Symmetric matrices related to the Mertens function

In this paper we explore a family of congruences over $\N^\ast$ from which one builds a sequence of symmetric matrices related to the Mertens function. From the results of numerical experiments, we formulate a conjecture about the growth of the quadratic norm of these matrices, which implies the Riemann hypothesis. This suggests that matrix analysis methods may come to play a more important role in this classical and difficult problem.Comment: Version submitted to LAA; some new reference

The Complexity of Simultaneous Geometric Graph Embedding

Given a collection of planar graphs $G_1,\dots,G_k$ on the same set $V$ of $n$ vertices, the simultaneous geometric embedding (with mapping) problem, or simply $k$-SGE, is to find a set $P$ of $n$ points in the plane and a bijection $\phi: V \to P$ such that the induced straight-line drawings of $G_1,\dots,G_k$ under $\phi$ are all plane. This problem is polynomial-time equivalent to weak rectilinear realizability of abstract topological graphs, which Kyn\v{c}l (doi:10.1007/s00454-010-9320-x) proved to be complete for $\exists\mathbb{R}$, the existential theory of the reals. Hence the problem $k$-SGE is polynomial-time equivalent to several other problems in computational geometry, such as recognizing intersection graphs of line segments or finding the rectilinear crossing number of a graph. We give an elementary reduction from the pseudoline stretchability problem to $k$-SGE, with the property that both numbers $k$ and $n$ are linear in the number of pseudolines. This implies not only the $\exists\mathbb{R}$-hardness result, but also a $2^{2^{\Omega (n)}}$ lower bound on the minimum size of a grid on which any such simultaneous embedding can be drawn. This bound is tight. Hence there exists such collections of graphs that can be simultaneously embedded, but every simultaneous drawing requires an exponential number of bits per coordinates. The best value that can be extracted from Kyn\v{c}l's proof is only $2^{2^{\Omega (\sqrt{n})}}$

On Universal Point Sets for Planar Graphs

A set P of points in R^2 is n-universal, if every planar graph on n vertices admits a plane straight-line embedding on P. Answering a question by Kobourov, we show that there is no n-universal point set of size n, for any n>=15. Conversely, we use a computer program to show that there exist universal point sets for all n<=10 and to enumerate all corresponding order types. Finally, we describe a collection G of 7'393 planar graphs on 35 vertices that do not admit a simultaneous geometric embedding without mapping, that is, no set of 35 points in the plane supports a plane straight-line embedding of all graphs in G.Comment: Fixed incorrect numbers of universal point sets in the last par

Information-theoretic lower bounds for quantum sorting

We analyze the quantum query complexity of sorting under partial information. In this problem, we are given a partially ordered set $P$ and are asked to identify a linear extension of $P$ using pairwise comparisons. For the standard sorting problem, in which $P$ is empty, it is known that the quantum query complexity is not asymptotically smaller than the classical information-theoretic lower bound. We prove that this holds for a wide class of partially ordered sets, thereby improving on a result from Yao (STOC'04)

Solving kk-SUM using few linear queries

The $k$-SUM problem is given $n$ input real numbers to determine whether any $k$ of them sum to zero. The problem is of tremendous importance in the emerging field of complexity theory within $P$, and it is in particular open whether it admits an algorithm of complexity $O(n^c)$ with $c<\lceil \frac{k}{2} \rceil$. Inspired by an algorithm due to Meiser (1993), we show that there exist linear decision trees and algebraic computation trees of depth $O(n^3\log^3 n)$ solving $k$-SUM. Furthermore, we show that there exists a randomized algorithm that runs in $\tilde{O}(n^{\lceil \frac{k}{2} \rceil+8})$ time, and performs $O(n^3\log^3 n)$ linear queries on the input. Thus, we show that it is possible to have an algorithm with a runtime almost identical (up to the $+8$) to the best known algorithm but for the first time also with the number of queries on the input a polynomial that is independent of $k$. The $O(n^3\log^3 n)$ bound on the number of linear queries is also a tighter bound than any known algorithm solving $k$-SUM, even allowing unlimited total time outside of the queries. By simultaneously achieving few queries to the input without significantly sacrificing runtime vis-\`{a}-vis known algorithms, we deepen the understanding of this canonical problem which is a cornerstone of complexity-within-$P$. We also consider a range of tradeoffs between the number of terms involved in the queries and the depth of the decision tree. In particular, we prove that there exist $o(n)$-linear decision trees of depth $o(n^4)$

The Clique Problem in Ray Intersection Graphs

Ray intersection graphs are intersection graphs of rays, or halflines, in the plane. We show that any planar graph has an even subdivision whose complement is a ray intersection graph. The construction can be done in polynomial time and implies that finding a maximum clique in a segment intersection graph is NP-hard. This solves a 21-year old open problem posed by Kratochv\'il and Ne\v{s}et\v{r}il.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

Minimum Entropy Orientations

We study graph orientations that minimize the entropy of the in-degree sequence. The problem of finding such an orientation is an interesting special case of the minimum entropy set cover problem previously studied by Halperin and Karp [Theoret. Comput. Sci., 2005] and by the current authors [Algorithmica, to appear]. We prove that the minimum entropy orientation problem is NP-hard even if the graph is planar, and that there exists a simple linear-time algorithm that returns an approximate solution with an additive error guarantee of 1 bit. This improves on the only previously known algorithm which has an additive error guarantee of log_2 e bits (approx. 1.4427 bits).Comment: Referees' comments incorporate

Ramsey-type theorems for lines in 3-space

We prove geometric Ramsey-type statements on collections of lines in 3-space. These statements give guarantees on the size of a clique or an independent set in (hyper)graphs induced by incidence relations between lines, points, and reguli in 3-space. Among other things, we prove that: (1) The intersection graph of n lines in R^3 has a clique or independent set of size Omega(n^{1/3}). (2) Every set of n lines in R^3 has a subset of n^{1/2} lines that are all stabbed by one line, or a subset of Omega((n/log n)^{1/5}) such that no 6-subset is stabbed by one line. (3) Every set of n lines in general position in R^3 has a subset of Omega(n^{2/3}) lines that all lie on a regulus, or a subset of Omega(n^{1/3}) lines such that no 4-subset is contained in a regulus. The proofs of these statements all follow from geometric incidence bounds -- such as the Guth-Katz bound on point-line incidences in R^3 -- combined with Tur\'an-type results on independent sets in sparse graphs and hypergraphs. Although similar Ramsey-type statements can be proved using existing generic algebraic frameworks, the lower bounds we get are much larger than what can be obtained with these methods. The proofs directly yield polynomial-time algorithms for finding subsets of the claimed size.Comment: 18 pages including appendi