266,534 research outputs found
Limit Synchronization in Markov Decision Processes
Markov decision processes (MDP) are finite-state systems with both strategic
and probabilistic choices. After fixing a strategy, an MDP produces a sequence
of probability distributions over states. The sequence is eventually
synchronizing if the probability mass accumulates in a single state, possibly
in the limit. Precisely, for 0 <= p <= 1 the sequence is p-synchronizing if a
probability distribution in the sequence assigns probability at least p to some
state, and we distinguish three synchronization modes: (i) sure winning if
there exists a strategy that produces a 1-synchronizing sequence; (ii)
almost-sure winning if there exists a strategy that produces a sequence that
is, for all epsilon > 0, a (1-epsilon)-synchronizing sequence; (iii) limit-sure
winning if for all epsilon > 0, there exists a strategy that produces a
(1-epsilon)-synchronizing sequence.
We consider the problem of deciding whether an MDP is sure, almost-sure,
limit-sure winning, and we establish the decidability and optimal complexity
for all modes, as well as the memory requirements for winning strategies. Our
main contributions are as follows: (a) for each winning modes we present
characterizations that give a PSPACE complexity for the decision problems, and
we establish matching PSPACE lower bounds; (b) we show that for sure winning
strategies, exponential memory is sufficient and may be necessary, and that in
general infinite memory is necessary for almost-sure winning, and unbounded
memory is necessary for limit-sure winning; (c) along with our results, we
establish new complexity results for alternating finite automata over a
one-letter alphabet
Improved Bounds for 3SUM, -SUM, and Linear Degeneracy
Given a set of real numbers, the 3SUM problem is to decide whether there
are three of them that sum to zero. Until a recent breakthrough by Gr{\o}nlund
and Pettie [FOCS'14], a simple -time deterministic algorithm for
this problem was conjectured to be optimal. Over the years many algorithmic
problems have been shown to be reducible from the 3SUM problem or its variants,
including the more generalized forms of the problem, such as -SUM and
-variate linear degeneracy testing (-LDT). The conjectured hardness of
these problems have become extremely popular for basing conditional lower
bounds for numerous algorithmic problems in P.
In this paper, we show that the randomized -linear decision tree
complexity of 3SUM is , and that the randomized -linear
decision tree complexity of -SUM and -LDT is , for any odd
. These bounds improve (albeit randomized) the corresponding
and decision tree bounds
obtained by Gr{\o}nlund and Pettie. Our technique includes a specialized
randomized variant of fractional cascading data structure. Additionally, we
give another deterministic algorithm for 3SUM that runs in time. The latter bound matches a recent independent bound by Freund
[Algorithmica 2017], but our algorithm is somewhat simpler, due to a better use
of word-RAM model
An Information-Theoretic Analysis of Thompson Sampling
We provide an information-theoretic analysis of Thompson sampling that
applies across a broad range of online optimization problems in which a
decision-maker must learn from partial feedback. This analysis inherits the
simplicity and elegance of information theory and leads to regret bounds that
scale with the entropy of the optimal-action distribution. This strengthens
preexisting results and yields new insight into how information improves
performance
Non-Local Probes Do Not Help with Graph Problems
This work bridges the gap between distributed and centralised models of
computing in the context of sublinear-time graph algorithms. A priori, typical
centralised models of computing (e.g., parallel decision trees or centralised
local algorithms) seem to be much more powerful than distributed
message-passing algorithms: centralised algorithms can directly probe any part
of the input, while in distributed algorithms nodes can only communicate with
their immediate neighbours. We show that for a large class of graph problems,
this extra freedom does not help centralised algorithms at all: for example,
efficient stateless deterministic centralised local algorithms can be simulated
with efficient distributed message-passing algorithms. In particular, this
enables us to transfer existing lower bound results from distributed algorithms
to centralised local algorithms
Threesomes, Degenerates, and Love Triangles
The 3SUM problem is to decide, given a set of real numbers, whether any
three sum to zero. It is widely conjectured that a trivial -time
algorithm is optimal and over the years the consequences of this conjecture
have been revealed. This 3SUM conjecture implies lower bounds on
numerous problems in computational geometry and a variant of the conjecture
implies strong lower bounds on triangle enumeration, dynamic graph algorithms,
and string matching data structures.
In this paper we refute the 3SUM conjecture. We prove that the decision tree
complexity of 3SUM is and give two subquadratic 3SUM
algorithms, a deterministic one running in
time and a randomized one running in time with
high probability. Our results lead directly to improved bounds for -variate
linear degeneracy testing for all odd . The problem is to decide, given
a linear function and a set , whether . We show the
decision tree complexity of this problem is .
Finally, we give a subcubic algorithm for a generalization of the
-product over real-valued matrices and apply it to the problem of
finding zero-weight triangles in weighted graphs. We give a
depth- decision tree for this problem, as well as an
algorithm running in time
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