arXiv subjects

Santhoshini Velusamy

Publications and source records attributed to Santhoshini Velusamy.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

Sketching Approximability of (Weak) Monarchy Predicates

We analyze the sketching approximability of constraint satisfaction problems on Boolean domains, where the constraints are balanced linear threshold functions applied to literals. In~particular, we explore the approximability of monarchy-like functions where the value of the function is determined by a weighted combination of the vote of the first variable (the president) and the sum of the votes of all remaining variables. The pure version of this function is when the president can only be overruled by when all remaining variables agree. For every $k \geq 5$, we show that CSPs where the underlying predicate is a pure monarchy function on $k$ variables have no non-trivial sketching approximation algorithm in $o(\sqrt{n})$ space. We also show infinitely many weaker monarchy functions for which CSPs using such constraints are non-trivially approximable by $O(\log(n))$ space sketching algorithms. Moreover, we give the first example of sketching approximable asymmetric Boolean CSPs. Our results work within the framework of Chou, Golovnev, Sudan, and Velusamy (FOCS 2021) that characterizes the sketching approximability of all CSPs. Their framework can be applied naturally to get a computer-aided analysis of the approximability of any specific constraint satisfaction problem. The novelty of our work is in using their work to get an analysis that applies to infinitely many problems simultaneously.

cs.CC↗

arXiv2022

Streaming complexity of CSPs with randomly ordered constraints

We initiate a study of the streaming complexity of constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs) when the constraints arrive in a random order. We show that there exists a CSP, namely $\textsf{Max-DICUT}$, for which random ordering makes a provable difference. Whereas a $4/9 \approx 0.445$ approximation of $\textsf{DICUT}$ requires $Ω(\sqrt{n})$ space with adversarial ordering, we show that with random ordering of constraints there exists a $0.48$-approximation algorithm that only needs $O(\log n)$ space. We also give new algorithms for $\textsf{Max-DICUT}$ in variants of the adversarial ordering setting. Specifically, we give a two-pass $O(\log n)$ space $0.48$-approximation algorithm for general graphs and a single-pass $\tilde{O}(\sqrt{n})$ space $0.48$-approximation algorithm for bounded degree graphs. On the negative side, we prove that CSPs where the satisfying assignments of the constraints support a one-wise independent distribution require $Ω(\sqrt{n})$-space for any non-trivial approximation, even when the constraints are randomly ordered. This was previously known only for adversarially ordered constraints. Extending the results to randomly ordered constraints requires switching the hard instances from a union of random matchings to simple Erdös-Renyi random (hyper)graphs and extending tools that can perform Fourier analysis on such instances. The only CSP to have been considered previously with random ordering is $\textsf{Max-CUT}$ where the ordering is not known to change the approximability. Specifically it is known to be as hard to approximate with random ordering as with adversarial ordering, for $o(\sqrt{n})$ space algorithms. Our results show a richer variety of possibilities and motivate further study of CSPs with randomly ordered constraints.

cs.DS↗

arXiv2022

On sketching approximations for symmetric Boolean CSPs

A Boolean maximum constraint satisfaction problem, Max-CSP($f$), is specified by a predicate $f:\{-1,1\}^k\to\{0,1\}$. An $n$-variable instance of Max-CSP($f$) consists of a list of constraints, each of which applies $f$ to $k$ distinct literals drawn from the $n$ variables. For $k=2$, Chou, Golovnev, and Velusamy [CGV20, FOCS 2020] obtained explicit ratios characterizing the $\sqrt n$-space streaming approximability of every predicate. For $k \geq 3$, Chou, Golovnev, Sudan, and Velusamy [CGSV21, arXiv:2102.12351] proved a general dichotomy theorem for $\sqrt n$-space sketching algorithms: For every $f$, there exists $α(f)\in (0,1]$ such that for every $ε>0$, Max-CSP($f$) is $(α(f)-ε)$-approximable by an $O(\log n)$-space linear sketching algorithm, but $(α(f)+ε)$-approximation sketching algorithms require $Ω(\sqrt{n})$ space. In this work, we give closed-form expressions for the sketching approximation ratios of multiple families of symmetric Boolean functions. Letting $α'_k = 2^{-(k-1)} (1-k^{-2})^{(k-1)/2}$, we show that for odd $k \geq 3$, $α(k$AND$) = α'_k$, and for even $k \geq 2$, $α(k$AND$) = 2α'_{k+1}$. We also resolve the ratio for the "at-least-$(k-1)$-$1$'s" function for all even $k$; the "exactly-$\frac{k+1}2$-$1$'s" function for odd $k \in \{3,\ldots,51\}$; and fifteen other functions. We stress here that for general $f$, according to [CGSV21], closed-form expressions for $α(f)$ need not have existed a priori. Separately, for all threshold functions, we give optimal "bias-based" approximation algorithms generalizing [CGV20] while simplifying [CGSV21]. Finally, we investigate the $\sqrt n$-space streaming lower bounds in [CGSV21], and show that they are incomplete for $3$AND.

