arXiv subjects

Christoph Grunau

Publications and source records attributed to Christoph Grunau.

35 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

A Simple Deterministic Distributed Low-Diameter Clustering

We give a simple, local process for nodes in an undirected graph to form non-adjacent clusters that (1) have at most a polylogarithmic diameter and (2) contain at least half of all vertices. Efficient deterministic distributed clustering algorithms for computing strong-diameter network decompositions and other key tools follow immediately. Overall, our process is a direct and drastically simplified way for computing these fundamental objects.

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arXiv2022

Adapting $k$-means algorithms for outliers

This paper shows how to adapt several simple and classical sampling-based algorithms for the $k$-means problem to the setting with outliers. Recently, Bhaskara et al. (NeurIPS 2019) showed how to adapt the classical $k$-means++ algorithm to the setting with outliers. However, their algorithm needs to output $O(\log (k) \cdot z)$ outliers, where $z$ is the number of true outliers, to match the $O(\log k)$-approximation guarantee of $k$-means++. In this paper, we build on their ideas and show how to adapt several sequential and distributed $k$-means algorithms to the setting with outliers, but with substantially stronger theoretical guarantees: our algorithms output $(1+\varepsilon)z$ outliers while achieving an $O(1 / \varepsilon)$-approximation to the objective function. In the sequential world, we achieve this by adapting a recent algorithm of Lattanzi and Sohler (ICML 2019). In the distributed setting, we adapt a simple algorithm of Guha et al. (IEEE Trans. Know. and Data Engineering 2003) and the popular $k$-means$\|$ of Bahmani et al. (PVLDB 2012). A theoretical application of our techniques is an algorithm with running time $\tilde{O}(nk^2/z)$ that achieves an $O(1)$-approximation to the objective function while outputting $O(z)$ outliers, assuming $k \ll z \ll n$. This is complemented with a matching lower bound of $Ω(nk^2/z)$ for this problem in the oracle model.

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arXiv2022

The Landscape of Distributed Complexities on Trees and Beyond

We study the local complexity landscape of locally checkable labeling (LCL) problems on constant-degree graphs with a focus on complexities below $\log^* n$. Our contribution is threefold: Our main contribution is that we complete the classification of the complexity landscape of LCL problems on trees in the LOCAL model, by proving that every LCL problem with local complexity $o(\log^* n)$ has actually complexity $O(1)$. This result improves upon the previous speedup result from $o(\log \log^* n)$ to $O(1)$ by [Chang, Pettie, FOCS 2017]. In the related LCA and Volume models [Alon, Rubinfeld, Vardi, Xie, SODA 2012, Rubinfeld, Tamir, Vardi, Xie, 2011, Rosenbaum, Suomela, PODC 2020], we prove the same speedup from $o(\log^* n)$ to $O(1)$ for all bounded degree graphs. Similarly, we complete the classification of the LOCAL complexity landscape of oriented $d$-dimensional grids by proving that any LCL problem with local complexity $o(\log^* n)$ has actually complexity $O(1)$. This improves upon the previous speed-up from $o(\sqrt[d]{\log^* n})$ by Suomela in [Chang, Pettie, FOCS 2017].

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arXiv2022

Undirected $(1+\varepsilon)$-Shortest Paths via Minor-Aggregates: Near-Optimal Deterministic Parallel & Distributed Algorithms

This paper presents near-optimal deterministic parallel and distributed algorithms for computing $(1+\varepsilon)$-approximate single-source shortest paths in any undirected weighted graph. On a high level, we deterministically reduce this and other shortest-path problems to $\tilde{O}(1)$ Minor-Aggregations. A Minor-Aggregation computes an aggregate (e.g., max or sum) of node-values for every connected component of some subgraph. Our reduction immediately implies: Optimal deterministic parallel (PRAM) algorithms with $\tilde{O}(1)$ depth and near-linear work. Universally-optimal deterministic distributed (CONGEST) algorithms, whenever deterministic Minor-Aggregate algorithms exist. For example, an optimal $\tilde{O}(HopDiameter(G))$-round deterministic CONGEST algorithm for excluded-minor networks. Several novel tools developed for the above results are interesting in their own right: A local iterative approach for reducing shortest path computations "up to distance $D$" to computing low-diameter decompositions "up to distance $\frac{D}{2}$". Compared to the recursive vertex-reduction approach of [Li20], our approach is simpler, suitable for distributed algorithms, and eliminates many derandomization barriers. A simple graph-based $\tilde{O}(1)$-competitive $\ell_1$-oblivious routing based on low-diameter decompositions that can be evaluated in near-linear work. The previous such routing [ZGY+20] was $n^{o(1)}$-competitive and required $n^{o(1)}$ more work. A deterministic algorithm to round any fractional single-source transshipment flow into an integral tree solution. The first distributed algorithms for computing Eulerian orientations.

