OpenRaiser/Intern-Atlas huggingface dataset:
Efficient computation of approximate pure Nash equilibria in congestion games
Venue: arXiv cs.GT 2011
Year: 2011

Congestion games constitute an important class of games in which computing an exact or even approximate pure Nash equilibrium is in general {\sf PLS}-complete. We present a surprisingly simple polynomial-time algorithm that computes O(1)-approximate Nash equilibria in these games. In particular, for congestion games with linear latency functions, our algorithm computes $(2+ε)$-approximate pure Nash equilibria in time polynomial in the number of players, the number of resources and $1/ε$. It also applies to games with polynomial latency functions with constant maximum degree $d$; there, the approximation guarantee is $d^{O(d)}$. The algorithm essentially identifies a polynomially long sequence of best-response moves that lead to an approximate equilibrium; the existence of such short sequences is interesting in itself. These are the first positive algorithmic results for approximate equilibria in non-symmetric congestion games. We strengthen them further by proving that, for congestion games that deviate from our mild assumptions, computing $ρ$-approximate equilibria is {\sf PLS}-complete for any polynomial-time computable $ρ$.
Speeding Multicast by Acknowledgment Reduction Technique (SMART)
Venue: arXiv cs.NI 2011
Year: 2011

We present a novel feedback protocol for wireless broadcast networks that utilize linear network coding. We consider transmission of packets from one source to many receivers over a single-hop broadcast erasure channel. Our method utilizes a predictive model to request feedback only when the probability that all receivers have completed decoding is significant. In addition, our proposed NACK-based feedback mechanism enables all receivers to request, within a single time slot, the number of retransmissions needed for successful decoding. We present simulation results as well as analytical results that show the favorable scalability of our technique as the number of receivers, file size, and packet erasure probability increase. We also show the robustness of this scheme to uncertainty in the predictive model, including uncertainty in the number of receiving nodes and the packet erasure probability, as well as to losses of the feedback itself. Our scheme, SMART, is shown to perform nearly as well as an omniscient transmitter that requires no feedback. Furthermore, SMART, is shown to outperform current state of the art methods at any given erasure probability, file size, and numbers of receivers.
Optimal Hyper-Minimization
Venue: arXiv cs.FL 2011
Year: 2011

Minimal deterministic finite automata (DFAs) can be reduced further at the expense of a finite number of errors. Recently, such minimization algorithms have been improved to run in time O(n log n), where n is the number of states of the input DFA, by [Gawrychowski and Jeż: Hyper-minimisation made efficient. Proc. MFCS, LNCS 5734, 2009] and [Holzer and Maletti: An n log n algorithm for hyper-minimizing a (minimized) deterministic automaton. Theor. Comput. Sci. 411, 2010]. Both algorithms return a DFA that is as small as possible, while only committing a finite number of errors. These algorithms are further improved to return a DFA that commits the least number of errors at the expense of an increased (quadratic) run-time. This solves an open problem of [Badr, Geffert, and Shipman: Hyper-minimizing minimized deterministic finite state automata. RAIRO Theor. Inf. Appl. 43, 2009]. In addition, an experimental study on random automata is performed and the effects of the existing algorithms and the new algorithm are reported.
When only the last one will do
Venue: arXiv cs.GT 2011
Year: 2011

An unknown positive number of items arrive at independent uniformly distributed times in the interval [0,1] to a selector, whose task is to pick online the last one. We show that under the assumption of an adversary determining the number of items, there exists a game-theoretical equilibrium, in other words the selector and the adversary both possess optimal strategies. The probability of success of the selector with the optimal strategy is estimated numerically to 0.352917000207196.
I/O-Efficient Data Structures for Colored Range and Prefix Reporting
Venue: arXiv cs.DS 2011
Year: 2011

