20 research outputs found
An Approximation Algorithm for #k-SAT
We present a simple randomized algorithm that approximates the number of
satisfying assignments of Boolean formulas in conjunctive normal form. To the
best of our knowledge this is the first algorithm which approximates #k-SAT for
any k >= 3 within a running time that is not only non-trivial, but also
significantly better than that of the currently fastest exact algorithms for
the problem. More precisely, our algorithm is a randomized approximation scheme
whose running time depends polynomially on the error tolerance and is mildly
exponential in the number n of variables of the input formula. For example,
even stipulating sub-exponentially small error tolerance, the number of
solutions to 3-CNF input formulas can be approximated in time O(1.5366^n). For
4-CNF input the bound increases to O(1.6155^n).
We further show how to obtain upper and lower bounds on the number of
solutions to a CNF formula in a controllable way. Relaxing the requirements on
the quality of the approximation, on k-CNF input we obtain significantly
reduced running times in comparison to the above bounds
Computing hypergraph width measures exactly
Hypergraph width measures are a class of hypergraph invariants important in
studying the complexity of constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs). We present
a general exact exponential algorithm for a large variety of these measures. A
connection between these and tree decompositions is established. This enables
us to almost seamlessly adapt the combinatorial and algorithmic results known
for tree decompositions of graphs to the case of hypergraphs and obtain fast
exact algorithms.
As a consequence, we provide algorithms which, given a hypergraph H on n
vertices and m hyperedges, compute the generalized hypertree-width of H in time
O*(2^n) and compute the fractional hypertree-width of H in time
O(m*1.734601^n).Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur
A complexity dichotomy for partition functions with mixed signs
Partition functions, also known as homomorphism functions, form a rich family
of graph invariants that contain combinatorial invariants such as the number of
k-colourings or the number of independent sets of a graph and also the
partition functions of certain "spin glass" models of statistical physics such
as the Ising model.
Building on earlier work by Dyer, Greenhill and Bulatov, Grohe, we completely
classify the computational complexity of partition functions. Our main result
is a dichotomy theorem stating that every partition function is either
computable in polynomial time or #P-complete. Partition functions are described
by symmetric matrices with real entries, and we prove that it is decidable in
polynomial time in terms of the matrix whether a given partition function is in
polynomial time or #P-complete.
While in general it is very complicated to give an explicit algebraic or
combinatorial description of the tractable cases, for partition functions
described by a Hadamard matrices -- these turn out to be central in our proofs
-- we obtain a simple algebraic tractability criterion, which says that the
tractable cases are those "representable" by a quadratic polynomial over the
field GF(2)
An approximation algorithm for #k-SAT
"Vegeu el resum a l'inici del document del fitxer adjunt"
Computing hypergraph width measures exactly
Hypergraph width measures are a class of hypergraph invariants important in studying the complexity of constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs). We present a general exact exponential algorithm for a large variety of these measures. A connection between these and tree decompositions is established. This enables us to almost seamlessly adapt the combinatorial and algorithmic results known for tree decompositions of graphs to the case of hypergraphs and obtain fast exact algorithms. As a consequence, we provide algorithms which, given a hypergraph H on n vertices and m hyperedges, compute the generalized hypertree-width of H in time O*(2n) and compute the fractional hypertree-width of H in time O(1.734601n.m).
Approximation algorithms for two-state anti-ferromagnetic spin systems on bounded degree graphs
In a seminal paper [10], Weitz gave a deterministic fully polynomial approximation scheme for counting exponentially weighted independent sets (which is the same as approximating the partition function of the hard-core model from statistical physics) in graphs of degree at most d, up to the critical activity for the uniqueness of the Gibbs measure on the in nite d-regular tree. More recently Sly [8] (see also [1]) showed that this is optimal in the sense that if there is an FPRAS for the hard-core partition function on graphs of maximum degree d for activities larger than the critical activity on the in nite d-regular tree then NP = RP. In this paper we extend Weitz's approach to derive a deterministic fully polynomial approximation scheme for the partition function of general two-state anti-ferromagnetic spin systems on graphs of maximum degree d, up to the corresponding critical point on the d-regular tree. The main ingredient of our result is a proof that for two-state anti-ferromagnetic spin systems on the d-regular tree, weak spatial mixing implies strong spatial mixing. This in turn uses a message-decay argument which extends a similar approach proposed recently for the hard-core model by Restrepo et al [7] to the case of general two-state anti-ferromagnetic spin systems
Fine-Grained Reductions from Approximate Counting to Decision
In this paper, we introduce a general framework for fine-grained reductions
of approximate counting problems to their decision versions. (Thus we use an
oracle that decides whether any witness exists to multiplicatively approximate
the number of witnesses with minimal overhead.) This mirrors a foundational
result of Sipser (STOC 1983) and Stockmeyer (SICOMP 1985) in the
polynomial-time setting, and a similar result of M\"uller (IWPEC 2006) in the
FPT setting. Using our framework, we obtain such reductions for some of the
most important problems in fine-grained complexity: the Orthogonal Vectors
problem, 3SUM, and the Negative-Weight Triangle problem (which is closely
related to All-Pairs Shortest Path).
We also provide a fine-grained reduction from approximate #SAT to SAT.
Suppose the Strong Exponential Time Hypothesis (SETH) is false, so that for
some and all there is an -time algorithm for k-SAT. Then we
prove that for all , there is an -time algorithm for
approximate #-SAT. In particular, our result implies that the Exponential
Time Hypothesis (ETH) is equivalent to the seemingly-weaker statement that
there is no algorithm to approximate #3-SAT to within a factor of
in time (taking as part of the input).Comment: An extended abstract was presented at STOC 201
Three Modern Roles for Logic in AI
We consider three modern roles for logic in artificial intelligence, which
are based on the theory of tractable Boolean circuits: (1) logic as a basis for
computation, (2) logic for learning from a combination of data and knowledge,
and (3) logic for reasoning about the behavior of machine learning systems.Comment: To be published in PODS 202