Complexity of Unordered CNF Games

The classic TQBF problem is to determine who has a winning strategy in a game played on a given CNF formula, where the two players alternate turns picking truth values for the variables in a given order, and the winner is determined by whether the CNF gets satisfied. We study variants of this game in which the variables may be played in any order, and each turn consists of picking a remaining variable and a truth value for it. - For the version where the set of variables is partitioned into two halves and each player may only pick variables from his/her half, we prove that the problem is PSPACE-complete for 5-CNFs and in P for 2-CNFs. Previously, it was known to be PSPACE-complete for unbounded-width CNFs (Schaefer, STOC 1976). - For the general unordered version (where each variable can be picked by either player), we also prove that the problem is PSPACE-complete for 5-CNFs and in P for 2-CNFs. Previously, it was known to be PSPACE-complete for 6-CNFs (Ahlroth and Orponen, MFCS 2012) and PSPACE-complete for positive 11-CNFs (Schaefer, STOC 1976)

6-Uniform Maker-Breaker Game Is PSPACE-Complete

In a STOC 1976 paper, Schaefer proved that it is PSPACE-complete to determine the winner of the so-called Maker-Breaker game on a given set system, even when every set has size at most 11. Since then, there has been no improvement on this result. We prove that the game remains PSPACE-complete even when every set has size 6

The Model-Theoretic Expressiveness of Propositional Proof Systems

We establish new, and surprisingly tight, connections between propositional proof complexity and finite model theory. Specifically, we show that the power of several propositional proof systems, such as Horn resolution, bounded width resolution, and the polynomial calculus of bounded degree, can be characterised in a precise sense by variants of fixed-point logics that are of fundamental importance in descriptive complexity theory. Our main results are that Horn resolution has the same expressive power as least fixed-point logic, that bounded width resolution captures existential least fixed-point logic, and that the (monomial restriction of the) polynomial calculus of bounded degree solves precisely the problems definable in fixed-point logic with counting

A Finite-Model-Theoretic View on Propositional Proof Complexity

We establish new, and surprisingly tight, connections between propositional proof complexity and finite model theory. Specifically, we show that the power of several propositional proof systems, such as Horn resolution, bounded-width resolution, and the polynomial calculus of bounded degree, can be characterised in a precise sense by variants of fixed-point logics that are of fundamental importance in descriptive complexity theory. Our main results are that Horn resolution has the same expressive power as least fixed-point logic, that bounded-width resolution captures existential least fixed-point logic, and that the polynomial calculus with bounded degree over the rationals solves precisely the problems definable in fixed-point logic with counting. By exploring these connections further, we establish finite-model-theoretic tools for proving lower bounds for the polynomial calculus over the rationals and over finite fields

Star Games and Hydras

The recursive path ordering is an established and crucial tool in term rewriting to prove termination. We revisit its presentation by means of some simple rules on trees (or corresponding terms) equipped with a 'star' as control symbol, signifying a command to make that tree (or term) smaller in the order being defined. This leads to star games that are very convenient for proving termination of many rewriting tasks. For instance, using already the simplest star game on finite unlabeled trees, we obtain a very direct proof of termination of the famous Hydra battle, direct in the sense that there is not the usual mention of ordinals. We also include an alternative road to setting up the star games, using a proof method of Buchholz, adapted by van Oostrom, resulting in a quantitative version of the star as control symbol. We conclude with a number of questions and future research directions

Constraint Satisfaction Techniques for Combinatorial Problems

The last two decades have seen extraordinary advances in tools and techniques for constraint satisfaction. These advances have in turn created great interest in their industrial applications. As a result, tools and techniques are often tailored to meet the needs of industrial applications out of the box. We claim that in the case of abstract combinatorial problems in discrete mathematics, the standard tools and techniques require special considerations in order to be applied effectively. The main objective of this thesis is to help researchers in discrete mathematics weave through the landscape of constraint satisfaction techniques in order to pick the right tool for the job. We consider constraint satisfaction paradigms like satisfiability of Boolean formulas and answer set programming, and techniques like symmetry breaking. Our contributions range from theoretical results to practical issues regarding tool applications to combinatorial problems. We prove search-versus-decision complexity results for problems about backbones and backdoors of Boolean formulas. We consider applications of constraint satisfaction techniques to problems in graph arrowing (specifically in Ramsey and Folkman theory) and computational social choice. Our contributions show how applying constraint satisfaction techniques to abstract combinatorial problems poses additional challenges. We show how these challenges can be addressed. Additionally, we consider the issue of trusting the results of applying constraint satisfaction techniques to combinatorial problems by relying on verified computations