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arXiv2022

Deterministic Distributed Sparse and Ultra-Sparse Spanners and Connectivity Certificates

This paper presents efficient distributed algorithms for a number of fundamental problems in the area of graph sparsification: We provide the first deterministic distributed algorithm that computes an ultra-sparse spanner in $\textrm{polylog}(n)$ rounds in weighted graphs. Concretely, our algorithm outputs a spanning subgraph with only $n+o(n)$ edges in which the pairwise distances are stretched by a factor of at most $O(\log n \;\cdot\; 2^{O(\log^* n)})$. We provide a $\textrm{polylog}(n)$-round deterministic distributed algorithm that computes a spanner with stretch $(2k-1)$ and $O(nk + n^{1 + 1/k} \log k)$ edges in unweighted graphs and with $O(n^{1 + 1/k} k)$ edges in weighted graphs. We present the first $\textrm{polylog}(n)$-round randomized distributed algorithm that computes a sparse connectivity certificate. For an $n$-node graph $G$, a certificate for connectivity $k$ is a spanning subgraph $H$ that is $k$-edge-connected if and only if $G$ is $k$-edge-connected, and this subgraph $H$ is called sparse if it has $O(nk)$ edges. Our algorithm achieves a sparsity of $(1 + o(1))nk$ edges, which is within a $2(1 + o(1))$ factor of the best possible.

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arXiv2022

Local Distributed Rounding: Generalized to MIS, Matching, Set Cover, and Beyond

We develop a general deterministic distributed method for locally rounding fractional solutions of graph problems for which the analysis can be broken down into analyzing pairs of vertices. Roughly speaking, the method can transform fractional/probabilistic label assignments of the vertices into integral/deterministic label assignments for the vertices, while approximately preserving a potential function that is a linear combination of functions, each of which depends on at most two vertices (subject to some conditions usually satisfied in pairwise analyses). The method unifies and significantly generalizes prior work on deterministic local rounding techniques [Ghaffari, Kuhn FOCS'21; Harris FOCS'19; Fischer, Ghaffari, Kuhn FOCS'17; Fischer DISC'17] to obtain polylogarithmic-time deterministic distributed solutions for combinatorial graph problems. Our general rounding result enables us to locally and efficiently derandomize a range of distributed algorithms for local graph problems, including maximal independent set (MIS), maximum-weight independent set approximation, and minimum-cost set cover approximation. As a highlight, we in particular obtain a deterministic $O(\log^2Δ\cdot\log n)$-round algorithm for computing an MIS in the LOCAL model and an almost as efficient $O(\log^2Δ\cdot\log\logΔ\cdot\log n)$-round deterministic MIS algorithm in the CONGEST model. As a result, the best known deterministic distributed time complexity of the four most widely studied distributed symmetry breaking problems (MIS, maximal matching, $(Δ+1)$-vertex coloring, and $(2Δ-1)$-edge coloring) is now $O(\log^2Δ\cdot\log n)$. Our new MIS algorithm is also the first direct polylogarithmic-time deterministic distributed MIS algorithm, which is not based on network decomposition.

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arXiv2022

Improved Distributed Network Decomposition, Hitting Sets, and Spanners, via Derandomization

This paper presents significantly improved deterministic algorithms for some of the key problems in the area of distributed graph algorithms, including network decomposition, hitting sets, and spanners. As the main ingredient in these results, we develop novel randomized distributed algorithms that we can analyze using only pairwise independence, and we can thus derandomize efficiently. As our most prominent end-result, we obtain a deterministic construction for $O(\log n)$-color $O(\log n \cdot \log\log\log n)$-strong diameter network decomposition in $\tilde{O}(\log^3 n)$ rounds. This is the first construction that achieves almost $\log n$ in both parameters, and it improves on a recent line of exciting progress on deterministic distributed network decompositions [Rozhoň, Ghaffari STOC'20; Ghaffari, Grunau, Rozhoň SODA'21; Chang, Ghaffari PODC'21; Elkin, Haeupler, Rozhoň, Grunau FOCS'22].

