6,566 research outputs found
The relation between tree size complexity and probability for Boolean functions generated by uniform random trees
We consider a probability distribution on the set of Boolean functions in n
variables which is induced by random Boolean expressions. Such an expression is
a random rooted plane tree where the internal vertices are labelled with
connectives And and OR and the leaves are labelled with variables or negated
variables. We study limiting distribution when the tree size tends to infinity
and derive a relation between the tree size complexity and the probability of a
function. This is done by first expressing trees representing a particular
function as expansions of minimal trees representing this function and then
computing the probabilities by means of combinatorial counting arguments
relying on generating functions and singularity analysis
Generalised and Quotient Models for Random And/Or Trees and Application to Satisfiability
This article is motivated by the following satisfiability question: pick
uniformly at random an and/or Boolean expression of length n, built on a set of
k_n Boolean variables. What is the probability that this expression is
satisfiable? asymptotically when n tends to infinity?
The model of random Boolean expressions developed in the present paper is the
model of Boolean Catalan trees, already extensively studied in the literature
for a constant sequence (k_n)_{n\geq 1}. The fundamental breakthrough of this
paper is to generalise the previous results to any (reasonable) sequence of
integers (k_n)_{n\geq 1}, which enables us, in particular, to solve the above
satisfiability question.
We also analyse the effect of introducing a natural equivalence relation on
the set of Boolean expressions. This new "quotient" model happens to exhibit a
very interesting threshold (or saturation) phenomenon at k_n = n/ln n.Comment: Long version of arXiv:1304.561
Computational core and fixed-point organisation in Boolean networks
In this paper, we analyse large random Boolean networks in terms of a
constraint satisfaction problem. We first develop an algorithmic scheme which
allows to prune simple logical cascades and under-determined variables,
returning thereby the computational core of the network. Second we apply the
cavity method to analyse number and organisation of fixed points. We find in
particular a phase transition between an easy and a complex regulatory phase,
the latter one being characterised by the existence of an exponential number of
macroscopically separated fixed-point clusters. The different techniques
developed are reinterpreted as algorithms for the analysis of single Boolean
networks, and they are applied to analysis and in silico experiments on the
gene-regulatory networks of baker's yeast (saccaromices cerevisiae) and the
segment-polarity genes of the fruit-fly drosophila melanogaster.Comment: 29 pages, 18 figures, version accepted for publication in JSTA
The intersection of two halfspaces has high threshold degree
The threshold degree of a Boolean function f:{0,1}^n->{-1,+1} is the least
degree of a real polynomial p such that f(x)=sgn p(x). We construct two
halfspaces on {0,1}^n whose intersection has threshold degree Theta(sqrt n), an
exponential improvement on previous lower bounds. This solves an open problem
due to Klivans (2002) and rules out the use of perceptron-based techniques for
PAC learning the intersection of two halfspaces, a central unresolved challenge
in computational learning. We also prove that the intersection of two majority
functions has threshold degree Omega(log n), which is tight and settles a
conjecture of O'Donnell and Servedio (2003).
Our proof consists of two parts. First, we show that for any nonconstant
Boolean functions f and g, the intersection f(x)^g(y) has threshold degree O(d)
if and only if ||f-F||_infty + ||g-G||_infty < 1 for some rational functions F,
G of degree O(d). Second, we settle the least degree required for approximating
a halfspace and a majority function to any given accuracy by rational
functions.
Our technique further allows us to make progress on Aaronson's challenge
(2008) and contribute strong direct product theorems for polynomial
representations of composed Boolean functions of the form F(f_1,...,f_n). In
particular, we give an improved lower bound on the approximate degree of the
AND-OR tree.Comment: Full version of the FOCS'09 pape
Applying Formal Methods to Networking: Theory, Techniques and Applications
Despite its great importance, modern network infrastructure is remarkable for
the lack of rigor in its engineering. The Internet which began as a research
experiment was never designed to handle the users and applications it hosts
today. The lack of formalization of the Internet architecture meant limited
abstractions and modularity, especially for the control and management planes,
thus requiring for every new need a new protocol built from scratch. This led
to an unwieldy ossified Internet architecture resistant to any attempts at
formal verification, and an Internet culture where expediency and pragmatism
are favored over formal correctness. Fortunately, recent work in the space of
clean slate Internet design---especially, the software defined networking (SDN)
paradigm---offers the Internet community another chance to develop the right
kind of architecture and abstractions. This has also led to a great resurgence
in interest of applying formal methods to specification, verification, and
synthesis of networking protocols and applications. In this paper, we present a
self-contained tutorial of the formidable amount of work that has been done in
formal methods, and present a survey of its applications to networking.Comment: 30 pages, submitted to IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorial
The Mathematical Universe
I explore physics implications of the External Reality Hypothesis (ERH) that
there exists an external physical reality completely independent of us humans.
I argue that with a sufficiently broad definition of mathematics, it implies
the Mathematical Universe Hypothesis (MUH) that our physical world is an
abstract mathematical structure. I discuss various implications of the ERH and
MUH, ranging from standard physics topics like symmetries, irreducible
representations, units, free parameters, randomness and initial conditions to
broader issues like consciousness, parallel universes and Godel incompleteness.
I hypothesize that only computable and decidable (in Godel's sense) structures
exist, which alleviates the cosmological measure problem and help explain why
our physical laws appear so simple. I also comment on the intimate relation
between mathematical structures, computations, simulations and physical
systems.Comment: Replaced to match accepted Found. Phys. version, 31 pages, 5 figs;
more details at http://space.mit.edu/home/tegmark/toe.htm
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