arXiv subjects

Charilaos Efthymiou

Publications and source records attributed to Charilaos Efthymiou.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

On sampling diluted Spin-Glasses with unbounded interactions

Spin-glasses are natural Gibbs distributions that have been studied in Theoretical CS for many decades. Recently, they have been gaining attention from the community as they emerge naturally in neural computation and learning, network inference, optimisation and other areas. We study the problem of efficiently sampling from spin-glass distributions when the underlying graph is a typical instance of $G(n,d/n)$, i.e., the random graph on $n$ vertices such that each edge appears independently with probability $d/n$, and $d=Θ(1)$. Our focus is on the 2-spin model at inverse temperature $β$. We consider this distribution to be one of the most interesting case of spin-glasses, and one of the most challenging to analyse, since its Gaussian couplings give rise to unbounded interaction. We employ the well-known Glauber dynamics to sample from the aforementioned distribution. We show that for the typical instances of the 2-spin model on $G(n,d/n)$, the mixing time of Glauber dynamics is $O\left(n^{1+Θ(\frac{1}{\sqrt{d}})}\right)$, for any $β\leq \frac{1}{4\sqrt{d}}$. Our results can also be adapted for the case of spin-glass distributions with bounded interactions. In that respect, we obtain rapid mixing of Glauber dynamics for the Viana-Bray model on $G(n,d/n)$ when $β\leq \frac{1}{4\sqrt{d}}$. This improves on the current best bound which is $β<\frac{0.18}{\sqrt{d}}$. We utilise stochastic localisation, and in particular, we build and improve on the scheme introduced in [Liu, Mohanty, Rajaraman and Wu: FOCS 2024]. This is the first time that stochastic localisation is used for diluted spin-glasses, where both degrees and interactions can be unbounded.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2025

Spectral Independence Beyond Uniqueness with. the topological method -- An extended view

We present novel results for fast mixing of Glauber dynamics using the newly introduced and powerful Spectral Independence method from [Anari, Liu, Oveis-Gharan: FOCS 2020]. We mainly focus on the Hard-core model and the Ising model. We obtain bounds for fast mixing with the parameters expressed in terms of the spectral radius of the adjacency matrix, improving on the seminal work in [Hayes: FOCS 2006]. Furthermore, we go beyond the adjacency matrix and establish -- for the first time -- rapid mixing results for Glauber dynamics expressed in terms of the spectral radius of the Hashimoto non-backtracking matrix of the underlying graph $G$. Working with the non-backtracking spectrum is extremely challenging, but also more desirable. Its eigenvalues are less correlated with the high-degree vertices than those of the adjacency matrix and express more accurately invariants of the graph such as the growth rate. Our results require ``weak normality" from the Hashimoto matrix. This condition is mild and allows us to obtain very interesting bound. We study the pairwise influence matrix ${I}^{Λ,τ}_{G}$ by exploiting the connection between the matrix and the trees of self-avoiding walks, however, we go beyond the standard treatment of the distributional recursions. The common framework that underlies our techniques we call the topological method. Our approach is novel and gives new insights into how to establish Spectral Independence for Gibbs distributions. More importantly, it allows us to derive new -- improved -- rapid mixing bounds for Glauber dynamics on distributions such as the Hard-core model and the Ising model for graphs that the spectral radius is smaller than the maximum degree.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2025

On sampling two spin models using the local connective constant

This work establishes novel optimum mixing bounds for the Glauber dynamics on the Hard-core and Ising models. These bounds are expressed in terms of the local connective constant of the underlying graph $G$. This is a notion of effective degree for $G$. Our results have some interesting consequences for bounded degree graphs: (a) They include the max-degree bounds as a special case (b) They improve on the running time of the FPTAS considered in [Sinclair, Srivastava, \v Stefankoni\v c and Yin: PTRF 2017] for general graphs (c) They allow us to obtain mixing bounds in terms of the spectral radius of the adjacency matrix and improve on [Hayes: FOCS 2006]. We obtain our results using tools from the theory of high-dimensional expanders and, in particular, the Spectral Independence method [Anari, Liu, Oveis-Gharan: FOCS 2020]. We explore a new direction by utilising the notion of the $k$-non-backtracking matrix $H_{G,k}$ in our analysis with the Spectral Independence. The results with $H_{G,k}$ are interesting in their own right.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2024

