Randomness and Completeness in Computational Complexity
Randomness and Completeness in Computational Complexity

Author: Dieter van Melkebeek

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2003-06-29

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 3540445455

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This book contains a revised version of the dissertation the author wrote at the Department of Computer Science of the University of Chicago. The thesis was submitted to the Faculty of Physical Sciences in conformity with the requirements for the PhD degree in June 1999. It was honored with the 1999 ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award in May 2000. Summary Computational complexity is the study of the inherent di culty of compu- tional problems and the power of the tools we may use to solve them. It aims to describe how many resources we need to compute the solution as a function of the problem size. Typical resources include time on sequential and parallel architectures and memory space. As we want to abstract away from details of input representation and speci cs of the computer model, we end up with classes of problems that we can solve within certain robust resource bounds such as polynomial time, parallel logarithmic time, and logarithmic space. Research in complexity theory boils down to determining the relationships between these classes { inclusions and separations. In this dissertation, we focus on the role of randomness and look at various properties of hard problems in order to obtain separations. We also investigate the power of nondeterminism and alternation, as well as space versus time issues. Randomness provides a resource that seems to help in various situations.

Computational Complexity
Computational Complexity

Author: Sanjeev Arora

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2009-04-20

Total Pages: 609

ISBN-13: 0521424267

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New and classical results in computational complexity, including interactive proofs, PCP, derandomization, and quantum computation. Ideal for graduate students.

P, NP, and NP-Completeness
P, NP, and NP-Completeness

Author: Oded Goldreich

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2010-08-16

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 1139490095

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The focus of this book is the P versus NP Question and the theory of NP-completeness. It also provides adequate preliminaries regarding computational problems and computational models. The P versus NP Question asks whether or not finding solutions is harder than checking the correctness of solutions. An alternative formulation asks whether or not discovering proofs is harder than verifying their correctness. It is widely believed that the answer to these equivalent formulations is positive, and this is captured by saying that P is different from NP. Although the P versus NP Question remains unresolved, the theory of NP-completeness offers evidence for the intractability of specific problems in NP by showing that they are universal for the entire class. Amazingly enough, NP-complete problems exist, and furthermore hundreds of natural computational problems arising in many different areas of mathematics and science are NP-complete.

Kolmogorov Complexity and Algorithmic Randomness
Kolmogorov Complexity and Algorithmic Randomness

Author: A. Shen

Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.

Published: 2017-11-02

Total Pages: 534

ISBN-13: 1470431823

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Looking at a sequence of zeros and ones, we often feel that it is not random, that is, it is not plausible as an outcome of fair coin tossing. Why? The answer is provided by algorithmic information theory: because the sequence is compressible, that is, it has small complexity or, equivalently, can be produced by a short program. This idea, going back to Solomonoff, Kolmogorov, Chaitin, Levin, and others, is now the starting point of algorithmic information theory. The first part of this book is a textbook-style exposition of the basic notions of complexity and randomness; the second part covers some recent work done by participants of the “Kolmogorov seminar” in Moscow (started by Kolmogorov himself in the 1980s) and their colleagues. This book contains numerous exercises (embedded in the text) that will help readers to grasp the material.

Computational Complexity
Computational Complexity

Author: Oded Goldreich

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2008-04-28

Total Pages: 632

ISBN-13: 9780521884730

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This book offers a comprehensive perspective to modern topics in complexity theory, which is a central field of the theoretical foundations of computer science. It addresses the looming question of what can be achieved within a limited amount of time with or without other limited natural computational resources. Can be used as an introduction for advanced undergraduate and graduate students as either a textbook or for self-study, or to experts, since it provides expositions of the various sub-areas of complexity theory such as hardness amplification, pseudorandomness and probabilistic proof systems.

Pseudorandomness
Pseudorandomness

Author: Salil P. Vadhan

Publisher: Foundations and Trends(r) in T

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 9781601985941

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A survey of pseudorandomness, the theory of efficiently generating objects that look random despite being constructed using little or no randomness. This theory has significance for areas in computer science and mathematics, including computational complexity, algorithms, cryptography, combinatorics, communications, and additive number theory.

