OpenRaiser/Intern-Atlas huggingface dataset:
Mean-payoff Games with Partial Observation
Venue: arXiv cs.GT 2017
Year: 2017

Mean-payoff games are important quantitative models for open reactive systems. They have been widely studied as games of full observation. In this paper we investigate the algorithmic properties of several sub-classes of mean-payoff games where the players have asymmetric information about the state of the game. These games are in general undecidable and not determined according to the classical definition. We show that such games are determined under a more general notion of winning strategy. We also consider mean-payoff games where the winner can be determined by the winner of a finite cycle-forming game. This yields several decidable classes of mean-payoff games of asymmetric information that require only finite-memory strategies, including a generalization of full-observation games where positional strategies are sufficient. We give an exponential time algorithm for determining the winner of the latter.
ASURA: Scalable and Uniform Data Distribution Algorithm for Storage Clusters
Venue: arXiv cs.DC 2017
Year: 2017

Large-scale storage cluster systems need to manage a vast amount of data locations. A naive data locations management maintains pairs of data ID and nodes storing the data in tables. However, it is not practical when the number of pairs is too large. To solve this problem, management using data distribution algorithms, rather than management using tables, has been proposed in recent research. It can distribute data by determining the node for storing the data based on the datum ID. Such data distribution algorithms require the ability to handle the addition or removal of nodes, short calculation time and uniform data distribution in the capacity of each node. This paper proposes a data distribution algorithm called ASURA (Advanced Scalable and Uniform storage by Random number Algorithm) that satisfies these requirements. It achieves following four characteristics: 1) minimum data movement to maintain data distribution according to node capacity when nodes are added or removed, even if data are replicated, 2) roughly sub-micro-seconds calculation time, 3) much lower than 1% maximum variability between nodes in data distribution, and 4) data distribution according to the capacity of each node. The evaluation results show that ASURA is qualitatively and quantitatively competitive against major data distribution algorithms such as Consistent Hashing, Weighted Rendezvous Hashing and Random Slicing. The comparison results show benefits of each algorithm; they show that ASURA has advantage in large scale-out storage clusters.
Delay on broadcast erasure channels under random linear combinations
Venue: arXiv cs.IT 2017
Year: 2017

We consider a transmitter broadcasting random linear combinations (over a field of size $d$) formed from a block of $c$ packets to a collection of $n$ receivers, where the channels between the transmitter and each receiver are independent erasure channels with reception probabilities $\mathbf{q} = (q_1,\ldots,q_n)$. We establish several properties of the random delay until all $n$ receivers have recovered all $c$ packets, denoted $Y_{n:n}^{(c)}$. First, we provide lower and upper bounds, exact expressions, and a recurrence for the moments of $Y_{n:n}^{(c)}$. Second, we study the delay per packet $Y_{n:n}^{(c)}/c$ as a function of $c$, including the asymptotic delay (as $c \to \infty$), and monotonicity (in $c$) properties of the delay per packet. Third, we employ extreme value theory to investigate $Y_{n:n}^{(c)}$ as a function of $n$ (as $n \to \infty$). Several results are new, some results are extensions of existing results, and some results are proofs of known results using new (probabilistic) proof techniques.
The matching polytope has exponential extension complexity
Venue: arXiv cs.CC 2017
Year: 2017

A popular method in combinatorial optimization is to express polytopes P, which may potentially have exponentially many facets, as solutions of linear programs that use few extra variables to reduce the number of constraints down to a polynomial. After two decades of standstill, recent years have brought amazing progress in showing lower bounds for the so called extension complexity, which for a polytope P denotes the smallest number of inequalities necessary to describe a higher dimensional polytope Q that can be linearly projected on P. However, the central question in this field remained wide open: can the perfect matching polytope be written as an LP with polynomially many constraints? We answer this question negatively. In fact, the extension complexity of the perfect matching polytope in a complete n-node graph is 2^Omega(n). By a known reduction this also improves the lower bound on the extension complexity for the TSP polytope from 2^Omega(n^1/2) to 2^Omega(n).
Checking Temporal Properties of Presburger Counter Systems using Reachability Analysis
Venue: arXiv cs.LO 2017
Year: 2017

Counter systems are a well-known and powerful modeling notation for specifying infinite-state systems. In this paper we target the problem of checking temporal properties of counter systems. We first focus on checking liveness properties only, and propose two semi decision techniques for these properties. Both these techniques return a formula that encodes the set of reachable states of a given system that satisfy a given liveness property. A novel aspect of our techniques is that they use reachability analysis techniques, which are well studied in the literature, as black boxes, and are hence able to compute precise answers on a much wider class of systems than previous approaches for the same problem. Secondly, they compute their results by iterative expansion or contraction, and hence permit an approximate solution to be obtained at any point. We state the formal properties of our techniques, and also provide experimental results using standard benchmarks to show the usefulness of our approaches. Finally, we provide a technique for checking arbitrary CTL temporal properties, which use the liveness property checking techniques mentioned above as black boxes.
Word Emdeddings through Hellinger PCA
Venue: arXiv cs.CL 2017
Year: 2017

