8,375 research outputs found
A recursive paradigm to solve Boolean relations
A Boolean relation can specify some types of flexibility of a combinational circuit that cannot be expressed with don't cares. Several problems in logic synthesis, such as Boolean decomposition or multilevel minimization, can be modeled with Boolean relations. However, solving Boolean relations is a computationally expensive task. This paper presents a novel recursive algorithm for solving Boolean relations. The algorithm has several features: efficiency, wide exploration of solutions, and customizable cost function. The experimental results show the applicability of the method in logic minimization problems and tangible improvements with regard to previous heuristic approaches
Dichotomy Results for Fixed-Point Existence Problems for Boolean Dynamical Systems
A complete classification of the computational complexity of the fixed-point
existence problem for boolean dynamical systems, i.e., finite discrete
dynamical systems over the domain {0, 1}, is presented. For function classes F
and graph classes G, an (F, G)-system is a boolean dynamical system such that
all local transition functions lie in F and the underlying graph lies in G. Let
F be a class of boolean functions which is closed under composition and let G
be a class of graphs which is closed under taking minors. The following
dichotomy theorems are shown: (1) If F contains the self-dual functions and G
contains the planar graphs then the fixed-point existence problem for (F,
G)-systems with local transition function given by truth-tables is NP-complete;
otherwise, it is decidable in polynomial time. (2) If F contains the self-dual
functions and G contains the graphs having vertex covers of size one then the
fixed-point existence problem for (F, G)-systems with local transition function
given by formulas or circuits is NP-complete; otherwise, it is decidable in
polynomial time.Comment: 17 pages; this version corrects an error/typo in the 2008/01/24
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NP-hardness of circuit minimization for multi-output functions
Can we design efficient algorithms for finding fast algorithms? This question is captured by various circuit minimization problems, and algorithms for the corresponding tasks have significant practical applications. Following the work of Cook and Levin in the early 1970s, a central question is whether minimizing the circuit size of an explicitly given function is NP-complete. While this is known to hold in restricted models such as DNFs, making progress with respect to more expressive classes of circuits has been elusive.
In this work, we establish the first NP-hardness result for circuit minimization of total functions in the setting of general (unrestricted) Boolean circuits. More precisely, we show that computing the minimum circuit size of a given multi-output Boolean function f : {0,1}^n ? {0,1}^m is NP-hard under many-one polynomial-time randomized reductions. Our argument builds on a simpler NP-hardness proof for the circuit minimization problem for (single-output) Boolean functions under an extended set of generators.
Complementing these results, we investigate the computational hardness of minimizing communication. We establish that several variants of this problem are NP-hard under deterministic reductions. In particular, unless ? = ??, no polynomial-time computable function can approximate the deterministic two-party communication complexity of a partial Boolean function up to a polynomial. This has consequences for the class of structural results that one might hope to show about the communication complexity of partial functions
SAT-Based Methods for Circuit Synthesis
Reactive synthesis supports designers by automatically constructing correct
hardware from declarative specifications. Synthesis algorithms usually compute
a strategy, and then construct a circuit that implements it. In this work, we
study SAT- and QBF-based methods for the second step, i.e., computing circuits
from strategies. This includes methods based on QBF-certification,
interpolation, and computational learning. We present optimizations, efficient
implementations, and experimental results for synthesis from safety
specifications, where we outperform BDDs both regarding execution time and
circuit size. This is an extended version of [2], with an additional appendix.Comment: Extended version of a paper at FMCAD'1
A Generic Model of Contracts for Embedded Systems
We present the mathematical foundations of the contract-based model developed
in the framework of the SPEEDS project. SPEEDS aims at developing methods and
tools to support "speculative design", a design methodology in which
distributed designers develop different aspects of the overall system, in a
concurrent but controlled way. Our generic mathematical model of contract
supports this style of development. This is achieved by focusing on behaviors,
by supporting the notion of "rich component" where diverse (functional and
non-functional) aspects of the system can be considered and combined, by
representing rich components via their set of associated contracts, and by
formalizing the whole process of component composition
Classical computing, quantum computing, and Shor's factoring algorithm
This is an expository talk written for the Bourbaki Seminar. After a brief
introduction, Section 1 discusses in the categorical language the structure of
the classical deterministic computations. Basic notions of complexity icluding
the P/NP problem are reviewed. Section 2 introduces the notion of quantum
parallelism and explains the main issues of quantum computing. Section 3 is
devoted to four quantum subroutines: initialization, quantum computing of
classical Boolean functions, quantum Fourier transform, and Grover's search
algorithm. The central Section 4 explains Shor's factoring algorithm. Section 5
relates Kolmogorov's complexity to the spectral properties of computable
function. Appendix contributes to the prehistory of quantum computing.Comment: 27 pp., no figures, amste
Cirquent calculus deepened
Cirquent calculus is a new proof-theoretic and semantic framework, whose main
distinguishing feature is being based on circuits, as opposed to the more
traditional approaches that deal with tree-like objects such as formulas or
sequents. Among its advantages are greater efficiency, flexibility and
expressiveness. This paper presents a detailed elaboration of a deep-inference
cirquent logic, which is naturally and inherently resource conscious. It shows
that classical logic, both syntactically and semantically, is just a special,
conservative fragment of this more general and, in a sense, more basic logic --
the logic of resources in the form of cirquent calculus. The reader will find
various arguments in favor of switching to the new framework, such as arguments
showing the insufficiency of the expressive power of linear logic or other
formula-based approaches to developing resource logics, exponential
improvements over the traditional approaches in both representational and proof
complexities offered by cirquent calculus, and more. Among the main purposes of
this paper is to provide an introductory-style starting point for what, as the
author wishes to hope, might have a chance to become a new line of research in
proof theory -- a proof theory based on circuits instead of formulas.Comment: Significant improvements over the previous version
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