SearcharxivSearch

arXiv · 2511.21738

On the Incompressibility of Truth With Application to Circuit Complexity

Abstract

We revisit the fundamentals of Circuit Complexity and the nature of efficient computation from a fresh perspective. We present a framework for understanding Circuit Complexity through the lens of Information Theory with analogies to results in Kolmogorov Complexity, viewing circuits as descriptions of truth tables, encoded in logical gates and wires, rather than purely computational devices. From this framework, we re-prove some existing Circuit Complexity bounds, explain what the optimal circuits for most boolean functions look like structurally, give an explicit boolean function family that requires exponential circuits, and explain the aforementioned results in a unifying intuition that re-frames time entirely.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Luke Tonon. 2025-11-21. On the Incompressibility of Truth With Application to Circuit Complexity. https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.21738

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

The Computational Complexity of Holant Problems on 4-regular Graphs from the Stable Subgroup Sequence of $SL(2,\mathbb{C})$

The Holant framework provides a general setting for studying counting problems and includes graph homomorphisms (\#GH) and counting constraint satisfaction problems (\#CSP) as special cases. Over the past twenty years, a series of computational complexity dichotomies have been established for Holant problems, but the classification for complex-valued signatures is still open. The main obstacle is the case in which all signatures have even arity. In this paper, we establish a dichotomy for Holant problems with a complex-valued 4-ary signature, which is a key base case for the full classification of Holant problems. We present a new strategy by introducing Schur's theorem, the classification of finite subgroups of $\mathrm{SL}(2,\mathbb{C})$ and stable subgroup sequences into the proof. These new techniques are of independent interest.

cs.CC

Topology inside NC$^1$

We show that ACC$^0$ is precisely what can be computed with constant-width circuits of polynomial size and polylogarithmic genus. This extends a characterization given by Hansen, showing that planar constant-width circuits also characterize ACC$^0$. Thus polylogarithmic genus provides no additional computational power in this model. We consider other generalizations of planarity, including crossing number and thickness. We show that constant-width circuits of polynomial size and thickness two already suffice to capture all of NC$^1$.

cs.CC