Parameterized proof complexity

Dantchev, Stefan; Martin, Barnaby; Szeider, Stefan

Abstract

We propose a proof-theoretic approach for gaining evidence that certain parameterized problems are not fixed-parameter tractable. We consider proofs that witness that a given propositional CNF formula cannot be satisfied by a truth assignment that sets at most k variables to true, considering k as the parameter (we call such a formula a parameterized contradiction). One could separate the parameterized complexity classes FPT and W(M. Cesati, 2006) by showing that there is no fpt-bounded parameterized proof system, i.e., that there is no proof system that admits proofs of size f(k)nO(1) where f is a computable function and n represents the size of the propositional formula. By way of a first step, we introduce the system of parameterized tree-like resolution, and show that this system is not fpt-bounded. Indeed we give a general result on the size of shortest tree-like resolution proofs of parameterized contradictions that uniformly encode first-order principles over a universe of size n. We establish a dichotomy theorem that splits the exponential case of Riis's complexity-gap Theorem into two sub-cases, one that admits proofs of size f(k)nO(1) and one that does not. We also discuss how the set of parameterized contradictions may be embedded into the set of (ordinary) contradictions by the addition of new axioms. When embedded into general (DAG-like) resolution, we demonstrate that the pigeonhole principle has a proof of size 2kn2. This contrasts with the case of tree-like resolution where the embedded pigeonhole principle falls into the "non-FPT" category of our dichotomy.

Citation

Dantchev, S., Martin, B., & Szeider, S. (2007, October). Parameterized proof complexity. Presented at 48th Annual IEEE Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science, Providence, USA

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Conference Name: 48th Annual IEEE Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science
• Start Date: Oct 20, 2007
• End Date: Oct 23, 2007
• Publication Date: Oct 1, 2007
• Deposit Date: Jan 24, 2008
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 8, 2010
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Pages: 150-160
• Series Title: IEEE Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science
• Book Title: 48th Annual IEEE Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science, FOCS '07, 21-23 October 2007, Providence, RI ; proceedings.
• ISBN: 07695301092
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/focs.2007.53
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1161813