arXiv subjects

Andrei A. Bulatov

Publications and source records attributed to Andrei A. Bulatov.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

The Ideal Membership Problem and Abelian Groups

Given polynomials $f_0,\dots, f_k$ the Ideal Membership Problem, IMP for short, asks if $f_0$ belongs to the ideal generated by $f_1,\dots, f_k$. In the search version of this problem the task is to find a proof of this fact. The IMP is a well-known fundamental problem with numerous applications. For instance, it underlies many proof systems based on polynomials such as Nullstellensatz, Polynomial Calculus, and Sum-of-Squares. Although the IMP is in general intractable, in many important cases it can be efficiently solved. Mastrolilli [SODA'19] initiated a systematic study of IMPs for ideals arising from Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSPs), parameterized by constraint languages, denoted IMP($Γ$). The ultimate goal of this line of research is to classify all such IMPs accordingly to their complexity. Mastrolilli achieved this goal for IMPs arising from CSP($Γ$) where $Γ$ is a Boolean constraint language, while Bulatov and Rafiey [STOC'22] advanced these results to several cases of CSPs over finite domains. In this paper we consider IMPs arising from CSPs over `affine' constraint languages, in which constraints are subgroups (or their cosets) of direct products of Abelian groups. This kind of CSPs include systems of linear equations and are considered one of the most important types of tractable CSPs. Some special cases of the problem have been considered before by Bharathi and Mastrolilli [MFCS'21] for linear equation modulo 2, and by Bulatov and Rafiey [STOC'22] to systems of linear equations over $GF(p)$, $p$ prime. Here we prove that if $Γ$ is an affine constraint language then IMP($Γ$) is solvable in polynomial time assuming the input polynomial has bounded degree.

cs.CC↗

arXiv2025

Discrete Homotopy and Promise Constraint Satisfaction Problem

The Promise Constraint Satisfaction Problem (PCSP for short) is a generalization of the well-studied Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP). The PCSP has its roots in such classic problems as the Approximate Graph Coloring and the $(1+\varepsilon)$-Satisfiability problems. The area received much attention recently with multiple approaches developed to design efficient algorithms for restricted versions of the PCSP, and to prove its hardness. One such approach uses methods from Algebraic Topology to relate the complexity of the PCSP to the structure of the fundamental group of certain topological spaces. In this paper, we attempt to develop a discrete analog of this approach by replacing topological structures with combinatorial constructions and some basic group-theoretic concepts. We consider the `one-dimensional' case of the approach. We introduce and prove the basics of the framework, show how it is related to the complexity of the PCSP, and obtain several hardness results, including the existing ones, as applications of our approach. The main hope, however, is that this discrete variant of the topological approach can be generalized to the `multi-dimensional' case needed for further progress.

cs.CC↗

arXiv2025

Modular Counting over 3-Element and Conservative Domains

In the Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP for short) the goal is to decide the existence of a homomorphism from a given relational structure $G$ to a given relational structure $H$. If the structure $H$ is fixed and $G$ is the only input, the problem is denoted $CSP(H)$. In its counting version, $\#CSP(H)$, the task is to find the number of such homomorphisms. The CSP and #CSP have been used to model a wide variety of combinatorial problems and have received a tremendous amount of attention from researchers from multiple disciplines. In this paper we consider the modular version of the counting CSPs, that is, problems of the form $\#_pCSP(H)$ of counting the number of homomorphisms to $H$ modulo a fixed prime number $p$. Modular counting has been intensively studied during the last decade, although mainly in the case of graph homomorphisms. Here we continue the program of systematic research of modular counting of homomorphisms to general relational structures. The main results of the paper include a new way of reducing modular counting problems to smaller domains and a study of the complexity of such problems over 3-element domains and over conservative domains, that is, relational structures that allow to express (in a certain exact way) every possible unary predicate.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2025

Complexity classification of counting graph homomorphisms modulo a prime number

Counting graph homomorphisms and its generalizations such as the Counting Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP), its variations, and counting problems in general have been intensively studied since the pioneering work of Valiant. While the complexity of exact counting of graph homomorphisms (Dyer and Greenhill, 2000) and the counting CSP (Bulatov, 2013, and Dyer and Richerby, 2013) is well understood, counting modulo some natural number has attracted considerable interest as well. In their 2015 paper Faben and Jerrum suggested a conjecture stating that counting homomorphisms to a fixed graph H modulo a prime number is hard whenever it is hard to count exactly, unless H has automorphisms of certain kind. In this paper we confirm this conjecture. As a part of this investigation we develop techniques that widen the spectrum of reductions available for modular counting and apply to the general CSP rather than being limited to graph homomorphisms.