Word embeddings resulting from neural language models have been shown to be successful for a large variety of NLP tasks. However, such architecture might be difficult to train and time-consuming. Instead, we propose to drastically simplify the word embeddings computation through a Hellinger PCA of the word co-occurence matrix. We compare those new word embeddings with some well-known embeddings on NER and movie review tasks and show that we can reach similar or even better performance. Although deep learning is not really necessary for generating good word embeddings, we show that it can provide an easy way to adapt embeddings to specific tasks.
On polygon numbers of circle graphs and distance hereditary graphs
Venue: arXiv cs.DM 2017
Year: 2017

Circle graphs are intersection graphs of chords in a circle and $k$-polygon graphs are intersection graphs of chords in a convex $k$-sided polygon where each chord has its endpoints on distinct sides. The $k$-polygon graphs, for $k \ge 2$, form an infinite chain of graph classes, each of which contains the class of permutation graphs. The union of all of those graph classes is the class of circle graphs. The polygon number $\gp(G)$ of a circle graph $G$ is the minimum $k$ such that $G$ is a $k$-polygon graph. Given a circle graph $G$ and an integer $k$, determining whether $\gp(G) \le k$ is NP-complete, while the problem is solvable in polynomial time for fixed $k$. In this paper, we show that $\gp(G)$ is always at least as large as the asteroidal number of $G$, and equal to the asteroidal number of $G$ when $G$ is a connected distance hereditary graph that is not a clique. This implies that the classes of distance hereditary permutation graphs and distance hereditary AT-free graphs are the same, and we give a forbidden subgraph characterization of that class. We also establish the following upper bounds: $\gp(G)$ is at most the clique cover number of $G$ if $G$ is not a clique, at most 1 plus the independence number of $G$, and at most $\lceil n/2 \rceil$ where $n \ge 3$ is the number of vertices of $G$. Our results lead to linear time algorithms for finding the minimum number of corners that must be added to a given circle representation to produce a polygon representation, and for finding the asteroidal number of a distance hereditary graph, both of which are improvements over previous algorithms for those problems.
Counting Euclidean embeddings of rigid graphs
Venue: arXiv cs.CG 2017
Year: 2017

A graph is called (generically) rigid in $\mathbb{R}^d$ if, for any choice of sufficiently generic edge lengths, it can be embedded in $\mathbb{R}^d$ in a finite number of distinct ways, modulo rigid transformations. Here we deal with the problem of determining the maximum number of planar Euclidean embeddings as a function of the number of the vertices. We obtain polynomial systems which totally capture the structure of a given graph, by exploiting distance geometry theory. Consequently, counting the number of Euclidean embeddings of a given rigid graph, reduces to the problem of counting roots of the corresponding polynomial system.
Handbook of Network Analysis [KONECT -- the Koblenz Network Collection]
Venue: arXiv cs.SI 2017
Year: 2017

This is the handbook for the KONECT project, the \emph{Koblenz Network Collection}, a scientific project to collect, analyse, and provide network datasets for researchers in all related fields of research, by the Namur Center for Complex Systems (naXys) at the University of Namur, Belgium, with web hosting provided by the Institute for Web Science and Technologies (WeST) at the University of Koblenz--Landau, Germany.
Optimal Provision of Regulation Service Reserves Under Dynamic Energy Service Preferences
Venue: arXiv cs.SY 2017
Year: 2017

We propose and solve a stochastic dynamic programming (DP) problem addressing the optimal provision of regulation service reserves (RSR) by controlling dynamic demand preferences in smart buildings. A major contribution over past dynamic pricing work is that we pioneer the relaxation of static, uniformly distributed utility of demand. In this paper we model explicitly the dynamics of energy service preferences leading to a non-uniform and time varying probability distribution of demand utility. More explicitly, we model active and idle duty cycle appliances in a smart building as a closed queuing system with price-controlled arrival rates into the active appliance queue. Focusing on cooling appliances, we model the utility associated with the transition from idle to active as a non-uniform time varying function. We (i) derive an analytic characterization of the optimal policy and the differential cost function, and (ii) prove optimal policy monotonicity and value function convexity. These properties enable us to propose and implement a smart assisted value iteration (AVI) algorithm and an approximate DP (ADP) that exploits related functional approximations. Numerical results demonstrate the validity of the solution techniques and the computational advantage of the proposed ADP on realistic, large-state-space problems.
Separate, Measure and Conquer: Faster Algorithms for Max 2-CSP and Counting Dominating Sets
Venue: arXiv cs.DS 2017
Year: 2017

