arXiv subjects

Frédéric Magniez

Publications and source records attributed to Frédéric Magniez.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Tight Time-Space Lower Bounds for Collision Finding and Element Distinctness under Label Symmetry

How much memory is needed to retain the quantum speedup for collision finding? For a uniformly random function $f:[N]\to [N]$, the BHT algorithm finds a collision using $O(N^{1/3})$ queries and a quantumly accessible classical table containing $O(N^{1/3})$ input-output pairs, whereas a logarithmic-space Grover search uses $O(\sqrt N)$ queries. Determining the optimal query-space tradeoff between these extremes remains a major open problem. We resolve this equation within the class of label-symmetric algorithms, which treat the function $f$'s output labels as interchangeable. We prove that such algorithm that makes $T$ queries, uses $S$ qubits, and finds a collision in a uniformly random function $f:[M]\to [N]$ with constant probability satisfies $$T=Ω(N^{1/3}) \qquad\text{and}\qquad T^2S=Ω(N\log N).$$ For the setting where $M=N$, these bounds are matched by a space-efficient implementation of the BHT algorithm. As a consequence of our tradeoff, any label-symmetric algorithm for the search version of Element Distinctness on $f: [n] \to [n^2]$ must satisfy $$T=Ω(n^{2/3}) \qquad\text{and}\qquad T^2S=Ω(n^2\log n),$$ matching Ambainis's quantum walk. Thus, both tradeoffs are optimal within the class of label-symmetric algorithms. To prove these results, we develop a space-sensitive version of the compressed oracle technique. The compressed oracle records the information learned by the algorithm in an evolving superposition of databases. Using label symmetry and representation theory, we show that an algorithm using $S$ qubits can effectively retain information about only $O(S/\log N)$ collision-free database entries. Substituting this estimate into the compressed oracle technique yields the stated tradeoffs.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Improved bounds for testing Dyck languages

In this paper we consider the problem of deciding membership in Dyck languages, a fundamental family of context-free languages, comprised of well-balanced strings of parentheses. In this problem we are given a string of length $n$ in the alphabet of parentheses of $m$ types and must decide if it is well-balanced. We consider this problem in the property testing setting, where one would like to make the decision while querying as few characters of the input as possible. Property testing of strings for Dyck language membership for $m=1$, with a number of queries independent of the input size $n$, was provided in [Alon, Krivelevich, Newman and Szegedy, SICOMP 2001]. Property testing of strings for Dyck language membership for $m \ge 2$ was first investigated in [Parnas, Ron and Rubinfeld, RSA 2003]. They showed an upper bound and a lower bound for distinguishing strings belonging to the language from strings that are far (in terms of the Hamming distance) from the language, which are respectively (up to polylogarithmic factors) the $2/3$ power and the $1/11$ power of the input size $n$. Here we improve the power of $n$ in both bounds. For the upper bound, we introduce a recursion technique, that together with a refinement of the methods in the original work provides a test for any power of $n$ larger than $2/5$. For the lower bound, we introduce a new problem called Truestring Equivalence, which is easily reducible to the $2$-type Dyck language property testing problem. For this new problem, we show a lower bound of $n$ to the power of $1/5$.

cs.DS↗

arXiv2026

No Distributed Quantum Advantage for 3-Coloring Rooted Trees and 2-Coloring Even Cycles

Significant effort has been devoted over the past decade to understanding whether quantum resources can provide advantages in distributed computing, and in particular whether they can help overcome locality constraints in networks, typically in Linial's LOCAL model. Recently, Coiteux-Roy~et~al.~(STOC 2024) showed that quantum resources do not help for 3-coloring \textit{unrooted} trees: in particular, their lower bound holds in the stronger \textit{non-signaling} model, which formalizes the principle of physical causality in distributed computing. The case of \textit{rooted} trees, however, was left open by their work. For rooted trees, the deterministic Cole-Vishkin algorithm 3-colors $n$-node trees in $O(\log^\star n)$ rounds, matching Linial's classical $Ω(\log^\star n)$ lower bound (FOCS 1987). In this paper, we show that any algorithm in quantum-LOCAL (without pre-shared entanglement) that properly 3-colors $n$-node rooted trees with probability at least ${1-O(1/\log n)}$ must perform $Ω(\log^\star n)$ rounds. That is, quantum resources provide no advantage for 3-coloring rooted trees. To get this result, we show a lower bound of $Ω(\log^\star Δ)$ for 3-coloring any $Δ$-ary tree with success probability at least $1-1/Δ$. The proof uses a \textit{color lifting} technique that bears similarity to Linial's original argument. We also show, as a separate result, that 2-coloring even-length $n$-node cycles with probability $1-O(1/n)$ requires $n/2-1$ rounds in the quantum-LOCAL model, even with pre-shared entangled states. This improves the previously known $\lceil (n-2)/4 \rceil$ lower bound of Gavoille, Kosowski, and Markiewicz (DISC 2009) by a factor of two, and shows that quantum algorithms cannot save even a single round over classical deterministic algorithms for 2-coloring even-length cycles.

