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Eric Bach

Publications and source records attributed to Eric Bach.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2020

On the generalization of Tanimoto-type kernels to real valued functions

The Tanimoto kernel (Jaccard index) is a well known tool to describe the similarity between sets of binary attributes. It has been extended to the case when the attributes are nonnegative real values. This paper introduces a more general Tanimoto kernel formulation which allows to measure the similarity of arbitrary real-valued functions. This extension is constructed by unifying the representation of the attributes via properly chosen sets. After deriving the general form of the kernel, explicit feature representation is extracted from the kernel function, and a simply way of including general kernels into the Tanimoto kernel is shown. Finally, the kernel is also expressed as a quotient of piecewise linear functions, and a smooth approximation is provided.

cs.LG↗
arXiv2020

Algorithms to Uniformly Generate Random Factored Smooth Integers

Let $x\ge y>0$ be integers. A positive integer is $y$-smooth if all its prime divisors are at most $y$. Let $\Psi(x,y)$ count the number of $y$-smooth integers up to $x$. We present several algorithms that will generate an integer $n\le x$ at random, with known prime factorization, such that $n$ is $y$-smooth. We begin by describing algorithms to compute $\Psi(x,y)$ exactly and to enumerate $y$-smooth integers up to $x$ in lexicographic order by prime divisor. Both of these are based on Buchstab's identity, and were likely known before. Then we present an algorithm that accepts as input a parameter $r$, $0\le r<1$, and returns the integer $n$ that is at position $\lfloor r\Psi(x,y)\rfloor$ in the lexicographic ordering of all $y$-smooth integers up to $x$. Here position 0 is the first position. Thus, $n$ is generated uniformly so long as $r$ is chosen uniformly. This algorithm has a running time of $O(\Psi(x,y)\log\log y)$ arithmetic operations. We then explore the tradeoff between speed and rigor. By relaxing the uniformity of the output and allowing for multiple heuristics in our runtime analysis, we improve the running time to $$ O\left( \frac{ (\log x)^3 }{\log\log x} \right)$$ arithmetic operations. We conclude with a sample run by generating a $10000$-smooth integer $\le 10^{100}$.

math.NT↗
arXiv2019

2-Designs and Redundant Syndrome Extraction for Quantum Error Correction

Imperfect measurement can degrade a quantum error correction scheme. A solution that restores fault tolerance is to add redundancy to the process of syndrome extraction. In this work, we show how to optimize this process for an arbitrary ratio of data qubit error probability to measurement error probability. The key is to design the measurements so that syndromes that correspond to different errors are separated by the maximum distance in the signal space, in close analogy to classical error correction codes. We find that the mathematical theory of 2-designs, appropriately modified, is the right tool for this. Analytical and simulation results for the bit-flip code, the 5-qubit code, and the Steane code are presented. The results show that design-based redundancy protocols show improvement in both cost and performance relative to conventional fault-tolerant error-correction schemes in situations, quite important in practice, where measure errors are common. In the near term, the construction of a fault-tolerant logical qubit with a small number of noisy physical qubits will benefit from targeted redundancy in syndrome extraction.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2018

On Euclidean Methods for Cubic and Quartic Jacobi Symbols

We study the bit complexity of two methods, related to the Euclidean algorithm, for computing cubic and quartic analogs of the Jacobi symbol. The main bottleneck in such procedures is computation of a quotient for long division. We give examples to show that with standard arithmetic, if quotients are computed naively (by using exact norms as denominators, then rounding), the algorithms have $\Theta(n^3)$ bit complexity. It is a "folk theorem" that this can be reduced to $O(n^2)$ by modifying the division procedure. We give a self-contained proof of this, and show that quadratic time is best possible for these algorithms (with standard arithmetic or not). We also address the relative efficiency of using reciprocity, as compared to Euler's criterion, for testing if a given number is a cubic or quartic residue modulo an odd prime. Which is preferable depends on the number of residue tests to be done. Finally, we discuss the cubic and quartic analogs of Eisenstein's even-quotient algorithm for computing Jacobi symbols in ${\bf Z}$. Although the quartic algorithm was given by Smith in 1859, the version for cubic symbols seems to be new. As far as we know, neither was analyzed before. We show that both algorithms have exponential worst-case bit complexity. The proof for the cubic algorithm involves a cyclic repetition of four quotients, which may be of independent interest.