cs.CC↗

arXiv2025

Satisfiability of commutative vs. non-commutative CSPs

The Mermin-Peres magic square is a celebrated example of a system of Boolean linear equations that is not (classically) satisfiable but is satisfiable via linear operators on a Hilbert space of dimension four. A natural question is then, for what kind of problems such a phenomenon occurs? Atserias, Kolaitis, and Severini answered this question for all Boolean Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSPs): For 0-Valid-SAT, 1-Valid-SAT, 2-SAT, Horn-SAT, and Dual Horn-SAT, classical satisfiability and operator satisfiability is the same and thus there is no gap; for all other Boolean CSPs, these notions differ as there are gaps, i.e., there are unsatisfiable instances that are satisfiable via operators on Hilbert spaces. We generalize their result to CSPs on arbitrary finite domains and give an almost complete classification: First, we show that NP-hard CSPs admit a separation between classical satisfiability and satisfiability via operators on finite- and infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. Second, we show that tractable CSPs of bounded width have no satisfiability gaps of any kind. Finally, we show that tractable CSPs of unbounded width can simulate, in a satisfiability-gap-preserving fashion, linear equations over an Abelian group of prime order $p$; for such CSPs, we obtain a separation of classical satisfiability and satisfiability via operators on infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. Furthermore, if $p=2$, such CSPs also have gaps separating classical satisfiability and satisfiability via operators on finite- and infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces.

cs.CC↗

arXiv2025

Modular Counting CSP: Reductions and Algorithms

The Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) is ubiquitous in various areas of mathematics and computer science. Many of its variations have been studied including the Counting CSP, where the goal is to find the number of solutions to a CSP instance. The complexity of finding the exact number of solutions of a CSP is well understood (Bulatov, 2013, and Dyer and Richerby, 2013) and the focus has shifted to other variations of the Counting CSP such as counting the number of solutions modulo an integer. This problem has attracted considerable attention recently. In the case of CSPs based on undirected graphs Bulatov and Kazeminia (STOC 2022) obtained a complexity classification for the problem of counting solutions modulo p for arbitrary prime p. In this paper we report on the progress made towards a similar classification for the general CSP, not necessarily based on graphs. We identify several features that make the general case very different from the graph case such as a stronger form of rigidity and the structure of automorphisms of powers of relational structures. We provide a solution algorithm in the case p=2 that works under some additional conditions and prove the hardness of the problem under some assumptions about automorphisms of the powers of the relational structure. We also reduce the general CSP to the case that only uses binary relations satisfying strong additional conditions.

cs.CC↗

arXiv2025

Local structure of idempotent algebras I

We refine and advance the study of the local structure of idempotent finite algebras started in [A.Bulatov, The Graph of a Relational Structure and Constraint Satisfaction Problems, LICS, 2004]. We introduce a graph-like structure on an arbitrary finite idempotent algebra including those admitting type 1. We show that this graph is connected, its edges can be classified into 4 types corresponding to the local behavior (set, semilattice, majority, or affine) of certain term operations. We also show that if the variety generated by the algebra omits type 1, then the structure of the algebra can be `improved' without introducing type 1 by choosing an appropriate reduct of the original algebra. Taylor minimal idempotent algebras introduced recently is a special case of such reducts. Then we refine this structure demonstrating that the edges of the graph of an algebra omitting type 1 can be made `thin', that is, there are term operations that behave very similar to semilattice, majority, or affine operations on 2-element subsets of the algebra. Finally, we prove certain connectivity properties of the refined structures. This research is motivated by the study of the Constraint Satisfaction Problem, although the problem itself does not really show up in this paper.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2025

Local structure of idempotent algebras II

In this paper we continue the study of edge-colored graphs associated with finite idempotent algebras initiated in arXiv:2006.09599. We prove stronger connectivity properties of such graphs that will allows us to demonstrate several useful structural features of subdirect products of idempotent algebras such as rectangularity and 2-decomposition.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2025

Separation of congruence intervals and implications

The Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) has been intensively studied in many areas of computer science and mathematics. The approach to the CSP based on tools from universal algebra turned out to be the most successful one to study the complexity and algorithms for this problem. Several techniques have been developed over two decades. One of them is through associating edge-colored graphs with algebras and studying how the properties of algebras are related with the structure of the associated graphs. This approach has been introduced in our previous two papers (A.Bulatov, Local structure of idempotent algebras I,II. arXiv:2006.09599, arXiv:2006.10239, 2020). In this paper we further advance it by introducing new structural properties of finite idempotent algebras omitting type 1 such as separation congruences, collapsing polynomials, and their implications for the structure of subdirect products of finite algebras. This paper also provides the algebraic background for our proof of Feder-Vardi Dichotomy Conjecture (A. Bulatov, A Dichotomy Theorem for Nonuniform CSPs. FOCS 2017: 319-330).