Motivated by information retrieval applications, we consider the one-dimensional colored range reporting problem in rank space. The goal is to build a static data structure for sets C_1,...,C_m \subseteq {1,...,sigma} that supports queries of the kind: Given indices a,b, report the set Union_{a <= i <= b} C_i. We study the problem in the I/O model, and show that there exists an optimal linear-space data structure that answers queries in O(1+k/B) I/Os, where k denotes the output size and B the disk block size in words. In fact, we obtain the same bound for the harder problem of three-sided orthogonal range reporting. In this problem, we are to preprocess a set of n two-dimensional points in rank space, such that all points inside a query rectangle of the form [x_1,x_2] x (-infinity,y] can be reported. The best previous bounds for this problem is either O(n lg^2_B n) space and O(1+k/B) query I/Os, or O(n) space and O(lg^(h)_B n +k/B) query I/Os, where lg^(h)_B n is the base B logarithm iterated h times, for any constant integer h. The previous bounds are both achieved under the indivisibility assumption, while our solution exploits the full capabilities of the underlying machine. Breaking the indivisibility assumption thus provides us with cleaner and optimal bounds. Our results also imply an optimal solution to the following colored prefix reporting problem. Given a set S of strings, each O(1) disk blocks in length, and a function c: S -> 2^{1,...,sigma}, support queries of the kind: Given a string p, report the set Union_{x in S intersection p*} c(x), where p* denotes the set of strings with prefix p. Finally, we consider the possibility of top-k extensions of this result, and present a simple solution in a model that allows non-blocked I/O.
Approximating Graphic TSP by Matchings
Venue: arXiv cs.DS 2011
Year: 2011

We present a framework for approximating the metric TSP based on a novel use of matchings. Traditionally, matchings have been used to add edges in order to make a given graph Eulerian, whereas our approach also allows for the removal of certain edges leading to a decreased cost. For the TSP on graphic metrics (graph-TSP), the approach yields a 1.461-approximation algorithm with respect to the Held-Karp lower bound. For graph-TSP restricted to a class of graphs that contains degree three bounded and claw-free graphs, we show that the integrality gap of the Held-Karp relaxation matches the conjectured ratio 4/3. The framework allows for generalizations in a natural way and also leads to a 1.586-approximation algorithm for the traveling salesman path problem on graphic metrics where the start and end vertices are prespecified.
Robust Secure Transmission in MISO Channels Based on Worst-Case Optimization
Venue: arXiv cs.IT 2011
Year: 2011

This paper studies robust transmission schemes for multiple-input single-output (MISO) wiretap channels. Both the cases of direct transmission and cooperative jamming with a helper are investigated with imperfect channel state information (CSI) for the eavesdropper links. Robust transmit covariance matrices are obtained based on worst-case secrecy rate maximization, under both individual and global power constraints. For the case of an individual power constraint, we show that the non-convex maximin optimization problem can be transformed into a quasiconvex problem that can be efficiently solved with existing methods. For a global power constraint, the joint optimization of the transmit covariance matrices and power allocation between the source and the helper is studied via geometric programming. We also study the robust wiretap transmission problem for the case with a quality-of-service constraint at the legitimate receiver. Numerical results show the advantage of the proposed robust design. In particular, for the global power constraint scenario, although cooperative jamming is not necessary for optimal transmission with perfect eavesdropper's CSI, we show that robust jamming support can increase the worst-case secrecy rate and lower the signal to interference-plus-noise ratio at Eve in the presence of channel mismatches between the transmitters and the eavesdropper.
Heterogeneity and Allometric Growth of Human Collaborative Tagging Behavior
Venue: arXiv cs.IR 2011
Year: 2011

