Questions tagged [lower-bounds]
questions about lowerbounds on functions, usually the complexity of an algorithm or a problem
234
questions
2
votes
1answer
155 views
Are there problems in $DTIME(n^k) - DTIME(n^{k-1})$ that are not hard for $DTIME(n^{k-1})$ under nearly linear time reductions?
Background
It can be challenging to find computational problems that are solvable in $DTIME(n^k) - DTIME(n^{k-1})$ where $k \geq 2$.
Although some natural problems are known to exist, many of them ...
2
votes
2answers
162 views
Problem in deterministic time $n^p$ and not lower
I'm looking for any language $L$ candiate to be in $DTIME(n^p) -DTIME(n^{p-1})$ (it takes at least $n^{p-1}$ steps to determine if an input is in L with a 2-tape $TM$, but L is polynomially solvable).
...
7
votes
2answers
250 views
Maximum shortest word accepted by pushdown automata
Given a fixed alphabet, consider all deterministic pushdown automata with $n$ states that accept a nonempty language. What is the maximum length of the shortest word accepted by a deterministic ...
3
votes
2answers
122 views
Understanding non-equivalence of proof lengths according to proof systems
Here, in section 4.3, Fortnow says:
But to prove P != NP we would need to show that tautologies
cannot have short proofs in an arbitrary proof system.
I am ...
2
votes
0answers
71 views
Lower bounds for list/set data structures without delete
I'm interested in lower bounds on the amortized time cost for either of the following dynamic data structure problems, in the cell probe or RAM model, or any model that lets us do operations on words ...
0
votes
0answers
37 views
Lowerbound to sample complexity or run-time of doing sparse-coding
I noticed this interesting analogous discussion that happened here,
Lower bound proof for compressive sensing (Gel'fand widths)?
What is the closest analogue know for such a result for sparse-...
1
vote
0answers
85 views
Switching lemma for polynomials over $\mathbb{F}_2$
Suppose $f$ is in $\mathbb{F}_2[x_1,...,x_n]$ with total degree $d$.
Q. Is there any kind of switching lemma or restriction lemma in which by applying the lemma on $f$ we can reduce the total ...
6
votes
1answer
201 views
Big-O bounds on the k-th largest element of iid Gaussians
I'm interested in the following problem. Let $X_1, \dots, X_n$ be iid samples with a $N(0,1)$ distribution. Let $X_{[k]}$ be the $k$-th largest element of $\{X_1, \dots, X_n\}$, so e.g. $X_{[1]} = \...
0
votes
0answers
66 views
Lower bound for permutation generator
I'm interested in a problem akin to combinatorial circuits, but in terms of complexity. Apologies for missing the correct terminology, I'll appreciate any corrections.
Given $n$ inputs numbered $1 ......
9
votes
2answers
410 views
Can three stacks be implemented in one array, with O(1) push/pop time?
Two stacks can be efficiently implemented using one fixed sized array: stack #1 starts from the left end and grows to the right, and stack #2 starts from the right end and grows to the left. Is the ...
0
votes
0answers
43 views
Arranging sets in a hierarchy
Suppose you have sets $S_1, \dots S_m$ such that $\sum_i |S_i| = n$. The goal is to arrange all the sets into a (possible unconnected) DAG such that $S_i$ is a parent (or ancestor) of $S_j$ iff $S_j \...
1
vote
0answers
84 views
Entropy bounds on solutions to problems in BPP and other complexity classes based on entropy demands
Has anyone studied the asymptotics of problems in complexity classes like $BPP$? The thought came to me that if a problem in $BPP$ only requires $O(log(n))$ bits of entropy to solve then, intuitively, ...
1
vote
1answer
78 views
The SQ argument in Balazs Szorenyi's paper
I am asking about the proof in Theorem 5 (page 6) of this paper,
http://www.inf.u-szeged.hu/~szorenyi/Cikkek/sq_d0_ext.pdf
Quite a few things about this short argument seem unclear to me,
Towards ...
1
vote
0answers
250 views
On $BPP$ in $P^{NP}$ and $SETH$
It is believed showing $BPP$ in $P$ involves good $PRG$s and faces lower bound barriers.
Does showing $BPP$ in $P^{NP}$ which would mean $BPP\neq EXP^{NP}$ face similar $PRG$ and give lower bounds?
...
4
votes
1answer
117 views
Strong seeded randomness extractors with low entropy loss
I would like to implement a strong seeded randomness extractor for flat sources as a part of my project.
Most of the literature on seeded extractors is concentrated on minimizing seed length. ...
1
vote
0answers
40 views
Optimally fair stable matching
There's a nice post by Gil Kalai which outlines the inherent bias in stable matching algorithms quantitatively.
In the traditional loyd shapeley algorithm for $n$ men and $n$ women, given randomly ...
3
votes
0answers
94 views
Why do most 0/1 matrices need linear arithmetic circuits of size $\Omega(n^2/\log(n))$?
