Distributed Edge Connectivity in Sublinear Time

We present the first sublinear-time algorithm for a distributed message-passing network sto compute its edge connectivity $\lambda$ exactly in the CONGEST model, as long as there are no parallel edges. Our algorithm takes $\tilde O(n^{1-1/353}D^{1/353}+n^{1-1/706})$ time to compute $\lambda$ and a cut of cardinality $\lambda$ with high probability, where $n$ and $D$ are the number of nodes and the diameter of the network, respectively, and $\tilde O$ hides polylogarithmic factors. This running time is sublinear in $n$ (i.e. $\tilde O(n^{1-\epsilon})$) whenever $D$ is. Previous sublinear-time distributed algorithms can solve this problem either (i) exactly only when $\lambda=O(n^{1/8-\epsilon})$ [Thurimella PODC'95; Pritchard, Thurimella, ACM Trans. Algorithms'11; Nanongkai, Su, DISC'14] or (ii) approximately [Ghaffari, Kuhn, DISC'13; Nanongkai, Su, DISC'14]. To achieve this we develop and combine several new techniques. First, we design the first distributed algorithm that can compute a $k$-edge connectivity certificate for any $k=O(n^{1-\epsilon})$ in time $\tilde O(\sqrt{nk}+D)$. Second, we show that by combining the recent distributed expander decomposition technique of [Chang, Pettie, Zhang, SODA'19] with techniques from the sequential deterministic edge connectivity algorithm of [Kawarabayashi, Thorup, STOC'15], we can decompose the network into a sublinear number of clusters with small average diameter and without any mincut separating a cluster (except the `trivial' ones). Finally, by extending the tree packing technique from [Karger STOC'96], we can find the minimum cut in time proportional to the number of components. As a byproduct of this technique, we obtain an $\tilde O(n)$-time algorithm for computing exact minimum cut for weighted graphs.Comment: Accepted at 51st ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing (STOC 2019

The Communication Complexity of Set Intersection and Multiple Equality Testing

In this paper we explore fundamental problems in randomized communication complexity such as computing Set Intersection on sets of size $k$ and Equality Testing between vectors of length $k$. Sa\u{g}lam and Tardos and Brody et al. showed that for these types of problems, one can achieve optimal communication volume of $O(k)$ bits, with a randomized protocol that takes $O(\log^* k)$ rounds. Aside from rounds and communication volume, there is a \emph{third} parameter of interest, namely the \emph{error probability} $p_{\mathrm{err}}$. It is straightforward to show that protocols for Set Intersection or Equality Testing need to send $\Omega(k + \log p_{\mathrm{err}}^{-1})$ bits. Is it possible to simultaneously achieve optimality in all three parameters, namely $O(k + \log p_{\mathrm{err}}^{-1})$ communication and $O(\log^* k)$ rounds? In this paper we prove that there is no universally optimal algorithm, and complement the existing round-communication tradeoffs with a new tradeoff between rounds, communication, and probability of error. In particular: 1. Any protocol for solving Multiple Equality Testing in $r$ rounds with failure probability $2^{-E}$ has communication volume $\Omega(Ek^{1/r})$. 2. There exists a protocol for solving Multiple Equality Testing in $r + \log^*(k/E)$ rounds with $O(k + rEk^{1/r})$ communication, thereby essentially matching our lower bound and that of Sa\u{g}lam and Tardos. Our original motivation for considering $p_{\mathrm{err}}$ as an independent parameter came from the problem of enumerating triangles in distributed ($\textsf{CONGEST}$) networks having maximum degree $\Delta$. We prove that this problem can be solved in $O(\Delta/\log n + \log\log \Delta)$ time with high probability $1-1/\operatorname{poly}(n)$.Comment: 44 page

Locality of Distributed Graph Problems

Locality is one of the central themes in distributed computing. Suppose in a network each node only has direct communication with its local neighbors, how efficiently can a global task be solved? We aim to investigate the locality of fundamental distributed graph problems. Toward this goal, we consider the following three basic abstract models of distributed computing. • LOCAL: each device has direct communication links with its neighbors, there is no message size constraint. • CONGEST: each device has direct communication links with its neighbors, the size of each message is at most O(log n) bits. • CONGESTED-CLIQUE: each device has direct communication links with all other devices, the size of each message is at most O(log n) bits. A brief summary of our results is as follows. 1. Complexity Theory for the LOCAL Model: We study the spectrum of natural problem complexities that can exist in the LOCAL model. We provide answers to the following fundamental questions regarding the nature of the LOCAL model: (i) How to classify the distributed problems according to their complexities? (ii) How much does randomness help? (iii) Can we solve more problems given more time? 2. Complexity of Distributed Coloring: The coloring problem is a classical and well-studied problem in distributed computing. We devise distributed algorithms for the edge-coloring problem and the vertex-coloring problem in the LOCAL model that improve upon the previous state of the art. 3. Bandwidth Constraint: We develop a new framework for algorithm design based on expander decompositions that allows us to apply CONGESTED-CLIQUE techniques to the CONGEST model. Using this approach, we provide improved algorithms for the triangle detection and enumeration problem in CONGEST.PHDComputer Science & EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149872/1/cyijun_1.pd

Efficient Algorithms for Large Scale Network Problems

In recent years, the growing scale of data has renewed our understanding of what is an efficient algorithm and poses many essential challenges for the algorithm designers. This thesis aims to improve our understanding of many algorithmic problems in this context. These include problems in communication complexity, matching theory, and approximate query processing for database systems. We first study the fundamental and well-known question of {SetIntersection} in communication complexity. We give a result that incorporates the error probability as an independent parameter into the classical trade-off between round complexity and communication complexity. We show that any $r$-round protocol that errs with error probability $2^{-E}$ requires $Omega(Ek^{1/r})$ bits of communication. We also give several almost matching upper bounds. In matching theory, we first study several generalizations of the ordinary matching problem, namely the $f$-matching and $f$-edge cover problem. We also consider the problem of computing a minimum weight perfect matching in a metric space with moderate expansion. We give almost linear time approximation algorithms for all these problems. Finally, we study the sample-based join problem in approximate query processing. We present a result that improves our understanding of the effectiveness and limitations in using sampling to approximate join queries and provides a guideline for practitioners in building AQP systems from a theory perspective.PHDComputer Science & EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155263/1/hdawei_1.pd