Allometric growth is found in many tagging systems online. That is, the number of new tags (T) is a power law function of the active population (P), or T P^gamma (gamma!=1). According to previous studies, it is the heterogeneity in individual tagging behavior that gives rise to allometric growth. These studies consider the power-law distribution model with an exponent beta, regarding 1/beta as an index for heterogeneity. However, they did not discuss whether power-law is the only distribution that leads to allometric growth, or equivalently, whether the positive correlation between heterogeneity and allometric growth holds in systems of distributions other than power-law. In this paper, the authors systematically examine the growth pattern of systems of six different distributions, and find that both power-law distribution and log-normal distribution lead to allometric growth. Furthermore, by introducing Shannon entropy as an indicator for heterogeneity instead of 1/beta, the authors confirm that the positive relationship between heterogeneity and allometric growth exists in both cases of power-law and log-normal distributions.
Constructions of hamiltonian graphs with bounded degree and diameter O (log n)
Venue: arXiv cs.DM 2011
Year: 2011

Token ring topology has been frequently used in the design of distributed loop computer networks and one measure of its performance is the diameter. We propose an algorithm for constructing hamiltonian graphs with $n$ vertices and maximum degree $Δ$ and diameter $O (\log n)$, where $n$ is an arbitrary number. The number of edges is asymptotically bounded by $(2 - \frac{1}{Δ- 1} - \frac{(Δ- 2)^2}{(Δ- 1)^3}) n$. In particular, we construct a family of hamiltonian graphs with diameter at most $2 \lfloor \log_2 n \rfloor$, maximum degree 3 and at most $1+11n/8$ edges.
CoPhy: A Scalable, Portable, and Interactive Index Advisor for Large Workloads
Venue: arXiv cs.DB 2011
Year: 2011

Index tuning, i.e., selecting the indexes appropriate for a workload, is a crucial problem in database system tuning. In this paper, we solve index tuning for large problem instances that are common in practice, e.g., thousands of queries in the workload, thousands of candidate indexes and several hard and soft constraints. Our work is the first to reveal that the index tuning problem has a well structured space of solutions, and this space can be explored efficiently with well known techniques from linear optimization. Experimental results demonstrate that our approach outperforms state-of-the-art commercial and research techniques by a significant margin (up to an order of magnitude).
Metamorphic Virus Variants Classification Using Opcode Frequency Histogram
Venue: arXiv cs.CR 2011
Year: 2011

In order to prevent detection and evade signature-based scanning methods, which are normally exploited by antivirus software, metamorphic viruses use several various obfuscation approaches. They transform their code in new instances as look entirely or partly different and contain dissimilar sequences of string, but their behavior and function remain unchanged. This obfuscation process allows them to stay away from the string based signature detection. In this research, we use a statistical technique to compare the similarity between two files infected by two morphed versions of a given metamorphic virus. Our proposed solution based on static analysis and it uses the histogram of machine instructions frequency in various offspring of obfuscated viruses. We use Euclidean histogram distance metric to compare a pair of portable executable (PE) files. The aim of this study is to show that for some particular obfuscation methods, the presented solution can be exploited to detect morphed varieties of a file. Hence, it can be utilized by non-string based signature scanning to identify whether a file is a version of a metamorphic virus or not.
Optimal Threshold-Based Multi-Trial Error/Erasure Decoding with the Guruswami-Sudan Algorithm
Venue: arXiv cs.IT 2011
Year: 2011

Traditionally, multi-trial error/erasure decoding of Reed-Solomon (RS) codes is based on Bounded Minimum Distance (BMD) decoders with an erasure option. Such decoders have error/erasure tradeoff factor L=2, which means that an error is twice as expensive as an erasure in terms of the code's minimum distance. The Guruswami-Sudan (GS) list decoder can be considered as state of the art in algebraic decoding of RS codes. Besides an erasure option, it allows to adjust L to values in the range 1<L<=2. Based on previous work, we provide formulae which allow to optimally (in terms of residual codeword error probability) exploit the erasure option of decoders with arbitrary L, if the decoder can be used z>=1 times. We show that BMD decoders with z_BMD decoding trials can result in lower residual codeword error probability than GS decoders with z_GS trials, if z_BMD is only slightly larger than z_GS. This is of practical interest since BMD decoders generally have lower computational complexity than GS decoders.
Empirical Encounters with Computational Irreducibility and Unpredictability
Venue: arXiv cs.CC 2011
Year: 2011