cs.DC↗

arXiv2026

Tight Communication Bounds for Distributed Algorithms in the Quantum Routing Model

We present new distributed quantum algorithms for fundamental distributed computing problems, namely, leader election, broadcast, Minimum Spanning Tree (MST), and Breadth-First Search (BFS) tree, in arbitrary networks. These algorithms are (essentially) optimal with respect to their communication (message) complexity in the {\em quantum routing model} introduced in [PODC 2025]. The message complexity of our algorithms is $\tilde{O}(n)$ for leader election, broadcast, and MST, and $\tilde{O}(\sqrt{mn})$ for BFS ($n$ and $m$ are the number of nodes and edges of the network, respectively). These message bounds are nearly tight in the quantum routing model since we show almost matching corresponding quantum message lower bounds. Our results significantly improve on the prior work of [PODC 2025], who presented distributed quantum algorithms under the same model that had a message complexity of $\tilde{O}(\sqrt{mn})$ for leader election. Our algorithms demonstrate the significant communication advantage that quantum routing has over classical in distributed computing, since $Ω(m)$ is a well-established classical message lower bound for leader election, broadcast, MST, and BFS that applies even to randomized Monte-Carlo algorithms [JACM 2015]. Thus, our quantum algorithms can, in general, give a quadratic advantage in the communication cost for these fundamental problems. A main technical tool we use to design our distributed algorithms is quantum walks based on electric networks. We posit a framework for using quantum walks in the distributed setting to design communication-efficient distributed quantum algorithms. Our framework can be used as a black box to significantly reduce communication costs and may be of independent interest. Additionally, our lower-bound technique for establishing distributed quantum message lower bounds can also be applied to other problems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Quantum property testing in sparse directed graphs

We initiate the study of quantum property testing in sparse directed graphs, and more particularly in the unidirectional model, where the algorithm is allowed to query only the outgoing edges of a vertex. In the classical unidirectional model, the problem of testing $k$-star-freeness, and more generally $k$-source-subgraph-freeness, is almost maximally hard for large $k$. We prove that this problem has almost quadratic advantage in the quantum setting. Moreover, we show that this advantage is nearly tight, by showing a quantum lower bound using the method of dual polynomials on an intermediate problem for a new, property testing version of the $k$-collision problem that was not studied before. To illustrate that not all problems in graph property testing admit such a quantum speedup, we consider the problem of $3$-colorability in the related undirected bounded-degree model, when graphs are now undirected. This problem is maximally hard to test classically, and we show that also quantumly it requires a linear number of queries.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Deterministic Even-Cycle Detection in Broadcast CONGEST

We show that, for every $k\geq 2$, $C_{2k}$-freeness can be decided in $O(n^{1-1/k})$ rounds in the Broadcast CONGEST model, by a deterministic algorithm. This (deterministic) round-complexity is optimal for $k=2$ up to logarithmic factors thanks to the lower bound for $C_4$-freeness by Drucker et al. [PODC 2014], which holds even for randomized algorithms. Moreover it matches the round-complexity of the best known randomized algorithms by Censor-Hillel et al. [DISC 2020] for $k\in\{3,4,5\}$, and by Fraigniaud et al. [PODC 2024] for $k\geq 6$. Our algorithm uses parallel BFS-explorations with deterministic selections of the set of paths that are forwarded at each round, in a way similar to what was done for the detection of odd-length cycles, by Korhonen and Rybicki [OPODIS 2017]. However, the key element in the design and analysis of our algorithm is a new combinatorial result bounding the "local density" of graphs without $2k$-cycles, which we believe is interesting on its own.