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arXiv2022

Deterministic Low-Diameter Decompositions for Weighted Graphs and Distributed and Parallel Applications

This paper presents new deterministic and distributed low-diameter decomposition algorithms for weighted graphs. In particular, we show that if one can efficiently compute approximate distances in a parallel or a distributed setting, one can also efficiently compute low-diameter decompositions. This consequently implies solutions to many fundamental distance based problems using a polylogarithmic number of approximate distance computations. Our low-diameter decomposition generalizes and extends the line of work starting from [Rozhoň, Ghaffari STOC 2020] to weighted graphs in a very model-independent manner. Moreover, our clustering results have additional useful properties, including strong-diameter guarantees, separation properties, restricting cluster centers to specified terminals, and more. Applications include: -- The first near-linear work and polylogarithmic depth randomized and deterministic parallel algorithm for low-stretch spanning trees (LSST) with polylogarithmic stretch. Previously, the best parallel LSST algorithm required $m \cdot n^{o(1)}$ work and $n^{o(1)}$ depth and was inherently randomized. No deterministic LSST algorithm with truly sub-quadratic work and sub-linear depth was known. -- The first near-linear work and polylogarithmic depth deterministic algorithm for computing an $\ell_1$-embedding into polylogarithmic dimensional space with polylogarithmic distortion. The best prior deterministic algorithms for $\ell_1$-embeddings either require large polynomial work or are inherently sequential. Even when we apply our techniques to the classical problem of computing a ball-carving with strong-diameter $O(\log^2 n)$ in an unweighted graph, our new clustering algorithm still leads to an improvement in round complexity from $O(\log^{10} n)$ rounds [Chang, Ghaffari PODC 21] to $O(\log^{4} n)$.

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arXiv2022

Improved Deterministic Connectivity in Massively Parallel Computation

A long line of research about connectivity in the Massively Parallel Computation model has culminated in the seminal works of Andoni et al. [FOCS'18] and Behnezhad et al. [FOCS'19]. They provide a randomized algorithm for low-space MPC with conjectured to be optimal round complexity $O(\log D + \log \log_{\frac m n} n)$ and $O(m)$ space, for graphs on $n$ vertices with $m$ edges and diameter $D$. Surprisingly, a recent result of Coy and Czumaj [STOC'22] shows how to achieve the same deterministically. Unfortunately, however, their algorithm suffers from large local computation time. We present a deterministic connectivity algorithm that matches all the parameters of the randomized algorithm and, in addition, significantly reduces the local computation time to nearly linear. Our derandomization method is based on reducing the amount of randomness needed to allow for a simpler efficient search. While similar randomness reduction approaches have been used before, our result is not only strikingly simpler, but it is the first to have efficient local computation. This is why we believe it to serve as a starting point for the systematic development of computation-efficient derandomization approaches in low-memory MPC.

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arXiv2022

A Nearly Tight Analysis of Greedy k-means++

The famous $k$-means++ algorithm of Arthur and Vassilvitskii [SODA 2007] is the most popular way of solving the $k$-means problem in practice. The algorithm is very simple: it samples the first center uniformly at random and each of the following $k-1$ centers is then always sampled proportional to its squared distance to the closest center so far. Afterward, Lloyd's iterative algorithm is run. The $k$-means++ algorithm is known to return a $Θ(\log k)$ approximate solution in expectation. In their seminal work, Arthur and Vassilvitskii [SODA 2007] asked about the guarantees for its following \emph{greedy} variant: in every step, we sample $\ell$ candidate centers instead of one and then pick the one that minimizes the new cost. This is also how $k$-means++ is implemented in e.g. the popular Scikit-learn library [Pedregosa et al.; JMLR 2011]. We present nearly matching lower and upper bounds for the greedy $k$-means++: We prove that it is an $O(\ell^3 \log^3 k)$-approximation algorithm. On the other hand, we prove a lower bound of $Ω(\ell^3 \log^3 k / \log^2(\ell\log k))$. Previously, only an $Ω(\ell \log k)$ lower bound was known [Bhattacharya, Eube, Röglin, Schmidt; ESA 2020] and there was no known upper bound.