There are several forms of irreducibility in computing systems, ranging from undecidability to intractability to nonlinearity. This paper is an exploration of the conceptual issues that have arisen in the course of investigating speed-up and slowdown phenomena in small Turing machines. We present the results of a test that may spur experimental approaches to the notion of computational irreducibility. The test involves a systematic attempt to outrun the computation of a large number of small Turing machines (all 3 and 4 state, 2 symbol) by means of integer sequence prediction using a specialized function finder program. This massive experiment prompts an investigation into rates of convergence of decision procedures and the decidability of sets in addition to a discussion of the (un)predictability of deterministic computing systems in practice. We think this investigation constitutes a novel approach to the discussion of an epistemological question in the context of a computer simulation, and thus represents an interesting exploration at the boundary between philosophical concerns and computational experiments.
An efficient and principled method for detecting communities in networks
Venue: arXiv cs.SI 2011
Year: 2011

A fundamental problem in the analysis of network data is the detection of network communities, groups of densely interconnected nodes, which may be overlapping or disjoint. Here we describe a method for finding overlapping communities based on a principled statistical approach using generative network models. We show how the method can be implemented using a fast, closed-form expectation-maximization algorithm that allows us to analyze networks of millions of nodes in reasonable running times. We test the method both on real-world networks and on synthetic benchmarks and find that it gives results competitive with previous methods. We also show that the same approach can be used to extract nonoverlapping community divisions via a relaxation method, and demonstrate that the algorithm is competitively fast and accurate for the nonoverlapping problem.
Asymptotic Capacity of Large Relay Networks with Conferencing Links
Venue: arXiv cs.IT 2011
Year: 2011

In this correspondence, we consider a half-duplex large relay network, which consists of one source-destination pair and $N$ relay nodes, each of which is connected with a subset of the other relays via signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)-limited out-of-band conferencing links. The asymptotic achievable rates of two basic relaying schemes with the "$p$-portion" conferencing strategy are studied: For the decode-and-forward (DF) scheme, we prove that the DF rate scales as $\mathcal{O} (\log (N))$; for the amplify-and-forward (AF) scheme, we prove that it asymptotically achieves the capacity upper bound in some interesting scenarios as $N$ goes to infinity.
Solving the Closest Vector Problem with respect to l_p Norms
Venue: arXiv cs.DS 2011
Year: 2011

In this paper, we present a deterministic algorithm for the closest vector problem for all l_p-norms, 1 < p < \infty, and all polyhedral norms, especially for the l_1-norm and the l_{\infty}-norm. We achieve our results by introducing a new lattice problem, the lattice membership problem. We describe a deterministic algorithm for the lattice membership problem, which is a generalization of Lenstra's algorithm for integer programming. We also describe a polynomial time reduction from the closest vector problem to the lattice membership problem. This approach leads to a deterministic algorithm that solves the closest vector problem for all l_p-norms, 1 < p < \infty, in time p log_2 (r)^{O (1)} n^{(5/2+o(1))n} and for all polyhedral norms in time (s log_2 (r))^{O (1)} n^{(2+o(1))n}, where s is the number of constraints defining the polytope and r is an upper bound on the coefficients used to describe the convex body.
Investigating the Distribution of Password Choices
Venue: arXiv cs.CR 2011
Year: 2011

In this paper we will look at the distribution with which passwords are chosen. Zipf's Law is commonly observed in lists of chosen words. Using password lists from four different on-line sources, we will investigate if Zipf's law is a good candidate for describing the frequency with which passwords are chosen. We look at a number of standard statistics, used to measure the security of password distributions, and see if modelling the data using Zipf's Law produces good estimates of these statistics. We then look at the the similarity of the password distributions from each of our sources, using guessing as a metric. This shows that these distributions provide effective tools for cracking passwords. Finally, we will show how to shape the distribution of passwords in use, by occasionally asking users to choose a different password.
Noise Folding in Compressed Sensing
Venue: arXiv cs.IT 2011
Year: 2011