Computability and Randomness
Computability and Randomness

Author: André Nies

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2012-03-29

Total Pages: 450

ISBN-13: 0191627887

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The interplay between computability and randomness has been an active area of research in recent years, reflected by ample funding in the USA, numerous workshops, and publications on the subject. The complexity and the randomness aspect of a set of natural numbers are closely related. Traditionally, computability theory is concerned with the complexity aspect. However, computability theoretic tools can also be used to introduce mathematical counterparts for the intuitive notion of randomness of a set. Recent research shows that, conversely, concepts and methods originating from randomness enrich computability theory. The book covers topics such as lowness and highness properties, Kolmogorov complexity, betting strategies and higher computability. Both the basics and recent research results are desribed, providing a very readable introduction to the exciting interface of computability and randomness for graduates and researchers in computability theory, theoretical computer science, and measure theory.

Complexity and Real Computation
Complexity and Real Computation

Author: Lenore Blum

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 456

ISBN-13: 1461207010

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The classical theory of computation has its origins in the work of Goedel, Turing, Church, and Kleene and has been an extraordinarily successful framework for theoretical computer science. The thesis of this book, however, is that it provides an inadequate foundation for modern scientific computation where most of the algorithms are real number algorithms. The goal of this book is to develop a formal theory of computation which integrates major themes of the classical theory and which is more directly applicable to problems in mathematics, numerical analysis, and scientific computing. Along the way, the authors consider such fundamental problems as: * Is the Mandelbrot set decidable? * For simple quadratic maps, is the Julia set a halting set? * What is the real complexity of Newton's method? * Is there an algorithm for deciding the knapsack problem in a ploynomial number of steps? * Is the Hilbert Nullstellensatz intractable? * Is the problem of locating a real zero of a degree four polynomial intractable? * Is linear programming tractable over the reals? The book is divided into three parts: The first part provides an extensive introduction and then proves the fundamental NP-completeness theorems of Cook-Karp and their extensions to more general number fields as the real and complex numbers. The later parts of the book develop a formal theory of computation which integrates major themes of the classical theory and which is more directly applicable to problems in mathematics, numerical analysis, and scientific computing.

Mathematics and Computation
Mathematics and Computation

Author: Avi Wigderson

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2019-10-29

Total Pages: 434

ISBN-13: 0691189137

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From the winner of the Turing Award and the Abel Prize, an introduction to computational complexity theory, its connections and interactions with mathematics, and its central role in the natural and social sciences, technology, and philosophy Mathematics and Computation provides a broad, conceptual overview of computational complexity theory—the mathematical study of efficient computation. With important practical applications to computer science and industry, computational complexity theory has evolved into a highly interdisciplinary field, with strong links to most mathematical areas and to a growing number of scientific endeavors. Avi Wigderson takes a sweeping survey of complexity theory, emphasizing the field’s insights and challenges. He explains the ideas and motivations leading to key models, notions, and results. In particular, he looks at algorithms and complexity, computations and proofs, randomness and interaction, quantum and arithmetic computation, and cryptography and learning, all as parts of a cohesive whole with numerous cross-influences. Wigderson illustrates the immense breadth of the field, its beauty and richness, and its diverse and growing interactions with other areas of mathematics. He ends with a comprehensive look at the theory of computation, its methodology and aspirations, and the unique and fundamental ways in which it has shaped and will further shape science, technology, and society. For further reading, an extensive bibliography is provided for all topics covered. Mathematics and Computation is useful for undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics, computer science, and related fields, as well as researchers and teachers in these fields. Many parts require little background, and serve as an invitation to newcomers seeking an introduction to the theory of computation. Comprehensive coverage of computational complexity theory, and beyond High-level, intuitive exposition, which brings conceptual clarity to this central and dynamic scientific discipline Historical accounts of the evolution and motivations of central concepts and models A broad view of the theory of computation's influence on science, technology, and society Extensive bibliography

Computational Complexity and Statistical Physics
Computational Complexity and Statistical Physics

Author: Allon Percus

Publisher: OUP USA

Published: 2006-02-23

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 9780195177381

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Computer science and physics have been closely linked since the birth of modern computing. In recent years, an interdisciplinary area has blossomed at the junction of these fields, connecting insights from statistical physics with basic computational challenges. Researchers have successfully applied techniques from the study of phase transitions to analyze NP-complete problems such as satisfiability and graph coloring. This is leading to a new understanding of the structure of these problems, and of how algorithms perform on them. Computational Complexity and Statistical Physics will serve as a standard reference and pedagogical aid to statistical physics methods in computer science, with a particular focus on phase transitions in combinatorial problems. Addressed to a broad range of readers, the book includes substantial background material along with current research by leading computer scientists, mathematicians, and physicists. It will prepare students and researchers from all of these fields to contribute to this exciting area.