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arXiv2021

The randomized local computation complexity of the Lovász local lemma

The Local Computation Algorithm (LCA) model is a popular model in the field of sublinear-time algorithms that measures the complexity of an algorithm by the number of probes the algorithm makes in the neighborhood of one node to determine that node's output. In this paper we show that the randomized LCA complexity of the Lovász Local Lemma (LLL) on constant degree graphs is $Θ(\log n)$. The lower bound follows by proving an $Ω(\log n)$ lower bound for the Sinkless Orientation problem introduced in [Brandt et al. STOC 2016]. This answers a question of [Rosenbaum, Suomela PODC 2020]. Additionally, we show that every randomized LCA algorithm for a locally checkable problem with a probe complexity of $o(\sqrt{\log{n}})$ can be turned into a deterministic LCA algorithm with a probe complexity of $O(\log^* n)$. This improves exponentially upon the currently best known speed-up result from $o(\log \log n)$ to $O(\log^* n)$ implied by the result of [Chang, Pettie FOCS 2017] in the LOCAL model. Finally, we show that for every fixed constant $c \geq 2$, the deterministic VOLUME complexity of $c$-coloring a bounded degree tree is $Θ(n)$, where the VOLUME model is a close relative of the LCA model that was recently introduced by [Rosenbaum, Suomela PODC 2020].

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arXiv2021

Local Problems on Trees from the Perspectives of Distributed Algorithms, Finitary Factors, and Descriptive Combinatorics

We study connections between distributed local algorithms, finitary factors of iid processes, and descriptive combinatorics in the context of regular trees. We extend the Borel determinacy technique of Marks coming from descriptive combinatorics and adapt it to the area of distributed computing. Using this technique, we prove deterministic distributed $Ω(\log n)$-round lower bounds for problems from a natural class of homomorphism problems. Interestingly, these lower bounds seem beyond the current reach of the powerful round elimination technique responsible for all substantial locality lower bounds of the last years. Our key technical ingredient is a novel ID graph technique that we expect to be of independent interest. We prove that a local problem admits a Baire measurable coloring if and only if it admits a local algorithm with local complexity $O(\log n)$, extending the classification of Baire measurable colorings of Bernshteyn. A key ingredient of the proof is a new and simple characterization of local problems that can be solved in $O(\log n)$ rounds. We complement this result by showing separations between complexity classes from distributed computing, finitary factors, and descriptive combinatorics. Most notably, the class of problems that allow a distributed algorithm with sublogarithmic randomized local complexity is incomparable with the class of problems with a Borel solution. We hope that our treatment will help to view all three perspectives as part of a common theory of locality, in which we follow the insightful paper of [Bernshteyn -- arXiv 2004.04905].

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arXiv2020

Improved MPC Algorithms for MIS, Matching, and Coloring on Trees and Beyond

We present $O(\log\log n)$ round scalable Massively Parallel Computation algorithms for maximal independent set and maximal matching, in trees and more generally graphs of bounded arboricity, as well as for constant coloring trees. Following the standards, by a scalable MPC algorithm, we mean that these algorithms can work on machines that have capacity/memory as small as $n^δ$ for any positive constant $δ<1$. Our results improve over the $O(\log^2\log n)$ round algorithms of Behnezhad et al. [PODC'19]. Moreover, our matching algorithm is presumably optimal as its bound matches an $Ω(\log\log n)$ conditional lower bound of Ghaffari, Kuhn, and Uitto [FOCS'19].