The literature on compressed sensing has focused almost entirely on settings where the signal is noiseless and the measurements are contaminated by noise. In practice, however, the signal itself is often subject to random noise prior to measurement. We briefly study this setting and show that, for the vast majority of measurement schemes employed in compressed sensing, the two models are equivalent with the important difference that the signal-to-noise ratio is divided by a factor proportional to p/n, where p is the dimension of the signal and n is the number of observations. Since p/n is often large, this leads to noise folding which can have a severe impact on the SNR.
Symmetry Breaking for Distributed Multi-Context Systems
Venue: arXiv cs.LO 2011
Year: 2011

Heterogeneous nonmonotonic multi-context systems (MCS) permit different logics to be used in different contexts, and link them via bridge rules. We investigate the role of symmetry detection and symmetry breaking in such systems to eliminate symmetric parts of the search space and, thereby, simplify the evaluation process. We propose a distributed algorithm that takes a local stance, i.e., computes independently the partial symmetries of a context and, in order to construct potential symmetries of the whole, combines them with those partial symmetries returned by neighbouring contexts. We prove the correctness of our methods. We instantiate such symmetry detection and symmetry breaking in a multi-context system with contexts that use answer set programs, and demonstrate computational benefit on some recently proposed benchmarks.
On Optimal Binary One-Error-Correcting Codes of Lengths $2^m-4$ and $2^m-3$
Venue: arXiv cs.IT 2011
Year: 2011

Best and Brouwer [Discrete Math. 17 (1977), 235-245] proved that triply-shortened and doubly-shortened binary Hamming codes (which have length $2^m-4$ and $2^m-3$, respectively) are optimal. Properties of such codes are here studied, determining among other things parameters of certain subcodes. A utilization of these properties makes a computer-aided classification of the optimal binary one-error-correcting codes of lengths 12 and 13 possible; there are 237610 and 117823 such codes, respectively (with 27375 and 17513 inequivalent extensions). This completes the classification of optimal binary one-error-correcting codes for all lengths up to 15. Some properties of the classified codes are further investigated. Finally, it is proved that for any $m \geq 4$, there are optimal binary one-error-correcting codes of length $2^m-4$ and $2^m-3$ that cannot be lengthened to perfect codes of length $2^m-1$.
Methods in Mathematica for Solving Ordinary Differential Equations
Venue: arXiv cs.SC 2011
Year: 2011

An overview of the solution methods for ordinary differential equations in the Mathematica function DSolve is presented.
Symbolic Computation of Recursion Operators for Nonlinear Differential-Difference equations
Venue: arXiv cs.SC 2011
Year: 2011

An algorithm for the symbolic computation of recursion operators for systems of nonlinear differential-difference equations (DDEs) is presented. Recursion operators allow one to generate an infinite sequence of generalized symmetries. The existence of a recursion operator therefore guarantees the complete integrability of the DDE. The algo-rithm is based in part on the concept of dilation invariance and uses our earlier algorithms for the symbolic computation of conservation laws and generalized symmetries. The algorithm has been applied to a number of well-known DDEs, including the Kac-van Moerbeke (Volterra), Toda, and Ablowitz-Ladik lattices, for which recursion opera-tors are shown. The algorithm has been implemented in Mathematica, a leading com-puter algebra system. The package DDERecursionOperator.m is briefly discussed.
Fast redshift clustering with the Baire (ultra) metric
Venue: arXiv cs.IR 2011
Year: 2011

The Baire metric induces an ultrametric on a dataset and is of linear computational complexity, contrasted with the standard quadratic time agglomerative hierarchical clustering algorithm. We apply the Baire distance to spectrometric and photometric redshifts from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey using, in this work, about half a million astronomical objects. We want to know how well the (more cos\ tly to determine) spectrometric redshifts can predict the (more easily obtained) photometric redshifts, i.e. we seek to regress the spectrometric on the photometric redshifts, and we develop a clusterwise nearest neighbor regression procedure for this.