I am reading Alon et al.'s paper Linear Circuits over $GF(2)$ and I am having trouble seeing the counting argument showing that most matrices need a circuit of size $\Omega(n^2/\log n)$. This result ...
7
votes
1answer
149 views
Lower bound for enumerating k closest pair of points
Consider 1 dimensional points $x_1, \dots x_n, x_i \in \mathbb{R}$ where the distance between any two points is defined as $d(x_i, x_j) = \vert x_i - x_j \vert$. The goal is to enumerate all $n^2$ ...
3
votes
1answer
260 views
Conesequences of $\forall k\in \mathbb N \space NP\not\subseteq TISP(poly(n),n^k)$
Does $\forall k\in \mathbb N \space NP\not\subseteq TISP(poly(n),n^k)$ has any separation of classes or consequences?
My main question is can use this to show that $P \neq NP$ or some thing useful ...
3
votes
0answers
63 views
Lower bound for reversing a list using queues
How do you prove (or disprove) that a list of length $n$ cannot be reversed in time $o(n \log n)$ using $O(1)$ queues?
Each queue is FIFO. Time refers to the number of operations on the queues.
...
5
votes
0answers
51 views
Inapproximability Results for APX-hard Geometric Optimization Problems
A lot of Geometric Optimization problems are NP-hard and APX-hard to approximate (No PTAS unless P=NP). One example of the geometric set cover problem can be found here. However, it is not easy to ...
-1
votes
1answer
97 views
Finding upper and lower bounds of a problem [closed]
We have n balls where 1 is a little heavier than the others and we want to find that heavier ball. We can only put some balls on one side of the scale and some on the other side and see if it leans ...
5
votes
0answers
140 views
How hard is it to generate a set of relatively prime numbers between two given bounds?
Informal Question
How hard is it to generate a set of relatively prime numbers between two given bounds?
Decision Problem
Given $a$, $b$, and $k \in \mathbb{N}$. Does there exist a set $S \...
5
votes
1answer
169 views
Lower bound for triangle-free graphs
I was reading a set of notes where it says
It can be shown that $\Omega(n^2)$ space is needed for one-pass algorithms to determine if an (unweighted, undirected) graph $G$ with $n$ nodes contains ...
7
votes
1answer
223 views
How fast can we find and disconnect roots in a forest?
Consider a forest of rooted trees. The problem is to support two operations:
disconnect(v): if v is the root of some tree in the forest, remove all edges of v;
findroot(v): find root of the tree ...
2
votes
1answer
122 views
Petri net termination
Termination is the following problem.
Input: a Petri Net with initial marking
Output: "yes" iff there exists an infinite firing sequence. The naive algorithm in the case of bounded nets for example ...
5
votes
0answers
197 views
How hard is APPROXIMATE-#SAT?
It is well known that the problem of counting the satisfying assignments of SAT, namely the problem #SAT, is #P-complete.
It is also suspected (somewhat less widely) that even deciding SAT should ...
4
votes
1answer
124 views
Which $SIZE$-$DEPTH(s, d)$ classes with $log(s(n))^{d(n) - 1} = o(n)$ can we not separate by known methods?
Define $SIZE$-$DEPTH(s, d)$ to be the functions which are computed by circuit families of size $O(s(n))$ and less than depth $d(n)$.
We know from Boppana's 1997 paper on the average sensitivity of ...
-5
votes
1answer
145 views
Should GCT focus on $PSPACE\not\subseteq P/poly$?
GCT tries to show $P$ is not $NP$ by showing $NP$ is not in $P/poly$.
Could it be useful in showing $\Sigma_{i+1}\not\subseteq P^{\Sigma_i}/Poly$ at every $i>0$?
Suppose if it turns out that $\...
3
votes
1answer
157 views
Separations between testing and tolerant testing for (natural) classes of functions?
Note: I am considering here property testing in the query model, with regard to Hamming distance. (So, for instance, of Boolean functions—I'm phrasing it that way below.) I am in particular not ...
4
votes
0answers
193 views
Is $NEXP^{NP}$ known to not be contained in $NP/poly$?
To the best of my knowledge, it is known that $NEXP^{NP} \nsubseteq P/poly$, but it's still not known if $NEXP \nsubseteq P/poly$.
For more info, see "Superpolynomial circuits, almost sparse oracles ...
0
votes
1answer
190 views
What do stronger circuit lower bounds give in terms of derandomization?
We have $EXP\not\subseteq P/poly\implies BPP\subseteq io-DTIME(2^{n^\epsilon})$ at every $\epsilon>0$.
This is essentially $DTIME(2^{O(n)})\not\subseteq P/poly\implies BPP\subseteq io-DTIME(2^{n^\...
2
votes
1answer
104 views
Non-Uniform Lower Bounds for NSPACE
If I'm not mistaken it is not known whether $E^{NP} \subseteq {\rm SIZE}(n)$
where $E^{NP}$ is the class of problems solvable by a TM which works in time $2^{O(n)}$ and is allowed to make queries of ...