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arXiv2020

Improved Deterministic Network Decomposition

Network decomposition is a central tool in distributed graph algorithms. We present two improvements on the state of the art for network decomposition, which thus lead to improvements in the (deterministic and randomized) complexity of several well-studied graph problems. - We provide a deterministic distributed network decomposition algorithm with $O(\log^5 n)$ round complexity, using $O(\log n)$-bit messages. This improves on the $O(\log^7 n)$-round algorithm of Rozhoň and Ghaffari [STOC'20], which used large messages, and their $O(\log^8 n)$-round algorithm with $O(\log n)$-bit messages. This directly leads to similar improvements for a wide range of deterministic and randomized distributed algorithms, whose solution relies on network decomposition, including the general distributed derandomization of Ghaffari, Kuhn, and Harris [FOCS'18]. - One drawback of the algorithm of Rozhoň and Ghaffari, in the $\mathsf{CONGEST}$ model, was its dependence on the length of the identifiers. Because of this, for instance, the algorithm could not be used in the shattering framework in the $\mathsf{CONGEST}$ model. Thus, the state of the art randomized complexity of several problems in this model remained with an additive $2^{O(\sqrt{\log\log n})}$ term, which was a clear leftover of the older network decomposition complexity [Panconesi and Srinivasan STOC'92]. We present a modified version that remedies this, constructing a decomposition whose quality does not depend on the identifiers, and thus improves the randomized round complexity for various problems.

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arXiv2020

Generalizing the Sharp Threshold Phenomenon for the Distributed Complexity of the Lovász Local Lemma

Recently, Brandt, Maus and Uitto [PODC'19] showed that, in a restricted setting, the dependency of the complexity of the distributed Lovász Local Lemma (LLL) on the chosen LLL criterion exhibits a sharp threshold phenomenon: They proved that, under the LLL criterion $p2^d < 1$, if each random variable affects at most $3$ events, the deterministic complexity of the LLL in the LOCAL model is $O(d^2 + \log^* n)$. In stark contrast, under the criterion $p2^d \leq 1$, there is a randomized lower bound of $Ω(\log \log n)$ by Brandt et al. [STOC'16] and a deterministic lower bound of $Ω(\log n)$ by Chang, Kopelowitz and Pettie [FOCS'16]. Brandt, Maus and Uitto conjectured that the same behavior holds for the unrestricted setting where each random variable affects arbitrarily many events. We prove their conjecture, by providing an algorithm that solves the LLL in time $O(d^2 + \log^* n)$ under the LLL criterion $p2^d < 1$, which is tight in bounded-degree graphs due to an $Ω(\log^* n)$ lower bound by Chung, Pettie and Su [PODC'14]. By the work of Brandt, Maus and Uitto, obtaining such an algorithm can be reduced to proving that all members in a certain family of functions in arbitrarily high dimensions are convex on some specific domain. Unfortunately, an analytical description of these functions is known only for dimension at most $3$, which led to the aforementioned restriction of their result. While obtaining those descriptions for functions of (substantially) higher dimension seems out of the reach of current techniques, we show that their convexity can be inferred by combinatorial means.

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arXiv2020

k-means++: few more steps yield constant approximation

The k-means++ algorithm of Arthur and Vassilvitskii (SODA 2007) is a state-of-the-art algorithm for solving the k-means clustering problem and is known to give an O(log k)-approximation in expectation. Recently, Lattanzi and Sohler (ICML 2019) proposed augmenting k-means++ with O(k log log k) local search steps to yield a constant approximation (in expectation) to the k-means clustering problem. In this paper, we improve their analysis to show that, for any arbitrarily small constant $\eps > 0$, with only $\eps k$ additional local search steps, one can achieve a constant approximation guarantee (with high probability in k), resolving an open problem in their paper.

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arXiv2019

Improved Local Computation Algorithm for Set Cover via Sparsification

We design a Local Computation Algorithm (LCA) for the set cover problem. Given a set system where each set has size at most $s$ and each element is contained in at most $t$ sets, the algorithm reports whether a given set is in some fixed set cover whose expected size is $O(\log{s})$ times the minimum fractional set cover value. Our algorithm requires $s^{O(\log{s})} t^{O(\log{s} \cdot (\log \log{s} + \log \log{t}))}$ queries. This result improves upon the application of the reduction of [Parnas and Ron, TCS'07] on the result of [Kuhn et al., SODA'06], which leads to a query complexity of $(st)^{O(\log{s} \cdot \log{t})}$. To obtain this result, we design a parallel set cover algorithm that admits an efficient simulation in the LCA model by using a sparsification technique introduced in [Ghaffari and Uitto, SODA'19] for the maximal independent set problem. The parallel algorithm adds a random subset of the sets to the solution in a style similar to the PRAM algorithm of [Berger et al., FOCS'89]. However, our algorithm differs in the way that it never revokes its decisions, which results in a fewer number of adaptive rounds. This requires a novel approximation analysis which might be of independent interest.

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