23,742 research outputs found
Counting hypergraph matchings up to uniqueness threshold
We study the problem of approximately counting matchings in hypergraphs of
bounded maximum degree and maximum size of hyperedges. With an activity
parameter , each matching is assigned a weight .
The counting problem is formulated as computing a partition function that gives
the sum of the weights of all matchings in a hypergraph. This problem unifies
two extensively studied statistical physics models in approximate counting: the
hardcore model (graph independent sets) and the monomer-dimer model (graph
matchings).
For this model, the critical activity
is the threshold for the uniqueness of Gibbs measures on the infinite
-uniform -regular hypertree. Consider hypergraphs of maximum
degree at most and maximum size of hyperedges at most . We show that
when , there is an FPTAS for computing the partition
function; and when , there is a PTAS for computing the
log-partition function. These algorithms are based on the decay of correlation
(strong spatial mixing) property of Gibbs distributions. When , there is no PRAS for the partition function or the log-partition
function unless NPRP.
Towards obtaining a sharp transition of computational complexity of
approximate counting, we study the local convergence from a sequence of finite
hypergraphs to the infinite lattice with specified symmetry. We show a
surprising connection between the local convergence and the reversibility of a
natural random walk. This leads us to a barrier for the hardness result: The
non-uniqueness of infinite Gibbs measure is not realizable by any finite
gadgets
The complexity of approximately counting in 2-spin systems on -uniform bounded-degree hypergraphs
One of the most important recent developments in the complexity of
approximate counting is the classification of the complexity of approximating
the partition functions of antiferromagnetic 2-spin systems on bounded-degree
graphs. This classification is based on a beautiful connection to the so-called
uniqueness phase transition from statistical physics on the infinite
-regular tree. Our objective is to study the impact of this
classification on unweighted 2-spin models on -uniform hypergraphs. As has
already been indicated by Yin and Zhao, the connection between the uniqueness
phase transition and the complexity of approximate counting breaks down in the
hypergraph setting. Nevertheless, we show that for every non-trivial symmetric
-ary Boolean function there exists a degree bound so that for
all the following problem is NP-hard: given a
-uniform hypergraph with maximum degree at most , approximate the
partition function of the hypergraph 2-spin model associated with . It is
NP-hard to approximate this partition function even within an exponential
factor. By contrast, if is a trivial symmetric Boolean function (e.g., any
function that is excluded from our result), then the partition function of
the corresponding hypergraph 2-spin model can be computed exactly in polynomial
time
Correlation Decay up to Uniqueness in Spin Systems
We give a complete characterization of the two-state anti-ferromagnetic spin
systems which are of strong spatial mixing on general graphs. We show that a
two-state anti-ferromagnetic spin system is of strong spatial mixing on all
graphs of maximum degree at most \Delta if and only if the system has a unique
Gibbs measure on infinite regular trees of degree up to \Delta, where \Delta
can be either bounded or unbounded. As a consequence, there exists an FPTAS for
the partition function of a two-state anti-ferromagnetic spin system on graphs
of maximum degree at most \Delta when the uniqueness condition is satisfied on
infinite regular trees of degree up to \Delta. In particular, an FPTAS exists
for arbitrary graphs if the uniqueness is satisfied on all infinite regular
trees. This covers as special cases all previous algorithmic results for
two-state anti-ferromagnetic systems on general-structure graphs.
Combining with the FPRAS for two-state ferromagnetic spin systems of
Jerrum-Sinclair and Goldberg-Jerrum-Paterson, and the very recent hardness
results of Sly-Sun and independently of Galanis-Stefankovic-Vigoda, this gives
a complete classification, except at the phase transition boundary, of the
approximability of all two-state spin systems, on either degree-bounded
families of graphs or family of all graphs.Comment: 27 pages, submitted for publicatio
Inapproximability of the Partition Function for the Antiferromagnetic Ising and Hard-Core Models
Recent inapproximability results of Sly (2010), together with an
approximation algorithm presented by Weitz (2006) establish a beautiful picture
for the computational complexity of approximating the partition function of the
hard-core model. Let denote the critical activity for the
hard-model on the infinite -regular tree. Weitz presented an FPTAS for
the partition function when for graphs with
constant maximum degree . In contrast, Sly showed that for all
, there exists such that (unless RP=NP) there
is no FPRAS for approximating the partition function on graphs of maximum
degree for activities satisfying
.
We prove that a similar phenomenon holds for the antiferromagnetic Ising
model. Recent results of Li et al. and Sinclair et al. extend Weitz's approach
to any 2-spin model, which includes the antiferromagnetic Ising model, to yield
an FPTAS for the partition function for all graphs of constant maximum degree
when the parameters of the model lie in the uniqueness regime of the
infinite tree . We prove the complementary result that for the
antiferrogmanetic Ising model without external field that, unless RP=NP, for
all , there is no FPRAS for approximating the partition function
on graphs of maximum degree when the inverse temperature lies in the
non-uniqueness regime of the infinite tree . Our results extend to a
region of the parameter space for general 2-spin models. Our proof works by
relating certain second moment calculations for random -regular
bipartite graphs to the tree recursions used to establish the critical points
on the infinite tree.Comment: Journal version (no changes
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