Approximating the partition function of the ferromagnetic Potts model

We provide evidence that it is computationally difficult to approximate the partition function of the ferromagnetic q-state Potts model when q>2. Specifically we show that the partition function is hard for the complexity class #RHPi_1 under approximation-preserving reducibility. Thus, it is as hard to approximate the partition function as it is to find approximate solutions to a wide range of counting problems, including that of determining the number of independent sets in a bipartite graph. Our proof exploits the first order phase transition of the "random cluster" model, which is a probability distribution on graphs that is closely related to the q-state Potts model.Comment: Minor correction

The power of linear programming for general-valued CSPs

Let $D$, called the domain, be a fixed finite set and let $\Gamma$, called the valued constraint language, be a fixed set of functions of the form $f:D^m\to\mathbb{Q}\cup\{\infty\}$, where different functions might have different arity $m$. We study the valued constraint satisfaction problem parametrised by $\Gamma$, denoted by VCSP$(\Gamma)$. These are minimisation problems given by $n$ variables and the objective function given by a sum of functions from $\Gamma$, each depending on a subset of the $n$ variables. Finite-valued constraint languages contain functions that take on only rational values and not infinite values. Our main result is a precise algebraic characterisation of valued constraint languages whose instances can be solved exactly by the basic linear programming relaxation (BLP). For a valued constraint language $\Gamma$, BLP is a decision procedure for $\Gamma$ if and only if $\Gamma$ admits a symmetric fractional polymorphism of every arity. For a finite-valued constraint language $\Gamma$, BLP is a decision procedure if and only if $\Gamma$ admits a symmetric fractional polymorphism of some arity, or equivalently, if $\Gamma$ admits a symmetric fractional polymorphism of arity 2. Using these results, we obtain tractability of several novel classes of problems, including problems over valued constraint languages that are: (1) submodular on arbitrary lattices; (2) $k$-submodular on arbitrary finite domains; (3) weakly (and hence strongly) tree-submodular on arbitrary trees.Comment: A full version of a FOCS'12 paper by the last two authors (arXiv:1204.1079) and an ICALP'13 paper by the first author (arXiv:1207.7213) to appear in SIAM Journal on Computing (SICOMP

Solving the General Case of Rank-3 Maker-Breaker Games in Polynomial Time

A rank-3 Maker-Breaker game is played on a hypergraph in which all hyperedges are sets of at most 3 vertices. The two players of the game, called Maker and Breaker, move alternately. On his turn, maker chooses a vertex to be withdrawn from all hyperedges, while Breaker on her turn chooses a vertex and delete all the hyperedges containing that vertex. Maker wins when by the end of his turn some hyperedge is completely covered, i.e. the last remaining vertex of that hyperedge is withdrawn. Breaker wins when by the end of her turn, all hyperedges have been deleted. Solving a Maker-Breaker game is the computational problem of choosing an optimal move, or equivalently, deciding which player has a winning strategy in a configuration. The complexity of solving two degenerate cases of rank-3 games has been proven before to be polynomial. In this paper, we show that the general case of rank-3 Maker-Breaker games is also solvable in polynomial time

Adventures in Monotone Complexity and TFNP

Separations: We introduce a monotone variant of Xor-Sat and show it has exponential monotone circuit complexity. Since Xor-Sat is in NC^2, this improves qualitatively on the monotone vs. non-monotone separation of Tardos (1988). We also show that monotone span programs over R can be exponentially more powerful than over finite fields. These results can be interpreted as separating subclasses of TFNP in communication complexity. Characterizations: We show that the communication (resp. query) analogue of PPA (subclass of TFNP) captures span programs over F_2 (resp. Nullstellensatz degree over F_2). Previously, it was known that communication FP captures formulas (Karchmer - Wigderson, 1988) and that communication PLS captures circuits (Razborov, 1995)