cs.DS↗

arXiv2022

Approximability of all Boolean CSPs with linear sketches

In this work we consider the approximability of $\textsf{Max-CSP}(f)$ in the context of sketching algorithms and completely characterize the approximability of all Boolean CSPs. Specifically, given $f$, $γ$ and $β$ we show that either (1) the $(γ,β)$-approximation version of $\textsf{Max-CSP}(f)$ has a linear sketching algorithm using $O(\log n)$ space, or (2) for every $ε> 0$ the $(γ-ε,β+ε)$-approximation version of $\textsf{Max-CSP}(f)$ requires $Ω(\sqrt{n})$ space for any sketching algorithm. We also prove lower bounds against streaming algorithms for several CSPs. In particular, we recover the streaming dichotomy of [CGV20] for $k=2$ and show streaming approximation resistance of all CSPs for which $f^{-1}(1)$ supports a distribution with uniform marginals. Our positive results show wider applicability of bias-based algorithms used previously by [GVV17] and [CGV20] by giving a systematic way to discover biases. Our negative results combine the Fourier analytic methods of [KKS15], which we extend to a wider class of CSPs, with a rich collection of reductions among communication complexity problems that lie at the heart of the negative results.

cs.CC↗

arXiv2021

Elementary analysis of isolated zeroes of a polynomial system

Wooley ({\em J. Number Theory}, 1996) gave an elementary proof of a Bezout like theorem allowing one to count the number of isolated integer roots of a system of polynomial equations modulo some prime power. In this article, we adapt the proof to a slightly different setting. Specifically, we consider polynomials with coefficients from a polynomial ring $\mathbb{F}[t]$ for an arbitrary field $\mathbb{F}$ and give an upper bound on the number of isolated roots modulo $t^s$ for an arbitrary positive integer $s$. In particular, using $s=1$, we can bound the number of isolated roots of a system of polynomials over an arbitrary field $\mathbb{F}$.

math.NT↗

arXiv2021

Optimal Streaming Approximations for all Boolean Max-2CSPs and Max-kSAT

We prove tight upper and lower bounds on approximation ratios of all Boolean Max-2CSP problems in the streaming model. Specifically, for every type of Max-2CSP problem, we give an explicit constant $α$, s.t. for any $ε>0$ (i) there is an $(α-ε)$-streaming approximation using space $O(\log{n})$; and (ii) any $(α+ε)$-streaming approximation requires space $Ω(\sqrt{n})$. This generalizes the celebrated work of [Kapralov, Khanna, Sudan SODA 2015; Kapralov, Krachun STOC 2019], who showed that the optimal approximation ratio for Max-CUT was $1/2$. Prior to this work, the problem of determining this ratio was open for all other Max-2CSPs. Our results are quite surprising for some specific Max-2CSPs. For the Max-DCUT problem, there was a gap between an upper bound of $1/2$ and a lower bound of $2/5$ [Guruswami, Velingker, Velusamy APPROX 2017]. We show that neither of these bounds is tight, and the optimal ratio for Max-DCUT is $4/9$. We also establish that the tight approximation for Max-2SAT is $\sqrt{2}/2$, and for Exact Max-2SAT it is $3/4$. As a byproduct, our result gives a separation between space-efficient approximations for Max-2SAT and Exact Max-2SAT. This is in sharp contrast to the setting of polynomial-time algorithms with polynomial space, where the two problems are known to be equally hard to approximate. Finally, we prove that the tight streaming approximation for \mksat{} is $\sqrt{2}/2$ for every $k\geq2$.

cs.CC↗