Optimal Mixing via Tensorization for Random Independent Sets on Arbitrary Trees

We study the mixing time of the single-site update Markov chain, known as the Glauber dynamics, for generating a random independent set of a tree. Our focus is obtaining optimal convergence results for arbitrary trees. We consider the more general problem of sampling from the Gibbs distribution in the hard-core model where independent sets are weighted by a parameter $λ>0$; the special case $λ=1$ corresponds to the uniform distribution over all independent sets. Previous work of Martinelli, Sinclair and Weitz (2004) obtained optimal mixing time bounds for the complete $Δ$-regular tree for all $λ$. However, Restrepo et al. (2014) showed that for sufficiently large $λ$ there are bounded-degree trees where optimal mixing does not hold. Recent work of Eppstein and Frishberg (2022) proved a polynomial mixing time bound for the Glauber dynamics for arbitrary trees, and more generally for graphs of bounded tree-width. We establish an optimal bound on the relaxation time (i.e., inverse spectral gap) of $O(n)$ for the Glauber dynamics for unweighted independent sets on arbitrary trees. We stress that our results hold for arbitrary trees and there is no dependence on the maximum degree $Δ$. Interestingly, our results extend (far) beyond the uniqueness threshold which is on the order $λ=O(1/Δ)$. Our proof approach is inspired by recent work on spectral independence. In fact, we prove that spectral independence holds with a constant independent of the maximum degree for any tree, but this does not imply mixing for general trees as the optimal mixing results of Chen, Liu, and Vigoda (2021) only apply for bounded degree graphs. We instead utilize the combinatorial nature of independent sets to directly prove approximate tensorization of variance via a non-trivial inductive proof.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2024

On sampling symmetric Gibbs distributions on sparse random graphs and hypergraphs

We introduce efficient algorithms for approximate sampling from symmetric Gibbs distributions on the sparse random (hyper)graph. The examples we consider include (but are not restricted to) important distributions on spin systems and spin-glasses such as the q state antiferromagnetic Potts model for $q\geq 2$, including the colourings, the uniform distributions over the Not-All-Equal solutions of random k-CNF formulas. Finally, we present an algorithm for sampling from the spin-glass distribution called the k-spin model. To our knowledge this is the first, rigorously analysed, efficient algorithm for spin-glasses which operates in a non trivial range of the parameters. Our approach builds on the one that was introduced in [Efthymiou: SODA 2012]. For a symmetric Gibbs distribution $μ$ on a random (hyper)graph whose parameters are within an certain range, our algorithm has the following properties: with probability $1-o(1)$ over the input instances, it generates a configuration which is distributed within total variation distance $n^{-Ω(1)}$ from $μ$. The time complexity is $O((n\log n)^2)$. The algorithm requires a range of the parameters which, for the graph case, coincide with the tree-uniqueness region, parametrised w.r.t. the expected degree d. For the hypergraph case, where uniqueness is less restrictive, we go beyond uniqueness. Our approach utilises in a novel way the notion of contiguity between Gibbs distributions and the so-called teacher-student model.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2024

On sampling diluted Spin Glasses using Glauber dynamics

Spin-glasses are Gibbs distributions that have been studied in CS for many decades. Recently, they have gained renewed attention as they emerge naturally in learning, inference, optimisation etc. We consider the Edwards-Anderson (EA) spin-glass distribution at inverse temperature $β$ when the underlying graph is an instance of $G(n,d/n)$. This is the random graph on $n$ vertices where each edge appears independently with probability $d/n$ and $d=Θ(1)$. We study the problem of approximate sampling from this distribution using Glauber dynamics. For a range of $β$ that depends on $d$ and for typical instances of the EA model on $G(n,d/n)$, we show that the corresponding Glauber dynamics exhibits mixing time $O(n^{2+\frac{3}{\log^2 d}})$. The range of $β$ for which we obtain our rapid-mixing results correspond to the expected influence being $<1/d$; we conjecture that this is the best possible. Unlike the mean-field spin-glasses, where the problem has been studied before, the diluted case has not. We utilise the well-known path-coupling technique. In the standard Glauber dynamics on $G(n,d/n)$, one has to deal with the so-called effect of high degree vertices. Here, rather than considering degrees, it is more natural to use a different measure on the vertices called aggregate influence. We build on the block-construction approach proposed by [Dyer et al. 2006] to circumvent the problem of high-degree vertices. Specifically, we first establish rapid mixing for an appropriately defined block-dynamics. We design this dynamics such that vertices of large aggregate influence are placed deep inside their blocks. Then, we obtain rapid mixing for the Glauber dynamics utilising a comparison argument.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2023