cs.DC↗

arXiv2025

Quantum Communication Advantage for Leader Election and Agreement

This work focuses on understanding the quantum message complexity of two central problems in distributed computing, namely, leader election and agreement in synchronous message-passing communication networks. We show that quantum communication gives an advantage for both problems by presenting quantum distributed algorithms that significantly outperform their respective classical counterparts under various network topologies. While prior works have studied and analyzed quantum distributed algorithms in the context of (improving) round complexity, a key conceptual contribution of our work is positing a framework to design and analyze the message complexity of quantum distributed algorithms. We present and show how quantum algorithmic techniques such as Grover search, quantum counting, and quantum walks can make distributed algorithms significantly message-efficient. In particular, our leader election protocol for diameter-2 networks uses quantum walks to achieve the improved message complexity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first such application of quantum walks in distributed computing.

cs.DC↗

arXiv2024

Sublinear-Time Quantum Computation of the Diameter in CONGEST Networks

The computation of the diameter is one of the most central problems in distributed computation. In the standard CONGEST model, in which two adjacent nodes can exchange $O(\log n)$ bits per round (here $n$ denotes the number of nodes of the network), it is known that exact computation of the diameter requires $\tilde Ω(n)$ rounds, even in networks with constant diameter. In this paper we investigate quantum distributed algorithms for this problem in the quantum CONGEST model, where two adjacent nodes can exchange $O(\log n)$ quantum bits per round. Our main result is a $\tilde O(\sqrt{nD})$-round quantum distributed algorithm for exact diameter computation, where $D$ denotes the diameter. This shows a separation between the computational power of quantum and classical algorithms in the CONGEST model. We also show an unconditional lower bound $\tilde Ω(\sqrt{n})$ on the round complexity of any quantum algorithm computing the diameter, and furthermore show a tight lower bound $\tilde Ω(\sqrt{nD})$ for any distributed quantum algorithm in which each node can use only $\textrm{poly}(\log n)$ quantum bits of memory.

cs.DC↗

arXiv2023

Quantum Time-Space Tradeoff for Finding Multiple Collision Pairs

We study the problem of finding $K$ collision pairs in a random function $f : [N] \rightarrow [N]$ by using a quantum computer. We prove that the number of queries to the function in the quantum random oracle model must increase significantly when the size of the available memory is limited. Namely, we demonstrate that any algorithm using $S$ qubits of memory must perform a number $T$ of queries that satisfies the tradeoff $T^3 S \geq Ω(K^3 N)$. Classically, the same question has only been settled recently by Dinur [Eurocrypt'20], who showed that the Parallel Collision Search algorithm of van Oorschot and Wiener achieves the optimal time-space tradeoff of $T^2 S = Θ(K^2 N)$. Our result limits the extent to which quantum computing may decrease this tradeoff. Our method is based on a novel application of Zhandry's recording query technique [Crypto'19] for proving lower bounds in the exponentially small success probability regime. As a second application, we give a simpler proof of the time-space tradeoff $T^2 S \geq Ω(N^3)$ for sorting $N$ numbers on a quantum computer, which was first obtained by Klauck, Špalek and de Wolf [KŠW07].

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Quantum Distributed Algorithm for Triangle Finding in the CONGEST Model

This paper considers the triangle finding problem in the CONGEST model of distributed computing. Recent works by Izumi and Le Gall (PODC'17), Chang, Pettie and Zhang (SODA'19) and Chang and Saranurak (PODC'19) have successively reduced the classical round complexity of triangle finding (as well as triangle listing) from the trivial upper bound $O(n)$ to $\tilde O(n^{1/3})$, where~$n$ denotes the number of vertices in the graph. In this paper we present a quantum distributed algorithm that solves the triangle finding problem in $\tilde O(n^{1/4})$ rounds in the CONGEST model. This gives another example of quantum algorithm beating the best known classical algorithms in distributed computing. Our result also exhibits an interesting phenomenon: while in the classical setting the best known upper bounds for the triangle finding and listing problems are identical, in the quantum setting the round complexities of these two problems are now $\tilde O(n^{1/4})$ and $\tilde Θ(n^{1/3})$, respectively. Our result thus shows that triangle finding is easier than triangle listing in the quantum CONGEST model.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Quantum Chebyshev's Inequality and Applications