cs.DS↗
arXiv2017

Submodular Goal Value of Boolean Functions

Recently, Deshpande et al. introduced a new measure of the complexity of a Boolean function. We call this measure the "goal value" of the function. The goal value of $f$ is defined in terms of a monotone, submodular utility function associated with $f$. As shown by Deshpande et al., proving that a Boolean function $f$ has small goal value can lead to a good approximation algorithm for the Stochastic Boolean Function Evaluation problem for $f$. Also, if $f$ has small goal value, it indicates a close relationship between two other measures of the complexity of $f$, its average-case decision tree complexity and its average-case certificate complexity. In this paper, we explore the goal value measure in detail. We present bounds on the goal values of arbitrary and specific Boolean functions, and present results on properties of the measure. We compare the goal value measure to other, previously studied, measures of the complexity of Boolean functions. Finally, we discuss a number of open questions provoked by our work.

cs.DM↗
arXiv2016

Baby-Step Giant-Step Algorithms for the Symmetric Group

We study discrete logarithms in the setting of group actions. Suppose that $G$ is a group that acts on a set $S$. When $r,s \in S$, a solution $g \in G$ to $r^g = s$ can be thought of as a kind of logarithm. In this paper, we study the case where $G = S_n$, and develop analogs to the Shanks baby-step / giant-step procedure for ordinary discrete logarithms. Specifically, we compute two sets $A, B \subseteq S_n$ such that every permutation of $S_n$ can be written as a product $ab$ of elements $a \in A$ and $b \in B$. Our deterministic procedure is optimal up to constant factors, in the sense that $A$ and $B$ can be computed in optimal asymptotic complexity, and $|A|$ and $|B|$ are a small constant from $\sqrt{n!}$ in size. We also analyze randomized "collision" algorithms for the same problem.

cs.SC↗
arXiv2015

Infinitely Many Carmichael Numbers for a Modified Miller-Rabin Prime Test

We define a variant of the Miller-Rabin primality test, which is in between Miller-Rabin and Fermat in terms of strength. We show that this test has infinitely many "Carmichael" numbers. We show that the test can also be thought of as a variant of the Solovay-Strassen test. We explore the growth of the test's "Carmichael" numbers, giving some empirical results and a discussion of one particularly strong pattern which appears in the results.

math.NT↗
arXiv2013

Counting composites with two strong liars

The strong probable primality test is an important practical tool for discovering prime numbers. Its effectiveness derives from the following fact: for any odd composite number $n$, if a base $a$ is chosen at random, the algorithm is unlikely to claim that $n$ is prime. If this does happen we call $a$ a liar. In 1986, Erd\H{o}s and Pomerance computed the normal and average number of liars, over all $n \leq x$. We continue this theme and use a variety of techniques to count $n \leq x$ with exactly two strong liars, those being the $n$ for which the strong test is maximally effective. We evaluate this count asymptotically and give an improved algorithm to determine it exactly. We also provide asymptotic counts for the restricted case in which $n$ has two prime factors, and for the $n$ with exactly two Euler liars.

math.NT↗
arXiv2013

Approximately counting semismooth integers

An integer $n$ is $(y,z)$-semismooth if $n=pm$ where $m$ is an integer with all prime divisors $\le y$ and $p$ is 1 or a prime $\le z$. arge quantities of semismooth integers are utilized in modern integer factoring algorithms, such as the number field sieve, that incorporate the so-called large prime variant. Thus, it is useful for factoring practitioners to be able to estimate the value of $\Psi(x,y,z)$, the number of $(y,z)$-semismooth integers up to $x$, so that they can better set algorithm parameters and minimize running times, which could be weeks or months on a cluster supercomputer. In this paper, we explore several algorithms to approximate $\Psi(x,y,z)$ using a generalization of Buchstab's identity with numeric integration.

cs.DS↗
arXiv2012

Power law scaling for the adiabatic algorithm for search engine ranking

An important method for search engine result ranking works by finding the principal eigenvector of the "Google matrix." Recently, a quantum algorithm for preparing this eigenvector and evidence of an exponential speedup for some scale-free networks were presented. Here, we show that the run-time depends on features of the graphs other than the degree distribution, and can be altered sufficiently to rule out a general exponential speedup. For a sample of graphs with degree distributions that more closely resemble the Web than in previous work, the proposed algorithm for eigenvector preparation does not appear to run exponentially faster than the classical case.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2012

Comparing algorithms for graph isomorphism using discrete- and continuous-time quantum random walks

