10 research outputs found
Geometrical organization of solutions to random linear Boolean equations
The random XORSAT problem deals with large random linear systems of Boolean
variables. The difficulty of such problems is controlled by the ratio of number
of equations to number of variables. It is known that in some range of values
of this parameter, the space of solutions breaks into many disconnected
clusters. Here we study precisely the corresponding geometrical organization.
In particular, the distribution of distances between these clusters is computed
by the cavity method. This allows to study the `x-satisfiability' threshold,
the critical density of equations where there exist two solutions at a given
distance.Comment: 20 page
Random subcubes as a toy model for constraint satisfaction problems
We present an exactly solvable random-subcube model inspired by the structure
of hard constraint satisfaction and optimization problems. Our model reproduces
the structure of the solution space of the random k-satisfiability and
k-coloring problems, and undergoes the same phase transitions as these
problems. The comparison becomes quantitative in the large-k limit. Distance
properties, as well the x-satisfiability threshold, are studied. The model is
also generalized to define a continuous energy landscape useful for studying
several aspects of glassy dynamics.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figure
Ground-state configuration space heterogeneity of random finite-connectivity spin glasses and random constraint satisfaction problems
We demonstrate through two case studies, one on the p-spin interaction model
and the other on the random K-satisfiability problem, that a heterogeneity
transition occurs to the ground-state configuration space of a random
finite-connectivity spin glass system at certain critical value of the
constraint density. At the transition point, exponentially many configuration
communities emerge from the ground-state configuration space, making the
entropy density s(q) of configuration-pairs a non-concave function of
configuration-pair overlap q. Each configuration community is a collection of
relatively similar configurations and it forms a stable thermodynamic phase in
the presence of a suitable external field. We calculate s(q) by the
replica-symmetric and the first-step replica-symmetry-broken cavity methods,
and show by simulations that the configuration space heterogeneity leads to
dynamical heterogeneity of particle diffusion processes because of the entropic
trapping effect of configuration communities. This work clarifies the fine
structure of the ground-state configuration space of random spin glass models,
it also sheds light on the glassy behavior of hard-sphere colloidal systems at
relatively high particle volume fraction.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Journal of Statistical Mechanic
Pairs of SAT Assignment in Random Boolean Formulae
We investigate geometrical properties of the random K-satisfiability problem
using the notion of x-satisfiability: a formula is x-satisfiable if there exist
two SAT assignments differing in Nx variables. We show the existence of a sharp
threshold for this property as a function of the clause density. For large
enough K, we prove that there exists a region of clause density, below the
satisfiability threshold, where the landscape of Hamming distances between SAT
assignments experiences a gap: pairs of SAT-assignments exist at small x, and
around x=1/2, but they donot exist at intermediate values of x. This result is
consistent with the clustering scenario which is at the heart of the recent
heuristic analysis of satisfiability using statistical physics analysis (the
cavity method), and its algorithmic counterpart (the survey propagation
algorithm). The method uses elementary probabilistic arguments (first and
second moment methods), and might be useful in other problems of computational
and physical interest where similar phenomena appear
Entropy landscape of solutions in the binary perceptron problem
The statistical picture of the solution space for a binary perceptron is
studied. The binary perceptron learns a random classification of input random
patterns by a set of binary synaptic weights. The learning of this network is
difficult especially when the pattern (constraint) density is close to the
capacity, which is supposed to be intimately related to the structure of the
solution space. The geometrical organization is elucidated by the entropy
landscape from a reference configuration and of solution-pairs separated by a
given Hamming distance in the solution space. We evaluate the entropy at the
annealed level as well as replica symmetric level and the mean field result is
confirmed by the numerical simulations on single instances using the proposed
message passing algorithms. From the first landscape (a random configuration as
a reference), we see clearly how the solution space shrinks as more constraints
are added. From the second landscape of solution-pairs, we deduce the
coexistence of clustering and freezing in the solution space.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, version accepted by Journal of Physics A:
Mathematical and Theoretica
Statistical Physics of Hard Optimization Problems
Optimization is fundamental in many areas of science, from computer science
and information theory to engineering and statistical physics, as well as to
biology or social sciences. It typically involves a large number of variables
and a cost function depending on these variables. Optimization problems in the
NP-complete class are particularly difficult, it is believed that the number of
operations required to minimize the cost function is in the most difficult
cases exponential in the system size. However, even in an NP-complete problem
the practically arising instances might, in fact, be easy to solve. The
principal question we address in this thesis is: How to recognize if an
NP-complete constraint satisfaction problem is typically hard and what are the
main reasons for this? We adopt approaches from the statistical physics of
disordered systems, in particular the cavity method developed originally to
describe glassy systems. We describe new properties of the space of solutions
in two of the most studied constraint satisfaction problems - random
satisfiability and random graph coloring. We suggest a relation between the
existence of the so-called frozen variables and the algorithmic hardness of a
problem. Based on these insights, we introduce a new class of problems which we
named "locked" constraint satisfaction, where the statistical description is
easily solvable, but from the algorithmic point of view they are even more
challenging than the canonical satisfiability.Comment: PhD thesi