Broadcasting with Random Matrices

Motivated by the theory of spin-glasses in physics, we study the so-called reconstruction problem for the related distributions on the tree, and on the sparse random graph $G(n,d/n)$. Both cases, reduce naturally to studying broadcasting models on the tree, where each edge has its own broadcasting matrix, and this matrix is drawn independently from a predefined distribution. In this context, we study the effect of the configuration at the root to that of the vertices at distance $h$, as $h\to\infty$. We establish the reconstruction threshold for the cases where the broadcasting matrices give rise to symmetric, 2-spin Gibbs distributions. This threshold seems to be a natural extension of the well-known Kesten-Stigum bound which arises in the classic version of the reconstruction problem. Our results imply, as a special case, the reconstruction threshold for the well-known Edward-Anderson model of spin-glasses on the tree. Also, we extend our analysis to the setting of the Galton-Watson tree, and the random graph $G(n,d/n)$, where we establish the corresponding thresholds.Interestingly, for the Edward-Anderson model on the random graph, we show that the replica symmetry breaking phase transition, established in [Guerra and Toninelli:2004], coincides with the reconstruction threshold. Compared to the classical Gibbs distributions, the spin-glasses have a lot of unique features. In that respect, their study calls for new ideas, e.g., we introduce novel estimators for the reconstruction problem. Furthermore, note that the main technical challenge in the analysis is the presence of (too) many levels of randomness. We manage to circumvent this problem by utilising recently proposed tools coming from the analysis of Markov chains.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2023

On the Mixing Time of Glauber Dynamics for the Hard-core and Related Models on G(n,d/n)

We study the single-site Glauber dynamics for the fugacity $λ$, Hard-core model on the random graph $G(n, d/n)$. We show that for the typical instances of the random graph $G(n,d/n)$ and for fugacity $λ< \frac{d^d}{(d-1)^{d+1}}$, the mixing time of Glauber dynamics is $n^{1 + O(1/\log \log n)}$. Our result improves on the recent elegant algorithm in [Bezakova, Galanis, Goldberg Stefankovic; ICALP'22]. The algorithm there is a MCMC based sampling algorithm, but it is not the Glauber dynamics. Our algorithm here is simpler, as we use the classic Glauber dynamics. Furthermore, the bounds on mixing time we prove are smaller than those in Bezakova et al. paper, hence our algorithm is also faster. The main challenge in our proof is handling vertices with unbounded degrees. We provide stronger results with regard the spectral independence via branching values and show that the our Gibbs distributions satisfy the approximate tensorisation of the entropy. We conjecture that the bounds we have here are optimal for $G(n,d/n)$. As corollary of our analysis for the Hard-core model, we also get bounds on the mixing time of the Glauber dynamics for the Monomer-dimer model on $G(n,d/n)$. The bounds we get for this model are slightly better than those we have for the Hard-core model

cs.DM↗

arXiv2022

Spectral Independence Beyond Uniqueness using the topological method

We present novel results for fast mixing of Glauber dynamics using the newly introduced and powerful Spectral Independence method from [Anari, Liu, Oveis-Gharan: FOCS 2020]. In our results, the parameters of the Gibbs distribution are expressed in terms of the spectral radius of the adjacency matrix of $G$, or that of the Hashimoto non-backtracking matrix. The analysis relies on new techniques that we introduce to bound the maximum eigenvalue of the pairwise influence matrix $\mathcal{I}^{Λ,τ}_{G}$ for the two spin Gibbs distribution $μ$. There is a common framework that underlies these techniques which we call the topological method. The idea is to systematically exploit the well-known connections between $\mathcal{I}^{Λ,τ}_{G}$ and the topological construction called tree of self-avoiding walks. Our approach is novel and gives new insights to the problem of establishing spectral independence for Gibbs distributions. More importantly, it allows us to derive new -- improved -- rapid mixing bounds for Glauber dynamics on distributions such as the Hard-core model and the Ising model for graphs that the spectral radius is smaller than the maximum degree.