Berry and Wang [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 83}, 042317 (2011)] show numerically that a discrete-time quantum random walk of two noninteracting particles is able to distinguish some non-isomorphic strongly regular graphs from the same family. Here we analytically demonstrate how it is possible for these walks to distinguish such graphs, while continuous-time quantum walks of two noninteracting particles cannot. We show analytically and numerically that even single-particle discrete-time quantum random walks can distinguish some strongly regular graphs, though not as many as two-particle noninteracting discrete-time walks. Additionally, we demonstrate how, given the same quantum random walk, subtle differences in the graph certificate construction algorithm can nontrivially impact the walk's distinguishing power. We also show that no continuous-time walk of a fixed number of particles can distinguish all strongly regular graphs when used in conjunction with any of the graph certificates we consider. We extend this constraint to discrete-time walks of fixed numbers of noninteracting particles for one kind of graph certificate; it remains an open question as to whether or not this constraint applies to the other graph certificates we consider.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2012

Non-interacting multi-particle quantum random walks applied to the graph isomorphism problem for strongly regular graphs

We investigate the quantum dynamics of particles on graphs ("quantum random walks"), with the aim of developing quantum algorithms for determining if two graphs are isomorphic (related to each other by a relabeling of vertices). We focus on quantum random walks of multiple non-interacting particles on strongly regular graphs (SRGs), a class of graphs with high symmetry that is known to have pairs of graphs that are hard to distinguish. Previous work has already demonstrated analytically that two-particle non-interacting quantum walks cannot distinguish non-isomorphic SRGs of the same family. Here, we demonstrate numerically that three-particle non-interacting quantum walks have significant, but not universal, distinguishing power for pairs of SRGs, proving a fundamental difference between the distinguishing power of two-particle and three-particle non-interacting walks. We analytically show why this distinguishing power is possible, whereas it is forbidden for two-particle non-interacting walks. Based on sampling of SRGs with up to 64 vertices, we find no difference in the distinguishing power of bosonic and fermionic walks. In addition, we find that the four-fermion non-interacting walk has greater distinguishing power than the three-particle walks on SRGs, showing that increasing particle number increases distinguishing power. However, we also analytically show that no non-interacting walk with a fixed number of particles can distinguish all SRGs, thus demonstrating a potential fundamental difference between the distinguishing power of interacting and noninteracting walks.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2010

Threshold rules for online sample selection

We consider the following sample selection problem. We observe in an online fashion a sequence of samples, each endowed by a quality. Our goal is to either select or reject each sample, so as to maximize the aggregate quality of the subsample selected so far. There is a natural trade-off here between the rate of selection and the aggregate quality of the subsample. We show that for a number of such problems extremely simple and oblivious "threshold rules" for selection achieve optimal tradeoffs between rate of selection and aggregate quality in a probabilistic sense. In some cases we show that the same threshold rule is optimal for a large class of quality distributions and is thus oblivious in a strong sense.

cs.DS↗
arXiv2009

Absorption Probabilities for the Two-Barrier Quantum Walk

Let p_j^(n) be the probability that a Hadamard quantum walk, started at site j on the integer lattice {0,...,n}, is absorbed at 0. We give an explicit formula for p_j^(n). Our formula proves a conjecture of John Watrous, concerning an empirically observed linear fractional recurrence relation for the numbers p_1^(n).

quant-ph↗
arXiv2007

The hardness of computing an eigenform

In this article, we give evidence that computing Fourier coefficients of the Hecke eigenforms for composite indices is no easier than factoring integers. In particular, we show that the existence of a polynomial time algorithm that, given n, computes the n-th Fourier coefficient of a (fixed) Hecke eigenform implies that we can factor most RSA moduli (numbers that are products of two distinct primes) in polynomial time.

math.NT↗
arXiv2002

One-dimensional quantum walks with absorbing boundaries

In this paper we analyze the behavior of quantum random walks. In particular we present several new results for the absorption probabilities in systems with both one and two absorbing walls for the one-dimensional case. We compute these probabilites both by employing generating functions and by use of an eigenfunction approach. The generating function method is used to determine some simple properties of the walks we consider, but appears to have limitations. The eigenfunction approach works by relating the problem of absorption to a unitary problem that has identical dynamics inside a certain domain, and can be used to compute several additional interesting properties, such as the time dependence of absorption. The eigenfunction method has the distinct advantage that it can be extended to arbitrary dimensionality. We outline the solution of the absorption probability problem of a (d-1)-dimensional wall in a d-dimensional space.

quant-ph↗