253 research outputs found
Solving satisfiability problems by fluctuations: The dynamics of stochastic local search algorithms
Stochastic local search algorithms are frequently used to numerically solve
hard combinatorial optimization or decision problems. We give numerical and
approximate analytical descriptions of the dynamics of such algorithms applied
to random satisfiability problems. We find two different dynamical regimes,
depending on the number of constraints per variable: For low constraintness,
the problems are solved efficiently, i.e. in linear time. For higher
constraintness, the solution times become exponential. We observe that the
dynamical behavior is characterized by a fast equilibration and fluctuations
around this equilibrium. If the algorithm runs long enough, an exponentially
rare fluctuation towards a solution appears.Comment: 21 pages, 18 figures, revised version, to app. in PRE (2003
Computational complexity arising from degree correlations in networks
We apply a Bethe-Peierls approach to statistical-mechanics models defined on
random networks of arbitrary degree distribution and arbitrary correlations
between the degrees of neighboring vertices. Using the NP-hard optimization
problem of finding minimal vertex covers on these graphs, we show that such
correlations may lead to a qualitatively different solution structure as
compared to uncorrelated networks. This results in a higher complexity of the
network in a computational sense: Simple heuristic algorithms fail to find a
minimal vertex cover in the highly correlated case, whereas uncorrelated
networks seem to be simple from the point of view of combinatorial
optimization.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, accepted in Phys. Rev.
Random Graph Coloring - a Statistical Physics Approach
The problem of vertex coloring in random graphs is studied using methods of
statistical physics and probability. Our analytical results are compared to
those obtained by exact enumeration and Monte-Carlo simulations. We critically
discuss the merits and shortcomings of the various methods, and interpret the
results obtained. We present an exact analytical expression for the 2-coloring
problem as well as general replica symmetric approximated solutions for the
thermodynamics of the graph coloring problem with p colors and K-body edges.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figure
A discrete model of water with two distinct glassy phases
We investigate a minimal model for non-crystalline water, defined on a Husimi
lattice. The peculiar random-regular nature of the lattice is meant to account
for the formation of a random 4-coordinated hydrogen-bond network. The model
turns out to be consistent with most thermodynamic anomalies observed in liquid
and supercooled-liquid water. Furthermore, the model exhibits two glassy phases
with different densities, which can coexist at a first-order transition. The
onset of a complex free-energy landscape, characterized by an exponentially
large number of metastable minima, is pointed out by the cavity method, at the
level of 1-step replica symmetry breaking.Comment: expanded version: 6 pages, 7 figure
Simplest random K-satisfiability problem
We study a simple and exactly solvable model for the generation of random
satisfiability problems. These consist of random boolean constraints
which are to be satisfied simultaneously by logical variables. In
statistical-mechanics language, the considered model can be seen as a diluted
p-spin model at zero temperature. While such problems become extraordinarily
hard to solve by local search methods in a large region of the parameter space,
still at least one solution may be superimposed by construction. The
statistical properties of the model can be studied exactly by the replica
method and each single instance can be analyzed in polynomial time by a simple
global solution method. The geometrical/topological structures responsible for
dynamic and static phase transitions as well as for the onset of computational
complexity in local search method are thoroughly analyzed. Numerical analysis
on very large samples allows for a precise characterization of the critical
scaling behaviour.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. E (Feb 2001). v2: minor
errors and references correcte
Coloring random graphs
We study the graph coloring problem over random graphs of finite average
connectivity . Given a number of available colors, we find that graphs
with low connectivity admit almost always a proper coloring whereas graphs with
high connectivity are uncolorable. Depending on , we find the precise value
of the critical average connectivity . Moreover, we show that below
there exist a clustering phase in which ground states
spontaneously divide into an exponential number of clusters and where the
proliferation of metastable states is responsible for the onset of complexity
in local search algorithms.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, version to app. in PR
Inference algorithms for gene networks: a statistical mechanics analysis
The inference of gene regulatory networks from high throughput gene
expression data is one of the major challenges in systems biology. This paper
aims at analysing and comparing two different algorithmic approaches. The first
approach uses pairwise correlations between regulated and regulating genes; the
second one uses message-passing techniques for inferring activating and
inhibiting regulatory interactions. The performance of these two algorithms can
be analysed theoretically on well-defined test sets, using tools from the
statistical physics of disordered systems like the replica method. We find that
the second algorithm outperforms the first one since it takes into account
collective effects of multiple regulators
Cavity Approach to the Random Solid State
The cavity approach is used to address the physical properties of random
solids in equilibrium. Particular attention is paid to the fraction of
localized particles and the distribution of localization lengths characterizing
their thermal motion. This approach is of relevance to a wide class of random
solids, including rubbery media (formed via the vulcanization of polymer
fluids) and chemical gels (formed by the random covalent bonding of fluids of
atoms or small molecules). The cavity approach confirms results that have been
obtained previously via replica mean-field theory, doing so in a way that sheds
new light on their physical origin.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Glassy behavior induced by geometrical frustration in a hard-core lattice gas model
We introduce a hard-core lattice-gas model on generalized Bethe lattices and
investigate analytically and numerically its compaction behavior. If
compactified slowly, the system undergoes a first-order crystallization
transition. If compactified much faster, the system stays in a meta-stable
liquid state and undergoes a glass transition under further compaction. We show
that this behavior is induced by geometrical frustration which appears due to
the existence of short loops in the generalized Bethe lattices. We also compare
our results to numerical simulations of a three-dimensional analog of the
model.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, revised versio
Minimal vertex covers on finite-connectivity random graphs - a hard-sphere lattice-gas picture
The minimal vertex-cover (or maximal independent-set) problem is studied on
random graphs of finite connectivity. Analytical results are obtained by a
mapping to a lattice gas of hard spheres of (chemical) radius one, and they are
found to be in excellent agreement with numerical simulations. We give a
detailed description of the replica-symmetric phase, including the size and the
entropy of the minimal vertex covers, and the structure of the unfrozen
component which is found to percolate at connectivity . The
replica-symmetric solution breaks down at . We give a simple
one-step replica symmetry broken solution, and discuss the problems in
interpretation and generalization of this solution.Comment: 32 pages, 9 eps figures, to app. in PRE (01 May 2001
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