math.PR↗

arXiv2019

Improved Strong Spatial Mixing for Colorings on Trees

Strong spatial mixing (SSM) is a form of correlation decay that has played an essential role in the design of approximate counting algorithms for spin systems. A notable example is the algorithm of Weitz (2006) for the hard-core model on weighted independent sets. We study SSM for the $q$-colorings problem on the infinite $(d+1)$-regular tree. Weak spatial mixing (WSM) captures whether the influence of the leaves on the root vanishes as the height of the tree grows. Jonasson (2002) established WSM when $q>d+1$. In contrast, in SSM, we first fix a coloring on a subset of internal vertices, and we again ask if the influence of the leaves on the root is vanishing. It was known that SSM holds on the $(d+1)$-regular tree when $q>αd$ where $α\approx 1.763...$ is a constant that has arisen in a variety of results concerning random colorings. Here we improve on this bound by showing SSM for $q>1.59d$. Our proof establishes an $L^2$ contraction for the BP operator. For the contraction we bound the norm of the BP Jacobian by exploiting combinatorial properties of the coloring of the tree.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2017

Sampling Random Colorings of Sparse Random Graphs

We study the mixing properties of the single-site Markov chain known as the Glauber dynamics for sampling $k$-colorings of a sparse random graph $G(n,d/n)$ for constant $d$. The best known rapid mixing results for general graphs are in terms of the maximum degree $Δ$ of the input graph $G$ and hold when $k>11Δ/6$ for all $G$. Improved results hold when $k>αΔ$ for graphs with girth $\geq 5$ and $Δ$ sufficiently large where $α\approx 1.7632\ldots$ is the root of $α=\exp(1/α)$; further improvements on the constant $α$ hold with stronger girth and maximum degree assumptions. For sparse random graphs the maximum degree is a function of $n$ and the goal is to obtain results in terms of the expected degree $d$. The following rapid mixing results for $G(n,d/n)$ hold with high probability over the choice of the random graph for sufficiently large constant~$d$. Mossel and Sly (2009) proved rapid mixing for constant $k$, and Efthymiou (2014) improved this to $k$ linear in~$d$. The condition was improved to $k>3d$ by Yin and Zhang (2016) using non-MCMC methods. Here we prove rapid mixing when $k>αd$ where $α\approx 1.7632\ldots$ is the same constant as above. Moreover we obtain $O(n^{3})$ mixing time of the Glauber dynamics, while in previous rapid mixing results the exponent was an increasing function in $d$. As in previous results for random graphs our proof analyzes an appropriately defined block dynamics to "hide" high-degree vertices. One new aspect in our improved approach is utilizing so-called local uniformity properties for the analysis of block dynamics. To analyze the "burn-in" phase we prove a concentration inequality for the number of disagreements propagating in large blocks.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2017

Charting the replica symmetric phase

Diluted mean-field models are spin systems whose geometry of interactions is induced by a sparse random graph or hypergraph. Such models play an eminent role in the statistical mechanics of disordered systems as well as in combinatorics and computer science. In a path-breaking paper based on the non-rigorous `cavity method', physicists predicted not only the existence of a replica symmetry breaking phase transition in such models but also sketched a detailed picture of the evolution of the Gibbs measure within the replica symmetric phase and its impact on important problems in combinatorics, computer science and physics [Krzakala et al.: PNAS 2007]. In this paper we rigorise this picture completely for a broad class of models, encompassing the Potts antiferromagnet on the random graph, the $k$-XORSAT model and the diluted $k$-spin model for even $k$. We also prove a conjecture about the detection problem in the stochastic block model that has received considerable attention [Decelle et al.: Phys. Rev. E 2011].