We show a method resulting in the improvement of several polynomial-space, exponential-time algorithms. An instance of the problem Max (r,2)-CSP, or simply Max 2-CSP, is parametrized by the domain size r (often 2), the number of variables n (vertices in the constraint graph G), and the number of constraints m (edges in G). When G is cubic, and omitting sub-exponential terms here for clarity, we give an algorithm running in time r^((1/5)n) = r^((2/15)m); the previous best was r^((1/4)n) = r^((1/6)m). By known results, this improvement for the cubic case results in an algorithm running in time r^((9/50)m) for general instances; the previous best was r^((19/100)m). We show that the analysis of the earlier algorithm was tight: our improvement is in the algorithm, not just the analysis. The new algorithm, like the old, extends to Polynomial and Ring CSP. We also give faster algorithms for #Dominating Set, counting the dominating sets of every cardinality 0,...,n for a graph G of order n. For cubic graphs, our algorithm runs in time 3^((1/6)n); the previous best was 2^((1/2)n). For general graphs, we give an unrelated algorithm running in time 1.5183^n; the previous best was 1.5673^n. The previous best algorithms for these problems all used local transformations and were analyzed by the "Measure and Conquer" method. Our new algorithms capitalize on the existence of small balanced separators for cubic graphs - a non-local property - and the ability to tailor the local algorithms always to "pivot" on a vertex in the separator. The new algorithms perform much as the old ones until the separator is empty, at which point they gain because the remaining vertices are split into two independent problem instances that can be solved recursively. It is likely that such algorithms can be effective for other problems too, and we present their design and analysis in a general framework.
Network-on-Chip Firewall: Countering Defective and Malicious System-on-Chip Hardware
Venue: arXiv cs.CR 2017
Year: 2017

Mobile devices are in roles where the integrity and confidentiality of their apps and data are of paramount importance. They usually contain a System-on-Chip (SoC), which integrates microprocessors and peripheral Intellectual Property (IP) connected by a Network-on-Chip (NoC). Malicious IP or software could compromise critical data. Some types of attacks can be blocked by controlling data transfers on the NoC using Memory Management Units (MMUs) and other access control mechanisms. However, commodity processors do not provide strong assurances regarding the correctness of such mechanisms, and it is challenging to verify that all access control mechanisms in the system are correctly configured. We propose a NoC Firewall (NoCF) that provides a single locus of control and is amenable to formal analysis. We demonstrate an initial analysis of its ability to resist malformed NoC commands, which we believe is the first effort to detect vulnerabilities that arise from NoC protocol violations perpetrated by erroneous or malicious IP.
Equivalence for Networks with Adversarial State
Venue: arXiv cs.IT 2017
Year: 2017

We address the problem of finding the capacity of noisy networks with either independent point-to-point compound channels (CC) or arbitrarily varying channels (AVC). These channels model the presence of a Byzantine adversary which controls a subset of links or nodes in the network. We derive equivalence results showing that these point-to-point channels with state can be replaced by noiseless bit-pipes without changing the network capacity region. Exact equivalence results are found for the CC model, and for some instances of the AVC, including all nonsymmetrizable AVCs. These results show that a feedback path between the output and input of a CC can increase the equivalent capacity, and that if common randomness can be established between the terminals of an AVC (either by feedback, a forward path, or via a third-party node), then again the equivalent capacity can increase. This leads to an observation that deleting an edge of arbitrarily small capacity can cause a significant change in network capacity. We also analyze an example involving an AVC for which no fixed-capacity bit-pipe is equivalent.
Border Bases for Polynomial Rings over Noetherian Rings
Venue: arXiv cs.SC 2017
Year: 2017

The theory of border bases for zero-dimensional ideals has attracted several researchers in symbolic computation due to their numerical stability and mathematical elegance. As shown in (Francis & Dukkipati, J. Symb. Comp., 2014), one can extend the concept of border bases over Noetherian rings whenever the corresponding residue class ring is finitely generated and free. In this paper we address the following problem: Can the concept of border basis over Noetherian rings exists for ideals when the corresponding residue class rings are finitely generated but need not necessarily be free modules? We present a border division algorithm and prove the termination of the algorithm for a special class of border bases. We show the existence of such border bases over Noetherian rings and present some characterizations in this regard. We also show that certain reduced Gröbner bases over Noetherian rings are contained in this class of border bases.
On the Nash Stability in the Hedonic Coalition Formation Games
Venue: arXiv cs.GT 2017
Year: 2017

