481 research outputs found
The complexity of weighted boolean #CSP*
This paper gives a dichotomy theorem for the complexity of computing the partition
function of an instance of a weighted Boolean constraint satisfaction problem. The problem
is parameterized by a finite set F of nonnegative functions that may be used to assign weights to
the configurations (feasible solutions) of a problem instance. Classical constraint satisfaction problems
correspond to the special case of 0,1-valued functions. We show that computing the partition
function, i.e., the sum of the weights of all configurations, is FP#P-complete unless either (1) every
function in F is of “product type,” or (2) every function in F is “pure affine.” In the remaining cases,
computing the partition function is in P
The complexity of approximating conservative counting CSPs
We study the complexity of approximately solving the weighted counting
constraint satisfaction problem #CSP(F). In the conservative case, where F
contains all unary functions, there is a classification known for the case in
which the domain of functions in F is Boolean. In this paper, we give a
classification for the more general problem where functions in F have an
arbitrary finite domain. We define the notions of weak log-modularity and weak
log-supermodularity. We show that if F is weakly log-modular, then #CSP(F)is in
FP. Otherwise, it is at least as difficult to approximate as #BIS, the problem
of counting independent sets in bipartite graphs. #BIS is complete with respect
to approximation-preserving reductions for a logically-defined complexity class
#RHPi1, and is believed to be intractable. We further sub-divide the #BIS-hard
case. If F is weakly log-supermodular, then we show that #CSP(F) is as easy as
a (Boolean) log-supermodular weighted #CSP. Otherwise, we show that it is
NP-hard to approximate. Finally, we give a full trichotomy for the arity-2
case, where #CSP(F) is in FP, or is #BIS-equivalent, or is equivalent in
difficulty to #SAT, the problem of approximately counting the satisfying
assignments of a Boolean formula in conjunctive normal form. We also discuss
the algorithmic aspects of our classification.Comment: Minor revisio
A Dichotomy Theorem for the Approximate Counting of Complex-Weighted Bounded-Degree Boolean CSPs
We determine the computational complexity of approximately counting the total
weight of variable assignments for every complex-weighted Boolean constraint
satisfaction problem (or CSP) with any number of additional unary (i.e., arity
1) constraints, particularly, when degrees of input instances are bounded from
above by a fixed constant. All degree-1 counting CSPs are obviously solvable in
polynomial time. When the instance's degree is more than two, we present a
dichotomy theorem that classifies all counting CSPs admitting free unary
constraints into exactly two categories. This classification theorem extends,
to complex-weighted problems, an earlier result on the approximation complexity
of unweighted counting Boolean CSPs of bounded degree. The framework of the
proof of our theorem is based on a theory of signature developed from Valiant's
holographic algorithms that can efficiently solve seemingly intractable
counting CSPs. Despite the use of arbitrary complex weight, our proof of the
classification theorem is rather elementary and intuitive due to an extensive
use of a novel notion of limited T-constructibility. For the remaining degree-2
problems, in contrast, they are as hard to approximate as Holant problems,
which are a generalization of counting CSPs.Comment: A4, 10pt, 20 pages. This revised version improves its preliminary
version published under a slightly different title in the Proceedings of the
4th International Conference on Combinatorial Optimization and Applications
(COCOA 2010), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer, Vol.6508 (Part I),
pp.285--299, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, USA, December 18--20, 201
Approximation Complexity of Complex-Weighted Degree-Two Counting Constraint Satisfaction Problems
Constraint satisfaction problems have been studied in numerous fields with
practical and theoretical interests. In recent years, major breakthroughs have
been made in a study of counting constraint satisfaction problems (or #CSPs).
In particular, a computational complexity classification of bounded-degree
#CSPs has been discovered for all degrees except for two, where the "degree" of
an input instance is the maximal number of times that each input variable
appears in a given set of constraints. Despite the efforts of recent studies,
however, a complexity classification of degree-2 #CSPs has eluded from our
understandings. This paper challenges this open problem and gives its partial
solution by applying two novel proof techniques--T_{2}-constructibility and
parametrized symmetrization--which are specifically designed to handle
"arbitrary" constraints under randomized approximation-preserving reductions.
We partition entire constraints into four sets and we classify the
approximation complexity of all degree-2 #CSPs whose constraints are drawn from
two of the four sets into two categories: problems computable in
polynomial-time or problems that are at least as hard as #SAT. Our proof
exploits a close relationship between complex-weighted degree-2 #CSPs and
Holant problems, which are a natural generalization of complex-weighted #CSPs.Comment: A4, 10pt, 23 pages. This is a complete version of the paper that
appeared in the Proceedings of the 17th Annual International Computing and
Combinatorics Conference (COCOON 2011), Lecture Notes in Computer Science,
vol.6842, pp.122-133, Dallas, Texas, USA, August 14-16, 201
Counting Constraint Satisfaction Problems
This chapter surveys counting Constraint Satisfaction Problems (counting CSPs, or #CSPs) and their computational complexity. It aims to provide an introduction to the main concepts and techniques, and present a representative selection of results and open problems. It does not cover holants, which are the subject of a separate chapter
Tractability in Constraint Satisfaction Problems: A Survey
International audienceEven though the Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) is NP-complete, many tractable classes of CSP instances have been identified. After discussing different forms and uses of tractability, we describe some landmark tractable classes and survey recent theoretical results. Although we concentrate on the classical CSP, we also cover its important extensions to infinite domains and optimisation, as well as #CSP and QCSP
Boolean approximate counting CSPs with weak conservativity, and implications for ferromagnetic two-spin
We analyse the complexity of approximate counting constraint satisfactions
problems , where is a set of
nonnegative rational-valued functions of Boolean variables. A complete
classification is known in the conservative case, where is
assumed to contain arbitrary unary functions. We strengthen this result by
fixing any permissive strictly increasing unary function and any permissive
strictly decreasing unary function, and adding only those to :
this is weak conservativity. The resulting classification is employed to
characterise the complexity of a wide range of two-spin problems, fully
classifying the ferromagnetic case. In a further weakening of conservativity,
we also consider what happens if only the pinning functions are assumed to be
in (instead of the two permissive unaries). We show that any set
of functions for which pinning is not sufficient to recover the two kinds of
permissive unaries must either have a very simple range, or must satisfy a
certain monotonicity condition. We exhibit a non-trivial example of a set of
functions satisfying the monotonicity condition.Comment: 37 page
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