cs.DM↗

arXiv2017

MCMC sampling colourings and independent sets of G(n,d/n) near the uniqueness threshold

Sampling from Gibbs distribution is a central problem in computer science as well as in statistical physics. In this work we focus on the k-colouring model} and the hard-core model with fugacity λwhen the underlying graph is an instance of Erdos-Renyi random graph G(n,p), where p=d/n and d is fixed. We use the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method for sampling from the aforementioned distributions. In particular, we consider Glauber (block) dynamics. We show a dramatic improvement on the bounds for rapid mixing in terms of the number of colours and the fugacity for the corresponding models. For both models the bounds we get are only within small constant factors from the conjectured ones by the statistical physicists. We use Path Coupling to show rapid mixing. For k and λin the range of our interest the technical challenge is to cope with the high degree vertices, i.e. vertices of degree much larger than the expected degree d. The usual approach to this problem is to consider block updates rather than single vertex updates for the Markov chain. Taking appropriately defined blocks the effect of high degree vertices somehow diminishes. However, devising such a construction of blocks is a highly non trivial task. We develop for a first time a weighting schema for the paths of the underlying graph. Vertices which belong to "light" paths, only, can be placed at the boundaries of the blocks. Then the tree-like local structure of G(n,d/n) allows the construction of simple structured blocks.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2016

A simple algorithm for sampling colourings of $G(n,d/n)$ up to Gibbs Uniqueness Threshold

Approximate random $k$-colouring of a graph $G$ is a well studied problem in computer science and statistical physics. It amounts to constructing a $k$-colouring of $G$ which is distributed close to {\em Gibbs distribution} in polynomial time. Here, we deal with the problem when the underlying graph is an instance of Erdős-Rényi random graph $G(n,d/n)$, where $d$ is a sufficiently large constant. We propose a novel efficient algorithm for approximate random $k$-colouring $G(n,d/n)$ for any $k\geq (1+ε)d$. To be more specific, with probability at least $1-n^{-Ω(1)}$ over the input instances $G(n,d/n)$ and for $k\geq (1+ε)d$, the algorithm returns a $k$-colouring which is distributed within total variation distance $n^{-Ω(1)}$ from the Gibbs distribution of the input graph instance. The algorithm we propose is neither a MCMC one nor inspired by the message passing algorithms proposed by statistical physicists. Roughly the idea is as follows: Initially we remove sufficiently many edges of the input graph. This results in a "simple graph" which can be $k$-coloured randomly efficiently. The algorithm colours randomly this simple graph. Then it puts back the removed edges one by one. Every time a new edge is put back the algorithm updates the colouring of the graph so that the colouring remains random. The performance of the algorithm depends heavily on certain spatial correlation decay properties of the Gibbs distribution.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2016

Convergence of MCMC and Loopy BP in the Tree Uniqueness Region for the Hard-Core Model

We study the hard-core model defined on independent sets of an input graph where the independent sets are weighted by a parameter $λ>0$. For constant $Δ$, previous work of Weitz (2006) established an FPTAS for the partition function for graphs of maximum degree $Δ$ when $λ< λ_c(Δ)$. The threshold $λ_c(Δ)$ is the critical point for the phase transition for uniqueness/non-uniqueness on the infinite $Δ$-regular trees. Sly (2010) showed that there is no FPRAS, unless NP=RP, when $λ>λ_c(Δ)$. The running time of Weitz's algorithm is exponential in $\log(Δ)$. Here we present an FPRAS for the partition function whose running time is $O^*(n^2)$. We analyze the simple single-site Glauber dynamics for sampling from the associated Gibbs distribution. We prove there exists a constant $Δ_0$ such that for all graphs with maximum degree $Δ\geqΔ_0$ and girth $\geq 7$, the mixing time of the Glauber dynamics is $O(n\log(n))$ when $λ<λ_c(Δ)$. Our work complements that of Weitz which applies for constant $Δ$ whereas our work applies for all $Δ\geq Δ_0$. We utilize loopy BP (belief propagation), a widely-used inference algorithm. A novel aspect of our work is using the principal eigenvector for the BP operator to design a distance function which contracts in expectation for pairs of states that behave like the BP fixed point. We also prove that the Glauber dynamics behaves locally like loopy BP. As a byproduct we obtain that the Glauber dynamics converges, after a short burn-in period, close to the BP fixed point, and this implies that the fixed point of loopy BP is a close approximation to the Gibbs distribution. Using these connections we establish that loopy BP quickly converges to the Gibbs distribution when the girth $\geq 6$ and $λ<λ_c(Δ)$.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2015