math.LO↗

arXiv2021

On the Complexity of CSP-based Ideal Membership Problems

In this paper we consider the Ideal Membership Problem (IMP for short), in which we are given real polynomials $f_0,f_1,\dots, f_k$ and the question is to decide whether $f_0$ belongs to the ideal generated by $f_1,\dots,f_k$. In the more stringent version the task is also to find a proof of this fact. The IMP underlies many proof systems based on polynomials such as Nullstellensatz, Polynomial Calculus, and Sum-of-Squares. In the majority of such applications the IMP involves so called combinatorial ideals that arise from a variety of discrete combinatorial problems. This restriction makes the IMP significantly easier and in some cases allows for an efficient algorithm to solve it. The first part of this paper follows the work of Mastrolilli [SODA'19] who initiated a systematic study of IMPs arising from Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSP) of the form $CSP(Γ)$, that is, CSPs in which the type of constraints is limited to relations from a set $Γ$. We show that many CSP techniques can be translated to IMPs thus allowing us to significantly improve the methods of studying the complexity of the IMP. We also develop universal algebraic techniques for the IMP that have been so useful in the study of the CSP. This allows us to prove a general necessary condition for the tractability of the IMP, and three sufficient ones. The sufficient conditions include IMPs arising from systems of linear equations over $GF(p)$, $p$ prime, and also some conditions defined through special kinds of polymorphisms. Our work has several consequences and applications in terms of bit complexity of sum-of-squares (SOS) proofs and their automatizability, and studying (construction of) theta bodies of combinatorial problems.

cs.CC↗

arXiv2020

Graphs of relational structures: restricted types

The algebraic approach to the Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) uses high order symmetries of relational structures -- polymorphisms -- to study the complexity of the CSP. In this paper we further develop one of the methods the algebraic approach can be implemented, and apply it to some kinds of the CSP. This method was introduced in our LICS 2004 paper and involves the study of the local structure of finite algebras and relational structures. It associates with an algebra A or a relational structure S a graph, whose vertices are the elements of A (or S), the edges represent subsets of A such that the restriction of some term operation of A is `good' on the subset, that is, act as an operation of one of the 3 types: semilattice, majority, or affine. In this paper we use this theory and consider algebras with edges from a restricted set of types. We prove type restrictions are preserved under the standard algebraic constructions. Then we show that if the types edges in a relational structure are restricted, then the corresponding CSP can be solved in polynomial time by specific algorithms. In particular, we give a new, somewhat more intuitive proof of the Bounded Width Theorem: the CSP over algebra A has bounded width if and only if A does not contain affine edges. Actually, this result shows that bounded width implies width (2,3). Finally, we prove that algebras without semilattice edges have few subalgebras of powers, that is, the CSP over such algebras is also polynomial time. The methods and results obtained in this paper are important ingredients of the 2017 proof of the Dichotomy Conjecture by the author. The Dichotomy Conjecture was also proved independently by Zhuk.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2020

A dichotomy theorem for nonuniform CSPs simplified

In a non-uniform Constraint Satisfaction problem CSP(G), where G is a set of relations on a finite set A, the goal is to find an assignment of values to variables subject to constraints imposed on specified sets of variables using the relations from G. The Dichotomy Conjecture for the non-uniform CSP states that for every constraint language G the problem CSP(G) is either solvable in polynomial time or is NP-complete. It was proposed by Feder and Vardi in their seminal 1993 paper. In this paper we confirm the Dichotomy Conjecture.

cs.CC↗

arXiv2020

Approximate counting CSP seen from the other side

In this paper we study the complexity of counting Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSPs) of the form #CSP($\mathcal{C}$,-), in which the goal is, given a relational structure $\mathbf{A}$ from a class $\mathcal{C}$ of structures and an arbitrary structure $\mathbf{B}$, to find the number of homomorphisms from $\mathbf{A}$ to $\mathbf{B}$. Flum and Grohe showed that #CSP($\mathcal{C}$,-) is solvable in polynomial time if $\mathcal{C}$ has bounded treewidth [FOCS'02]. Building on the work of Grohe [JACM'07] on decision CSPs, Dalmau and Jonsson then showed that, if $\mathcal{C}$ is a recursively enumerable class of relational structures of bounded arity, then assuming FPT $\neq$ #W[1], there are no other cases of #CSP($\mathcal{C}$,-) solvable exactly in polynomial time (or even fixed-parameter time) [TCS'04]. We show that, assuming FPT $\neq$ W[1] (under randomised parametrised reductions) and for $\mathcal{C}$ satisfying certain general conditions, #CSP($\mathcal{C}$,-) is not solvable even approximately for $\mathcal{C}$ of unbounded treewidth; that is, there is no fixed parameter tractable (and thus also not fully polynomial) randomised approximation scheme for #CSP($\mathcal{C}$,-). In particular, our condition generalises the case when $\mathcal{C}$ is closed under taking minors.

