courcelle's theorem for graphs encoded by circuits, in two interplaying directions: (1) by allowing multiple binary relations, and (2) by restricting the interpretation of new symbols. Depending on the pair of an MSO problem ψ\psi and an MSO restriction χ\chi, the problem is proven to be NP-hard or coNP-hard or P-hard, as long as ψ\psi is non-trivial on structures satisfying χ\chi with bounded clique-width. Indeed, there are P-complete problems (for logspace reductions) in our extended context. Finally, we strengthen a previous result on the necessity to parameterize the notion of non-triviality, hence supporting the choice of clique-width.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2602.18240,
  title  = {Complexity lower bounds for succinct binary structures of bounded clique-width with restrictions},
  author = {Colin Geniet and Aliénor Goubault-Larrecq and Kévin Perrot},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2602.18240},
  year   = {2026}
}
R2 v1 2026-07-01T10:44:13.687Z