Query-to-Communication Lifting for BPP

For any $n$-bit boolean function $f$, we show that the randomized communication complexity of the composed function $f\circ g^n$, where $g$ is an index gadget, is characterized by the randomized decision tree complexity of $f$. In particular, this means that many query complexity separations involving randomized models (e.g., classical vs. quantum) automatically imply analogous separations in communication complexity.Comment: 21 page

Separating Quantum Communication and Approximate Rank

One of the best lower bound methods for the quantum communication complexity of a function H (with or without shared entanglement) is the logarithm of the approximate rank of the communication matrix of H. This measure is essentially equivalent to the approximate gamma-2 norm and generalized discrepancy, and subsumes several other lower bounds. All known lower bounds on quantum communication complexity in the general unbounded-round model can be shown via the logarithm of approximate rank, and it was an open problem to give any separation at all between quantum communication complexity and the logarithm of the approximate rank. In this work we provide the first such separation: We exhibit a total function H with quantum communication complexity almost quadratically larger than the logarithm of its approximate rank. We construct H using the communication lookup function framework of Anshu et al. (FOCS 2016) based on the cheat sheet framework of Aaronson et al. (STOC 2016). From a starting function F, this framework defines a new function H=F_G. Our main technical result is a lower bound on the quantum communication complexity of F_G in terms of the discrepancy of F, which we do via quantum information theoretic arguments. We show the upper bound on the approximate rank of F_G by relating it to the Boolean circuit size of the starting function F

Randomized Query Complexity of Sabotaged and Composed Functions

We study the composition question for bounded-error randomized query complexity: Is R(f circ g) = Omega(R(f)R(g))? We show that inserting a simple function h, whose query complexity is onlyTheta(log R(g)), in between f and g allows us to prove R(f circ h circ g) = Omega(R(f)R(h)R(g)). We prove this using a new lower bound measure for randomized query complexity we call randomized sabotage complexity, RS(f). Randomized sabotage complexity has several desirable properties, such as a perfect composition theorem, RS(f circ g) >= RS(f) RS(g), and a composition theorem with randomized query complexity, R(f circ g) = Omega(R(f) RS(g)). It is also a quadratically tight lower bound for total functions and can be quadratically superior to the partition bound, the best known general lower bound for randomized query complexity. Using this technique we also show implications for lifting theorems in communication complexity. We show that a general lifting theorem from zero-error randomized query to communication complexity implies a similar result for bounded-error algorithms for all total functions