Coding for Errors and Erasures in Random Network Coding

The problem of error-control in random linear network coding is considered. A ``noncoherent'' or ``channel oblivious'' model is assumed where neither transmitter nor receiver is assumed to have knowledge of the channel transfer characteristic. Motivated by the property that linear network coding is vector-space preserving, information transmission is modelled as the injection into the network of a basis for a vector space $V$ and the collection by the receiver of a basis for a vector space $U$. A metric on the projective geometry associated with the packet space is introduced, and it is shown that a minimum distance decoder for this metric achieves correct decoding if the dimension of the space $V \cap U$ is sufficiently large. If the dimension of each codeword is restricted to a fixed integer, the code forms a subset of a finite-field Grassmannian, or, equivalently, a subset of the vertices of the corresponding Grassmann graph. Sphere-packing and sphere-covering bounds as well as a generalization of the Singleton bound are provided for such codes. Finally, a Reed-Solomon-like code construction, related to Gabidulin's construction of maximum rank-distance codes, is described and a Sudan-style ``list-1'' minimum distance decoding algorithm is provided.Comment: This revised paper contains some minor changes and clarification

Bivariate Hermite subdivision

A subdivision scheme for constructing smooth surfaces interpolating scattered data in $\mathbb{R}^3$ is proposed. It is also possible to impose derivative constraints in these points. In the case of functional data, i.e., data are given in a properly triangulated set of points $\{(x_i, y_i)\}_{i=1}^N$ from which none of the pairs $(x_i,y_i)$ and $(x_j,y_j)$ with $i\neq j$ coincide, it is proved that the resulting surface (function) is $C^1$. The method is based on the construction of a sequence of continuous splines of degree 3. Another subdivision method, based on constructing a sequence of splines of degree 5 which are once differentiable, yields a function which is $C^2$ if the data are not 'too irregular'. Finally the approximation properties of the methods are investigated

Computation of sum of squares polynomials from data points

We propose an iterative algorithm for the numerical computation of sums of squares of polynomials approximating given data at prescribed interpolation points. The method is based on the definition of a convex functional $G$ arising from the dualization of a quadratic regression over the Cholesky factors of the sum of squares decomposition. In order to justify the construction, the domain of $G$, the boundary of the domain and the behavior at infinity are analyzed in details. When the data interpolate a positive univariate polynomial, we show that in the context of the Lukacs sum of squares representation, $G$ is coercive and strictly convex which yields a unique critical point and a corresponding decomposition in sum of squares. For multivariate polynomials which admit a decomposition in sum of squares and up to a small perturbation of size $\varepsilon$, $G^\varepsilon$ is always coercive and so it minimum yields an approximate decomposition in sum of squares. Various unconstrained descent algorithms are proposed to minimize $G$. Numerical examples are provided, for univariate and bivariate polynomials

Semi-Streaming Algorithms for Annotated Graph Streams

Considerable effort has been devoted to the development of streaming algorithms for analyzing massive graphs. Unfortunately, many results have been negative, establishing that a wide variety of problems require $\Omega(n^2)$ space to solve. One of the few bright spots has been the development of semi-streaming algorithms for a handful of graph problems -- these algorithms use space $O(n\cdot\text{polylog}(n))$. In the annotated data streaming model of Chakrabarti et al., a computationally limited client wants to compute some property of a massive input, but lacks the resources to store even a small fraction of the input, and hence cannot perform the desired computation locally. The client therefore accesses a powerful but untrusted service provider, who not only performs the requested computation, but also proves that the answer is correct. We put forth the notion of semi-streaming algorithms for annotated graph streams (semi-streaming annotation schemes for short). These are protocols in which both the client's space usage and the length of the proof are $O(n \cdot \text{polylog}(n))$. We give evidence that semi-streaming annotation schemes represent a substantially more robust solution concept than does the standard semi-streaming model. On the positive side, we give semi-streaming annotation schemes for two dynamic graph problems that are intractable in the standard model: (exactly) counting triangles, and (exactly) computing maximum matchings. The former scheme answers a question of Cormode. On the negative side, we identify for the first time two natural graph problems (connectivity and bipartiteness in a certain edge update model) that can be solved in the standard semi-streaming model, but cannot be solved by annotation schemes of "sub-semi-streaming" cost. That is, these problems are just as hard in the annotations model as they are in the standard model.Comment: This update includes some additional discussion of the results proven. The result on counting triangles was previously included in an ECCC technical report by Chakrabarti et al. available at http://eccc.hpi-web.de/report/2013/180/. That report has been superseded by this manuscript, and the CCC 2015 paper "Verifiable Stream Computation and Arthur-Merlin Communication" by Chakrabarti et a

An Elimination Method for Solving Bivariate Polynomial Systems: Eliminating the Usual Drawbacks

We present an exact and complete algorithm to isolate the real solutions of a zero-dimensional bivariate polynomial system. The proposed algorithm constitutes an elimination method which improves upon existing approaches in a number of points. First, the amount of purely symbolic operations is significantly reduced, that is, only resultant computation and square-free factorization is still needed. Second, our algorithm neither assumes generic position of the input system nor demands for any change of the coordinate system. The latter is due to a novel inclusion predicate to certify that a certain region is isolating for a solution. Our implementation exploits graphics hardware to expedite the resultant computation. Furthermore, we integrate a number of filtering techniques to improve the overall performance. Efficiency of the proposed method is proven by a comparison of our implementation with two state-of-the-art implementations, that is, LPG and Maple's isolate. For a series of challenging benchmark instances, experiments show that our implementation outperforms both contestants.Comment: 16 pages with appendix, 1 figure, submitted to ALENEX 201

Lower Bounds on Quantum Query Complexity

Shor's and Grover's famous quantum algorithms for factoring and searching show that quantum computers can solve certain computational problems significantly faster than any classical computer. We discuss here what quantum computers_cannot_ do, and specifically how to prove limits on their computational power. We cover the main known techniques for proving lower bounds, and exemplify and compare the methods.Comment: survey, 23 page