Adventures in Monotone Complexity and TFNP

Separations: We introduce a monotone variant of Xor-Sat and show it has exponential monotone circuit complexity. Since Xor-Sat is in NC^2, this improves qualitatively on the monotone vs. non-monotone separation of Tardos (1988). We also show that monotone span programs over R can be exponentially more powerful than over finite fields. These results can be interpreted as separating subclasses of TFNP in communication complexity. Characterizations: We show that the communication (resp. query) analogue of PPA (subclass of TFNP) captures span programs over F_2 (resp. Nullstellensatz degree over F_2). Previously, it was known that communication FP captures formulas (Karchmer - Wigderson, 1988) and that communication PLS captures circuits (Razborov, 1995)

Tools and Algorithms for the Construction and Analysis of Systems

This open access book constitutes the proceedings of the 28th International Conference on Tools and Algorithms for the Construction and Analysis of Systems, TACAS 2022, which was held during April 2-7, 2022, in Munich, Germany, as part of the European Joint Conferences on Theory and Practice of Software, ETAPS 2022. The 46 full papers and 4 short papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 159 submissions. The proceedings also contain 16 tool papers of the affiliated competition SV-Comp and 1 paper consisting of the competition report. TACAS is a forum for researchers, developers, and users interested in rigorously based tools and algorithms for the construction and analysis of systems. The conference aims to bridge the gaps between different communities with this common interest and to support them in their quest to improve the utility, reliability, exibility, and efficiency of tools and algorithms for building computer-controlled systems

“Superheroines” -- A Translation of Barbi Marković\u27s Novel Superheldinnen

This Honors Thesis is a translation of the German novel Superheldinnen by Barbi Marković (2016) into English, entitled “Superheroines”. In the global world we live in today, it is important for authors to be able to write in their language of choice but also reach a wider audience through translation. Literary translation is a perfect way to engage creatively with different languages and their unique linguistic features, as well as facilitate cross-cultural communication, as literary works are not only concerned with linguistic creativity but also reflect the culture of their respective linguistic community. Since this novel has not yet been translated into English, this work serves to promote cross-cultural communication and cultural understanding by sharing a German literary work with the English-speaking world. This novel offers a unique view of the immigrant experience, as the characters explain the anxieties and difficulties they face while living in a different country, including language barriers, alienation, and economic hardship. These topics are especially important in the world we live in today, as immigrants around the world face similar struggles. It is important to share these stories to inspire hope and empathy in readers, and to facilitate cultural exchange and understanding