19 research outputs found
Approximate kernel clustering
In the kernel clustering problem we are given a large positive
semi-definite matrix with and a small
positive semi-definite matrix . The goal is to find a
partition of which maximizes the quantity We study the
computational complexity of this generic clustering problem which originates in
the theory of machine learning. We design a constant factor polynomial time
approximation algorithm for this problem, answering a question posed by Song,
Smola, Gretton and Borgwardt. In some cases we manage to compute the sharp
approximation threshold for this problem assuming the Unique Games Conjecture
(UGC). In particular, when is the identity matrix the UGC
hardness threshold of this problem is exactly . We present
and study a geometric conjecture of independent interest which we show would
imply that the UGC threshold when is the identity matrix is
for every
The positive semidefinite Grothendieck problem with rank constraint
Given a positive integer n and a positive semidefinite matrix A = (A_{ij}) of
size m x m, the positive semidefinite Grothendieck problem with
rank-n-constraint (SDP_n) is
maximize \sum_{i=1}^m \sum_{j=1}^m A_{ij} x_i \cdot x_j, where x_1, ..., x_m
\in S^{n-1}.
In this paper we design a polynomial time approximation algorithm for SDP_n
achieving an approximation ratio of
\gamma(n) = \frac{2}{n}(\frac{\Gamma((n+1)/2)}{\Gamma(n/2)})^2 = 1 -
\Theta(1/n).
We show that under the assumption of the unique games conjecture the achieved
approximation ratio is optimal: There is no polynomial time algorithm which
approximates SDP_n with a ratio greater than \gamma(n). We improve the
approximation ratio of the best known polynomial time algorithm for SDP_1 from
2/\pi to 2/(\pi\gamma(m)) = 2/\pi + \Theta(1/m), and we show a tighter
approximation ratio for SDP_n when A is the Laplacian matrix of a graph with
nonnegative edge weights.Comment: (v3) to appear in Proceedings of the 37th International Colloquium on
Automata, Languages and Programming, 12 page
Standard Simplices and Pluralities are Not the Most Noise Stable
The Standard Simplex Conjecture and the Plurality is Stablest Conjecture are
two conjectures stating that certain partitions are optimal with respect to
Gaussian and discrete noise stability respectively. These two conjectures are
natural generalizations of the Gaussian noise stability result by Borell (1985)
and the Majority is Stablest Theorem (2004). Here we show that the standard
simplex is not the most stable partition in Gaussian space and that Plurality
is not the most stable low influence partition in discrete space for every
number of parts , for every value of the noise and for
every prescribed measures for the different parts as long as they are not all
equal to . Our results do not contradict the original statements of the
Plurality is Stablest and Standard Simplex Conjectures in their original
statements concerning partitions to sets of equal measure. However, they
indicate that if these conjectures are true, their veracity and their proofs
will crucially rely on assuming that the sets are of equal measures, in stark
contrast to Borell's result, the Majority is Stablest Theorem and many other
results in isoperimetric theory. Given our results it is natural to ask for
(conjectured) partitions achieving the optimum noise stability.Comment: 14 page
Grothendieck inequalities for semidefinite programs with rank constraint
Grothendieck inequalities are fundamental inequalities which are frequently
used in many areas of mathematics and computer science. They can be interpreted
as upper bounds for the integrality gap between two optimization problems: a
difficult semidefinite program with rank-1 constraint and its easy semidefinite
relaxation where the rank constrained is dropped. For instance, the integrality
gap of the Goemans-Williamson approximation algorithm for MAX CUT can be seen
as a Grothendieck inequality. In this paper we consider Grothendieck
inequalities for ranks greater than 1 and we give two applications:
approximating ground states in the n-vector model in statistical mechanics and
XOR games in quantum information theory.Comment: 22 page