1
vote
1answer
557 views
Common terminology used for lower/upper bounds
Suppose you have developed an upper bound on the number of vertices of a particular graph. This bound is the best possible bound that can be found for any given instance. What do you call such a bound?...
1
vote
0answers
60 views
\alpha-path on Euclidean graphs
Consider the following problem:
Suppose we are given a G=(V, E) Euclidean Graph in the plane and a real $\alpha > 0$. For simplicity assume, there exists only one path whose summation of weights ...
1
vote
0answers
50 views
Problem dependent lower bound for stochastic bandits with full information
Suppose you have a $K$ armed stochastic bandit problem but with full information. There are $K$ arms with mean rewards $\mu_1,...,\mu_K$. At each step we have to select an arm, collect the reward from ...
8
votes
0answers
102 views
Reference for a circuit lower bound for slightly superexponential time
It is known that $EXP$ doesn't have circuits of size $n^k$. On the other hand proving $10 n$ lower bound on circuit size for $E$, $NE$ or even $E^{NP}$ is a known open problem.
My question is ...
7
votes
1answer
228 views
What are some problems in $P$ which have lower bounds assuming that $P \neq NP$ or the ETH?
Last year I had watched this talk online about problems in $P$ for which an algorithm which runs in some subclass of $P$, say in subquadratic time, would imply $P = NP$, or violate the ETH (...
6
votes
0answers
148 views
Lower bound for Yao's algorithm on general addition chains?
An addition chain of size $n$ for given integers $n_1,n_2\dots ,n_p$ is a sequence of integers $k_1,k_2\dots ,k_n$ such that
$k_1=1$,
for all $i$ $(2\le i\le m)$ we have $k_i=k_j+k_m$ for some $1\le ...
3
votes
0answers
162 views
Circuit's with gate computing only “simple” functions
I was curious if something like that is known or was studied.
Let's call a function simple if it is computable by $AC_0$ circuit of depth $\leq d$ and size $\leq n^k$ for fixed $k,d$.
Now let's ...
12
votes
1answer
441 views
Compressing information about the halting problem for oracle Turing machines
The halting problem is well-known to be uncomputable. However, it is possible to exponentially "compress" information about the halting problem, so that decompressing it is computable.
More precisely,...
2
votes
1answer
130 views
Application of weak determinantal identities to GCT?
In general determinants have many identities. Would it help the $GCT$ program by invoking the paradigm of identities such as to state that if the permanent is converted to determinant then it has to ...
9
votes
0answers
158 views
Fourth(?) moment method for minimum value
I would like to lower bound the quantity $\Pr[X\ge t, Y\ge t]=\Pr[\min(X,Y)\ge t]$ using the small moments of $X$, $Y$ and $XY$.
In particular I am interested in the case where $E[X]=E[Y]=0$, but $E[X ...
3
votes
1answer
128 views
On $\Delta_i^P$
We know $P\subseteq NP\cap coNP\subseteq\Delta_i^P=P^{\Sigma_{i-1}^P}\subseteq \Sigma_i^P\cap\Pi_i^P=NP^{\Sigma_{i-1}^P}\cap coNP^{\Sigma_{i-1}^P}$.
If $P=BPP$ is there a 'higher' randomized class ...
1
vote
0answers
88 views
Tribes function vs (modified) polynomial threshold circuits
Are there lowerbounds known for representing the Tribes function by a circuit consisting of a single layer of polynomial threshold gates feeding into maybe a trivial summing gate? (Even for degree $1$ ...
2
votes
1answer
93 views
Counting xyz-graphs in $\mathbb{Z}_n^3$
This is a followup question to: Lower bound on the largest restrained cubic subset
How many distinct xyz-graphs exist in $\mathbb{Z}_n^3$? We denote this number as $C(n)$
This question may be seen ...
3
votes
2answers
126 views
Lower bound on the largest restrained cubic subset
Consider an $n \times n \times n$ cube. I would like to consider subsets of points in the cube with the two following constraints:
Each row in the cube (in any of the three directions) has exactly 2 ...
5
votes
1answer
127 views
Reference request: complexity of $k$-partite $k$-SAT
Let's consider following variation of $k$-SAT that I will call $k$-partite $k$-SAT:
given $n$ variables that are divided into $k$ groups and a $k$-SAT formula $\phi$ such that each clause has literal ...
1
vote
0answers
130 views
Information theoretic lower-bound on object graph serialization
This might be a daft quesstion, but here comes. I became intriqued about data serialization formats and tried to look for research on what could be the information theoric lower bound on encoding ...
9
votes
0answers
478 views
How to prove “obvious” facts?
The title is somewhat "arrogant": say, most of us treat $P\neq NP$ as an "obvious" fact, albeit no proof is in sight. But my question is at a much, much lower level, is about a fact which "should be" ...
