arXiv subjects

Peter Davies-Peck

Publications and source records attributed to Peter Davies-Peck.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Triangle-Free Coloring in LOCAL via Resilient Lovász Local Lemma

The Lovász Local Lemma (LLL) is a probabilistic tool that has been shown to be of central importance in the study of distributed algorithms. For example, the constructive LLL is known to be complete for the class of locally-checkable labeling problems with $o(\log n)$ randomized complexities in the LOCAL model. One classic application of the LLL is in coloring graphs with some sparse structure, such as triangle-free graphs. Triangle-free coloring therefore serves as a benchmark problem for techniques for sublogarithmic randomized distributed algorithms. The state-of-the-art distributed triangle-free coloring algorithm of Pettie and Su [ICALP 2013, Information and Computation 2015] uses $\fracΔ{k}$ colors (where $k$ can be up to $(\frac14 - \varepsilon)\ln Δ$) and consists of $O(k+\log^* n)$ applications of the distributed LLL. However, the distributed LLL is itself a difficult problem; despite significant study, the fastest algorithms known require $O(\log_Δn)$ or $O(\fracΔ{\logΔ})+\log^{O(1)}\log n$ rounds. In this work, we adapt the Pettie-Su's algorithm so that the resulting LLL instances can be solved in $\log^{O(1)}\log n$ rounds, by employing the 'resilience' definition of Davies [SODA 2023]. This gives an $O(k)+ \log^{O(1)}\log n$ complexity (since the LLL is not needed when $k= \log^{ω(1)}\log n$), essentially causing the LLL steps to no longer be the bottleneck of the algorithm. As a corollary we obtain the first $\log^{O(1)}\log n$-round algorithms for coloring triangle-free graphs with $o(Δ)$ colors. The same framework also yields a companion girth-$5$ algorithm, using $(1+\varepsilon)Δ/\ln Δ$ colors in $O(k)+ \log^{O(1)}\log n$ rounds, matching the best known existential upper bound for the number of colors.

cs.DC↗

arXiv2026

Distributed Approximate Maximum Matching and Minimum Vertex Cover via Generalized Graph Decomposition

The classic lower bound of Kuhn, Moscibroda and Wattenhofer [JACM 2016] states that approximate maximum matching and approximate vertex cover (among other problems) in the LOCAL model require $Ω(\min\{\sqrt{\frac{\log n}{\log\log n}}, \frac{\log Δ}{\log\log Δ}\})$ rounds, for any polylogarithmic or smaller approximation ratio. As a function of $Δ$, this complexity was subsequently matched for constant-approximate weighted vertex cover [Bar-Yehuda, Censor-Hillel and Schwartzman, JACM 2017] and constant-approximate maximum matching [Bar-Yehuda, Censor-Hillel, Ghaffari and Schwartzman, PODC 2017]. One might expect, therefore, that the true complexity should be $Θ(\frac{\log Δ}{\log\log Δ})$, and the $n$-dependent term in the lower bound is just an artefact of the proof method. We show that this is not the case, and a term dependent on $n$ is in fact required. Specifically, we show randomized algorithms for $2+\varepsilon$-approximate maximum matching and approximate (weighted) minimum vertex cover taking $O(\frac{\log n}{\log^2 \log n})$ rounds. Our algorithms are based on a novel graph decomposition result generalizing the method of Miller, Peng and Xu [SPAA 2013], which we use to reduce the `effective' degree of high-degree graphs. We expect that this decomposition may be of further use for other problems.

cs.DS↗

arXiv2025

On the Locality of the Lovász Local Lemma

The Lovász Local Lemma is a versatile result in probability theory, characterizing circumstances in which a collection of $n$ `bad events', each occurring with probability at most $p$ and dependent on a set of underlying random variables, can be avoided. It is a central tool of the probabilistic method, since it can be used to show that combinatorial objects satisfying some desirable properties must exist. While the original proof was existential, subsequent work has shown algorithms for the Lovász Local Lemma: that is, in circumstances in which the lemma proves the existence of some object, these algorithms can constructively find such an object. One main strand of these algorithms, which began with Moser and Tardos's well-known result (JACM 2010), involves iteratively resampling the dependent variables of satisfied bad events until none remain satisfied. In this paper, we present a novel analysis that can be applied to resampling-style Lovász Local Lemma algorithms. This analysis shows that an output assignment for the dependent variables of most events can be determined only from $O(\log \log_{1/p} n)$-radius local neighborhoods, and that the events whose variables may still require resampling can be identified from these neighborhoods. This allows us to improve randomized complexities for the constructive Lovász Local Lemma (with polynomial criterion) in several parallel and distributed models. In particular, we obtain: 1) A LOCAL algorithm with $O(\log\log_{1/p} n)$ node-averaged complexity (while matching the $O(\log_{1/p} n)$ worst-case complexity of Chung, Pettie, and Su). 2) An algorithm for the LCA and VOLUME models requiring $d^{O(\log\log_{1/p} n)}$ probes per query. 3) An $O(\log\log\log_{1/p} n)$-round algorithm for CONGESTED CLIQUE, linear space MPC, and Heterogenous MPC.

cs.DS↗