Inapproximability of the Standard Pebble Game and Hard to Pebble Graphs

Pebble games are single-player games on DAGs involving placing and moving pebbles on nodes of the graph according to a certain set of rules. The goal is to pebble a set of target nodes using a minimum number of pebbles. In this paper, we present a possibly simpler proof of the result in [CLNV15] and strengthen the result to show that it is PSPACE-hard to determine the minimum number of pebbles to an additive $n^{1/3-\epsilon}$ term for all $\epsilon > 0$, which improves upon the currently known additive constant hardness of approximation [CLNV15] in the standard pebble game. We also introduce a family of explicit, constant indegree graphs with $n$ nodes where there exists a graph in the family such that using constant $k$ pebbles requires $\Omega(n^k)$ moves to pebble in both the standard and black-white pebble games. This independently answers an open question summarized in [Nor15] of whether a family of DAGs exists that meets the upper bound of $O(n^k)$ moves using constant $k$ pebbles with a different construction than that presented in [AdRNV17].Comment: Preliminary version in WADS 201

Phase Transition in Matched Formulas and a Heuristic for Biclique Satisfiability

A matched formula is a CNF formula whose incidence graph admits a matching which matches a distinct variable to every clause. We study phase transition in a context of matched formulas and their generalization of biclique satisfiable formulas. We have performed experiments to find a phase transition of property "being matched" with respect to the ratio $m/n$ where $m$ is the number of clauses and $n$ is the number of variables of the input formula $\varphi$. We compare the results of experiments to a theoretical lower bound which was shown by Franco and Gelder (2003). Any matched formula is satisfiable, moreover, it remains satisfiable even if we change polarities of any literal occurrences. Szeider (2005) generalized matched formulas into two classes having the same property -- var-satisfiable and biclique satisfiable formulas. A formula is biclique satisfiable if its incidence graph admits covering by pairwise disjoint bounded bicliques. Recognizing if a formula is biclique satisfiable is NP-complete. In this paper we describe a heuristic algorithm for recognizing whether a formula is biclique satisfiable and we evaluate it by experiments on random formulas. We also describe an encoding of the problem of checking whether a formula is biclique satisfiable into SAT and we use it to evaluate the performance of our heuristicComment: Conference version submitted to SOFSEM 2018 (https://beda.dcs.fmph.uniba.sk/sofsem2019/) 18 pages(17 without refernces), 3 figures, 8 tables, an algorithm pseudocod

Fully Dynamic Matching in Bipartite Graphs

Maximum cardinality matching in bipartite graphs is an important and well-studied problem. The fully dynamic version, in which edges are inserted and deleted over time has also been the subject of much attention. Existing algorithms for dynamic matching (in general graphs) seem to fall into two groups: there are fast (mostly randomized) algorithms that do not achieve a better than 2-approximation, and there slow algorithms with \O(\sqrt{m}) update time that achieve a better-than-2 approximation. Thus the obvious question is whether we can design an algorithm -- deterministic or randomized -- that achieves a tradeoff between these two: a $o(\sqrt{m})$ approximation and a better-than-2 approximation simultaneously. We answer this question in the affirmative for bipartite graphs. Our main result is a fully dynamic algorithm that maintains a 3/2 + \eps approximation in worst-case update time O(m^{1/4}\eps^{/2.5}). We also give stronger results for graphs whose arboricity is at most \al, achieving a (1+ \eps) approximation in worst-case time O(\al (\al + \log n)) for constant \eps. When the arboricity is constant, this bound is $O(\log n)$ and when the arboricity is polylogarithmic the update time is also polylogarithmic. The most important technical developement is the use of an intermediate graph we call an edge degree constrained subgraph (EDCS). This graph places constraints on the sum of the degrees of the endpoints of each edge: upper bounds for matched edges and lower bounds for unmatched edges. The main technical content of our paper involves showing both how to maintain an EDCS dynamically and that and EDCS always contains a sufficiently large matching. We also make use of graph orientations to help bound the amount of work done during each update.Comment: Longer version of paper that appears in ICALP 201

Testing the Equivalence of Regular Languages

The minimal deterministic finite automaton is generally used to determine regular languages equality. Antimirov and Mosses proposed a rewrite system for deciding regular expressions equivalence of which Almeida et al. presented an improved variant. Hopcroft and Karp proposed an almost linear algorithm for testing the equivalence of two deterministic finite automata that avoids minimisation. In this paper we improve the best-case running time, present an extension of this algorithm to non-deterministic finite automata, and establish a relationship between this algorithm and the one proposed in Almeida et al. We also present some experimental comparative results. All these algorithms are closely related with the recent coalgebraic approach to automata proposed by Rutten