In this paper we provide new quantum algorithms with polynomial speed-up for a range of problems for which no such results were known, or we improve previous algorithms. First, we consider the approximation of the frequency moments $F_k$ of order $k \geq 3$ in the multi-pass streaming model with updates (turnstile model). We design a $P$-pass quantum streaming algorithm with memory $M$ satisfying a tradeoff of $P^2 M = \tilde{O}(n^{1-2/k})$, whereas the best classical algorithm requires $P M = Θ(n^{1-2/k})$. Then, we study the problem of estimating the number $m$ of edges and the number $t$ of triangles given query access to an $n$-vertex graph. We describe optimal quantum algorithms that perform $\tilde{O}(\sqrt{n}/m^{1/4})$ and $\tilde{O}(\sqrt{n}/t^{1/6} + m^{3/4}/\sqrt{t})$ queries respectively. This is a quadratic speed-up compared to the classical complexity of these problems. For this purpose we develop a new quantum paradigm that we call Quantum Chebyshev's inequality. Namely we demonstrate that, in a certain model of quantum sampling, one can approximate with relative error the mean of any random variable with a number of quantum samples that is linear in the ratio of the square root of the variance to the mean. Classically the dependency is quadratic. Our algorithm subsumes a previous result of Montanaro [Mon15]. This new paradigm is based on a refinement of the Amplitude Estimation algorithm of Brassard et al. [BHMT02] and of previous quantum algorithms for the mean estimation problem. We show that this speed-up is optimal, and we identify another common model of quantum sampling where it cannot be obtained. For our applications, we also adapt the variable-time amplitude amplification technique of Ambainis [Amb10] into a variable-time amplitude estimation algorithm.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Extended Learning Graphs for Triangle Finding

We present new quantum algorithms for Triangle Finding improving its best previously known quantum query complexities for both dense and spare instances.For dense graphs on $n$ vertices, we get a query complexity of $O(n^{5/4})$ without any of the extra logarithmic factors present in the previous algorithm of Le Gall [FOCS'14]. For sparse graphs with $m\geq n^{5/4}$ edges, we get a query complexity of $O(n^{11/12}m^{1/6}\sqrt{\log n})$, which is better than the one obtained by Le Gall and Nakajima [ISAAC'15] when $m \geq n^{3/2}$. We also obtain an algorithm with query complexity ${O}(n^{5/6}(m\log n)^{1/6}+d_2\sqrt{n})$ where $d_2$ is the variance of the degree distribution. Our algorithms are designed and analyzed in a new model of learning graphs that we call extended learning graphs. In addition, we present a framework in order to easily combine and analyze them. As a consequence we get much simpler algorithms and analyses than previous algorithms of Le Gall {\it et al} based on the MNRS quantum walk framework [SICOMP'11].

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Streaming Communication Protocols

We define the Streaming Communication model that combines the main aspects of communication complexity and streaming. We consider two agents that want to compute some function that depends on inputs that are distributed to each agent. The inputs arrive as data streams and each agent has a bounded memory. Agents are allowed to communicate with each other and also update their memory based on the input bit they read and the previous message they received. We provide tight tradeoffs between the necessary resources, i.e. communication and memory, for some of the canonical problems from communication complexity by proving a strong general lower bound technique. Second, we analyze the Approximate Matching problem and show that the complexity of this problem (i.e. the achievable approximation ratio) in the one-way variant of our model is strictly different both from the streaming complexity and the one-way communication complexity thereof.

cs.CC↗

arXiv2016

Stable Matching with Evolving Preferences

We consider the problem of stable matching with dynamic preference lists. At each time step, the preference list of some player may change by swapping random adjacent members. The goal of a central agency (algorithm) is to maintain an approximately stable matching (in terms of number of blocking pairs) at all times. The changes in the preference lists are not reported to the algorithm, but must instead be probed explicitly by the algorithm. We design an algorithm that in expectation and with high probability maintains a matching that has at most $O((log (n))^2)$ blocking pairs.