cs.CC↗

arXiv2019

Counting Homomorphisms Modulo a Prime Number

Counting problems in general and counting graph homomorphisms in particular have numerous applications in combinatorics, computer science, statistical physics, and elsewhere. One of the most well studied problems in this area is #GraphHom(H) --- the problem of finding the number of homomorphisms from a given graph G to the graph H. Not only the complexity of this basic problem is known, but also of its many variants for digraphs, more general relational structures, graphs with weights, and others. In this paper we consider a modification of #GraphHom(H), the #_p GraphHom(H) problem, p a prime number: Given a graph G, find the number of homomorphisms from G to H modulo p. In a series of papers Faben and Jerrum, and Goebel et al. determined the complexity of #_2 GraphHom(H) in the case H (or, in fact, a certain graph derived from H) is square-free, that is, does not contain a 4-cycle. Also, Goebel et al. found the complexity of #_p GraphHom(H) for an arbitrary prime p when H is a tree. Here we extend the above result to show that the #_p GraphHom(H) problem is #_p P-hard whenever the derived graph associated with H is square-free and is not a star, which completely classifies the complexity of #_p GraphHom(H) for square-free graphs H.

cs.CC↗

arXiv2019

Satisfiability Threshold for Power Law Random 2-SAT in Configuration Model

The Random Satisfiability problem has been intensively studied for decades. For a number of reasons the focus of this study has mostly been on the model, in which instances are sampled uniformly at random from a set of formulas satisfying some clear conditions, such as fixed density or the probability of a clause to occur. However, some non-uniform distributions are also of considerable interest. In this paper we consider Random 2-SAT problems, in which instances are sampled from a wide range of non-uniform distributions. The model of random SAT we choose is the so-called configuration model, given by a distribution $ξ$ for the degree (or the number of occurrences) of each variable. Then to generate a formula the degree of each variable is sampled from $ξ$, generating several \emph{clones} of the variable. Then 2-clauses are created by choosing a random paritioning into 2-element sets on the set of clones and assigning the polarity of literals at random. Here we consider the random 2-SAT problem in the configuration model for power-law-like distributions $ξ$. More precisely, we assume that $ξ$ is such that its right tail $F_ξ(x)$ satisfies the conditions $W\ell^{-α}\le F_ξ(\ell)\le V\ell^{-α}$ for some constants $V,W$. The main goal is to study the satisfiability threshold phenomenon depending on the parameters $α,V,W$. We show that a satisfiability threshold exists and is determined by a simple relation between the first and second moments of $ξ$.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2019

Concentration inequalities for sums of random variables, each having power bounded tails

In this work we present concentration inequalities for the sum $S_n$ of independent integer-valued not necessary indentically distributed random variables, where each variable has tail function that can be bounded by some power function with exponent $-α$. We show that when $0<α\leq 1$, then the sum does not have finite expectation, however, with high probability we have that $|S_n|=O\left(n^{1/α}\right)$. When $α>1$, then the sum $S_n$ is concentrated around its mean. Since the r.vs. that constitute the sum has tails, which can be bounded by some power function, it follows that results of this paper are applicable to a wide range of different distributions, including the exponentially decaying ones.

math.PR↗

arXiv2018

Counting homomorphisms in plain exponential time

In the counting Graph Homomorphism problem (#GraphHom) the question is: Given graphs G,H, find the number of homomorphisms from G to H. This problem is generally #P-complete, moreover, Cygan et al. proved that unless the ETH is false there is no algorithm that solves this problem in time O(|V(H)|^{o(|V(G)|)}. This, however, does not rule out the possibility that faster algorithms exist for restricted problems of this kind. Wahlstrom proved that #GraphHom can be solved in plain exponential time, that is, in time k^{|V(G)|+V(H)|}\poly(|V(H)|,|V(G)|) provided H has clique width k. We generalize this result to a larger class of graphs, and also identify several other graph classes that admit a plain exponential algorithm for #GraphHom.

cs.DS↗

arXiv2017

Constraint Satisfaction Problems over semilattice block Mal'tsev algebras

There are two well known types of algorithms for solving CSPs: local propagation and generating a basis of the solution space. For several years the focus of the CSP research has been on `hybrid' algorithms that somehow combine the two approaches. In this paper we present a new method of such hybridization that allows us to solve certain CSPs that has been out of reach for a quite a while. We consider these method on a fairly restricted class of CSPs given by algebras we will call semilattice block Mal'tsev. An algebra A is called semilattice block Mal'tsev if it has a binary operation f, a ternary operation m, and a congruence s such that the quotient A/s with operation $f$ is a semilattice, $f$ is a projection on every block of s, and every block of s is a Mal'tsev algebra with Mal'tsev operation m. We show that the constraint satisfaction problem over a semilattice block Mal'tsev algebra is solvable in polynomial time.

cs.LO↗