Maximal Sharing in the Lambda Calculus with letrec

Increasing sharing in programs is desirable to compactify the code, and to avoid duplication of reduction work at run-time, thereby speeding up execution. We show how a maximal degree of sharing can be obtained for programs expressed as terms in the lambda calculus with letrec. We introduce a notion of `maximal compactness' for lambda-letrec-terms among all terms with the same infinite unfolding. Instead of defined purely syntactically, this notion is based on a graph semantics. lambda-letrec-terms are interpreted as first-order term graphs so that unfolding equivalence between terms is preserved and reflected through bisimilarity of the term graph interpretations. Compactness of the term graphs can then be compared via functional bisimulation. We describe practical and efficient methods for the following two problems: transforming a lambda-letrec-term into a maximally compact form; and deciding whether two lambda-letrec-terms are unfolding-equivalent. The transformation of a lambda-letrec-term $L$ into maximally compact form $L_0$ proceeds in three steps: (i) translate L into its term graph $G = [[ L ]]$; (ii) compute the maximally shared form of $G$ as its bisimulation collapse $G_0$; (iii) read back a lambda-letrec-term $L_0$ from the term graph $G_0$ with the property $[[ L_0 ]] = G_0$. This guarantees that $L_0$ and $L$ have the same unfolding, and that $L_0$ exhibits maximal sharing. The procedure for deciding whether two given lambda-letrec-terms $L_1$ and $L_2$ are unfolding-equivalent computes their term graph interpretations $[[ L_1 ]]$ and $[[ L_2 ]]$, and checks whether these term graphs are bisimilar. For illustration, we also provide a readily usable implementation.Comment: 18 pages, plus 19 pages appendi

Checking NFA equivalence with bisimulations up to congruence

16pInternational audienceWe introduce bisimulation up to congruence as a technique for proving language equivalence of non-deterministic finite automata. Exploiting this technique, we devise an optimisation of the classical algorithm by Hopcroft and Karp. We compare our algorithm to the recently introduced antichain algorithms, by analysing and relating the two underlying coinductive proof methods. We give concrete examples where we exponentially improve over antichains; experimental results moreover show non negligible improvements on random automata

The finite tiling problem is undecidable in the hyperbolic plane

In this paper, we consider the finite tiling problem which was proved undecidable in the Euclidean plane by Jarkko Kari in 1994. Here, we prove that the same problem for the hyperbolic plane is also undecidable

Applications of Automata and Graphs: Labeling-Operators in Hilbert Space I

We show that certain representations of graphs by operators on Hilbert space have uses in signal processing and in symbolic dynamics. Our main result is that graphs built on automata have fractal characteristics. We make this precise with the use of Representation Theory and of Spectral Theory of a certain family of Hecke operators. Let G be a directed graph. We begin by building the graph groupoid G induced by G, and representations of G. Our main application is to the groupoids defined from automata. By assigning weights to the edges of a fixed graph G, we give conditions for G to acquire fractal-like properties, and hence we can have fractaloids or G-fractals. Our standing assumption on G is that it is locally finite and connected, and our labeling of G is determined by the "out-degrees of vertices". From our labeling, we arrive at a family of Hecke-type operators whose spectrum is computed. As applications, we are able to build representations by operators on Hilbert spaces (including the Hecke operators); and we further show that automata built on a finite alphabet generate fractaloids. Our Hecke-type operators, or labeling operators, come from an amalgamated free probability construction, and we compute the corresponding amalgamated free moments. We show that the free moments are completely determined by certain scalar-valued functions.Comment: 69 page

Inverse monoids and immersions of 2-complexes

It is well known that under mild conditions on a connected topological space $\mathcal X$, connected covers of $\mathcal X$ may be classified via conjugacy classes of subgroups of the fundamental group of $\mathcal X$. In this paper, we extend these results to the study of immersions into 2-dimensional CW-complexes. An immersion $f : {\mathcal D} \rightarrow \mathcal C$ between CW-complexes is a cellular map such that each point $y \in {\mathcal D}$ has a neighborhood $U$ that is mapped homeomorphically onto $f(U)$ by $f$. In order to classify immersions into a 2-dimensional CW-complex $\mathcal C$, we need to replace the fundamental group of $\mathcal C$ by an appropriate inverse monoid. We show how conjugacy classes of the closed inverse submonoids of this inverse monoid may be used to classify connected immersions into the complex