cs.GT↗

arXiv2015

Streaming Property Testing of Visibly Pushdown Languages

In the context of language recognition, we demonstrate the superiority of streaming property testers against streaming algorithms and property testers, when they are not combined. Initiated by Feigenbaum et al., a streaming property tester is a streaming algorithm recognizing a language under the property testing approximation: it must distinguish inputs of the language from those that are $\varepsilon$-far from it, while using the smallest possible memory (rather than limiting its number of input queries). Our main result is a streaming $\varepsilon$-property tester for visibly pushdown languages (VPL) with one-sided error using memory space $\mathrm{poly}((\log n) / \varepsilon)$. This constructions relies on a (non-streaming) property tester for weighted regular languages based on a previous tester by Alon et al. We provide a simple application of this tester for streaming testing special cases of instances of VPL that are already hard for both streaming algorithms and property testers. Our main algorithm is a combination of an original simulation of visibly pushdown automata using a stack with small height but possible items of linear size. In a second step, those items are replaced by small sketches. Those sketches relies on a notion of suffix-sampling we introduce. This sampling is the key idea connecting our streaming tester algorithm to property testers.

cs.DS↗

arXiv2014

Maximum Matching in Semi-Streaming with Few Passes

In the semi-streaming model, an algorithm receives a stream of edges of a graph in arbitrary order and uses a memory of size $O(n \mbox{ polylog } n)$, where $n$ is the number of vertices of a graph. In this work, we present semi-streaming algorithms that perform one or two passes over the input stream for maximum matching with no restrictions on the input graph, and for the important special case of bipartite graphs that we refer to as maximum bipartite matching (MBM). The Greedy matching algorithm performs one pass over the input and outputs a $1/2$ approximation. Whether there is a better one-pass algorithm has been an open question since the appearance of the first paper on streaming algorithms for matching problems in 2005 [Feigenbaum et al., SODA 2005]. We make the following progress on this problem: In the one-pass setting, we show that there is a deterministic semi-streaming algorithm for MBM with expected approximation factor $1/2+0.005$, assuming that edges arrive one by one in (uniform) random order. We extend this algorithm to general graphs, and we obtain a $1/2+0.003$ approximation. In the two-pass setting, we do not require the random arrival order assumption (the edge stream is in arbitrary order). We present a simple randomized two-pass semi-streaming algorithm for MBM with expected approximation factor $1/2 + 0.019$. Furthermore, we discuss a more involved deterministic two-pass semi-streaming algorithm for MBM with approximation factor $1/2 + 0.019$ and a generalization of this algorithm to general graphs with approximation factor $1/2 + 0.0071$.

cs.DS↗

arXiv2014

Quantum walks can find a marked element on any graph

We solve an open problem by constructing quantum walks that not only detect but also find marked vertices in a graph. In the case when the marked set $M$ consists of a single vertex, the number of steps of the quantum walk is quadratically smaller than the classical hitting time $HT(P,M)$ of any reversible random walk $P$ on the graph. In the case of multiple marked elements, the number of steps is given in terms of a related quantity $HT^+(\mathit{P,M})$ which we call extended hitting time. Our approach is new, simpler and more general than previous ones. We introduce a notion of interpolation between the random walk $P$ and the absorbing walk $P'$, whose marked states are absorbing. Then our quantum walk is simply the quantum analogue of this interpolation. Contrary to previous approaches, our results remain valid when the random walk $P$ is not state-transitive. We also provide algorithms in the cases when only approximations or bounds on parameters $p_M$ (the probability of picking a marked vertex from the stationary distribution) and $HT^+(\mathit{P,M})$ are known.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

Improving Quantum Query Complexity of Boolean Matrix Multiplication Using Graph Collision

The quantum query complexity of Boolean matrix multiplication is typically studied as a function of the matrix dimension, n, as well as the number of 1s in the output, \ell. We prove an upper bound of O (n\sqrt{\ell}) for all values of \ell. This is an improvement over previous algorithms for all values of \ell. On the other hand, we show that for any \eps < 1 and any \ell <= \eps n^2, there is an Ω(n\sqrt{\ell}) lower bound for this problem, showing that our algorithm is essentially tight. We first reduce Boolean matrix multiplication to several instances of graph collision. We then provide an algorithm that takes advantage of the fact that the underlying graph in all of our instances is very dense to find all graph collisions efficiently.

quant-ph↗