Reconstruction/Non-reconstruction Thresholds for Colourings of General Galton-Watson Trees

The broadcasting models on trees arise in many contexts such as discrete mathematics, biology statistical physics and cs. In this work, we consider the colouring model. A basic question here is whether the root's assignment affects the distribution of the colourings at the vertices at distance h from the root. This is the so-called "reconstruction problem". For a d-ary tree it is well known that d/ln (d) is the reconstruction threshold. That is, for k=(1+eps)d/ln(d) we have non-reconstruction while for k=(1-eps)d/ln(d) we have. Here, we consider the largely unstudied case where the underlying tree is chosen according to a predefined distribution. In particular, our focus is on the well-known Galton-Watson trees. This model arises naturally in many contexts, e.g. the theory of spin-glasses and its applications on random Constraint Satisfaction Problems (rCSP). The aforementioned study focuses on Galton-Watson trees with offspring distribution B(n,d/n), i.e. the binomial with parameters n and d/n, where d is fixed. Here we consider a broader version of the problem, as we assume general offspring distribution, which includes B(n,d/n) as a special case. Our approach relates the corresponding bounds for (non)reconstruction to certain concentration properties of the offspring distribution. This allows to derive reconstruction thresholds for a very wide family of offspring distributions, which includes B(n,d/n). A very interesting corollary is that for distributions with expected offspring d, we get reconstruction threshold d/ln(d) under weaker concentration conditions than what we have in B(n,d/n). Furthermore, our reconstruction threshold for the random colorings of Galton-Watson with offspring B(n,d/n), implies the reconstruction threshold for the random colourings of G(n,d/n).

cs.DM↗

arXiv2015

Local convergence of random graph colorings

Let $G=G(n,m)$ be a random graph whose average degree $d=2m/n$ is below the $k$-colorability threshold. If we sample a $k$-coloring $σ$ of $G$ uniformly at random, what can we say about the correlations between the colors assigned to vertices that are far apart? According to a prediction from statistical physics, for average degrees below the so-called {\em condensation threshold} $d_c(k)$, the colors assigned to far away vertices are asymptotically independent [Krzakala et al.: Proc. National Academy of Sciences 2007]. We prove this conjecture for $k$ exceeding a certain constant $k_0$. More generally, we investigate the joint distribution of the $k$-colorings that $σ$ induces locally on the bounded-depth neighborhoods of any fixed number of vertices. In addition, we point out an implication on the reconstruction problem.

math.CO↗

arXiv2014

Planting colourings silently

Let $k\geq3$ be a fixed integer and let $Z_k(G)$ be the number of $k$-colourings of the graph $G$. For certain values of the average degree, the random variable $Z_k(G(n,m))$ is known to be concentrated in the sense that $\frac1n(\ln Z_k(G(n,m))-\ln E[Z_k(G(n,m))])$ converges to $0$ in probability [Achlioptas and Coja-Oghlan: FOCS 2008]. In the present paper we prove a significantly stronger concentration result. Namely, we show that for a wide range of average degrees, $\frac1ω(\ln Z_k(G(n,m))-\ln E[Z_k(G(n,m))])$ converges to $0$ in probability for any diverging function $ω=ω(n)\to\infty$. For $k$ exceeding a certain constant $k_0$ this result covers all average degrees up to the so-called condensation phase transition, and this is best possible. As an application, we show that the experiment of choosing a $k$-colouring of the random graph $G(n,m)$ uniformly at random is contiguous with respect to the so-called "planted model".

cs.DM↗