This paper studies the Nash stability in hedonic coalition formation games. We address the following issue: for a general problem formulation, is there any utility allocation method ensuring a Nash-stable partition? We propose the definition of the Nash-stable core. We study the conditions for having a non-empty Nash-stable core. More precisely, we show how relaxed efficiency in utility sharing method allows to ensure a non-empty Nash-stable core.
Efficient Learning in Large-Scale Combinatorial Semi-Bandits
Venue: arXiv cs.LG 2017
Year: 2017

A stochastic combinatorial semi-bandit is an online learning problem where at each step a learning agent chooses a subset of ground items subject to combinatorial constraints, and then observes stochastic weights of these items and receives their sum as a payoff. In this paper, we consider efficient learning in large-scale combinatorial semi-bandits with linear generalization, and as a solution, propose two learning algorithms called Combinatorial Linear Thompson Sampling (CombLinTS) and Combinatorial Linear UCB (CombLinUCB). Both algorithms are computationally efficient as long as the offline version of the combinatorial problem can be solved efficiently. We establish that CombLinTS and CombLinUCB are also provably statistically efficient under reasonable assumptions, by developing regret bounds that are independent of the problem scale (number of items) and sublinear in time. We also evaluate CombLinTS on a variety of problems with thousands of items. Our experiment results demonstrate that CombLinTS is scalable, robust to the choice of algorithm parameters, and significantly outperforms the best of our baselines.
Optimal Nested Test Plan for Combinatorial Quantitative Group Testing
Venue: arXiv cs.IT 2017
Year: 2017

We consider the quantitative group testing problem where the objective is to identify defective items in a given population based on results of tests performed on subsets of the population. Under the quantitative group testing model, the result of each test reveals the number of defective items in the tested group. The minimum number of tests achievable by nested test plans was established by Aigner and Schughart in 1985 within a minimax framework. The optimal nested test plan offering this performance, however, was not obtained. In this work, we establish the optimal nested test plan in closed form. This optimal nested test plan is also order optimal among all test plans as the population size approaches infinity. Using heavy-hitter detection as a case study, we show via simulation examples orders of magnitude improvement of the group testing approach over two prevailing sampling-based approaches in detection accuracy and counter consumption. Other applications include anomaly detection and wideband spectrum sensing in cognitive radio systems.
DTKI: a new formalized PKI with no trusted parties
Venue: arXiv cs.CR 2017
Year: 2017

The security of public key validation protocols for web-based applications has recently attracted attention because of weaknesses in the certificate authority model, and consequent attacks. Recent proposals using public logs have succeeded in making certificate management more transparent and verifiable. However, those proposals involve a fixed set of authorities. This means an oligopoly is created. Another problem with current log-based system is their heavy reliance on trusted parties that monitor the logs. We propose a distributed transparent key infrastructure (DTKI), which greatly reduces the oligopoly of service providers and allows verification of the behaviour of trusted parties. In addition, this paper formalises the public log data structure and provides a formal analysis of the security that DTKI guarantees.
Vehicular Energy Network
Venue: arXiv cs.SY 2017
Year: 2017

The smart grid spawns many innovative ideas, but many of them cannot be easily integrated into the existing power system due to power system constraints, such as the lack of capacity to transport renewable energy in remote areas to the urban centers. An energy delivery system can be built upon the traffic network and electric vehicles (EVs) utilized as energy carriers to transport energy over a large geographical region. A generalized architecture called the vehicular energy network (VEN) is constructed and a mathematically tractable framework is developed. Dynamic wireless (dis)charging allows electric energy, as an energy packet, to be added and subtracted from EV batteries seamlessly. With proper routing, energy can be transported from the sources to destinations through EVs along appropriate vehicular routes. This paper gives a preliminary study of VEN. Models are developed to study its operational and economic feasibilities with real traffic data in the United Kingdom. Our study shows that a substantial amount of renewable energy can be transported from some remote wind farms to London under some reasonable settings and VEN is likely to be profitable in the near future. VEN can complement the power network and enhance its power delivery capability.
rdf:SynopsViz - A Framework for Hierarchical Linked Data Visual Exploration and Analysis
Venue: arXiv cs.DB 2017
Year: 2017

The purpose of data visualization is to offer intuitive ways for information perception and manipulation, especially for non-expert users. The Web of Data has realized the availability of a huge amount of datasets. However, the volume and heterogeneity of available information make it difficult for humans to manually explore and analyse large datasets. In this paper, we present rdf:SynopsViz, a tool for hierarchical charting and visual exploration of Linked Open Data (LOD). Hierarchical LOD exploration is based on the creation of multiple levels of hierarchically related groups of resources based on the values of one or more properties. The adopted hierarchical model provides effective information abstraction and summarization. Also, it allows efficient -on the fly- statistic computations, using aggregations over the hierarchy levels.