Title
A Local Lemma for Focused Stochastic Algorithms
Abstract
We develop a framework for the rigorous analysis of focused stochastic local search algorithms. These algorithms search a state space by repeatedly selecting some constraint that is violated in the current state and moving to a random nearby state that addresses the violation, while (we hope) not introducing many new violations. An important class of focused local search algorithms with provable performance guarantees has recently arisen from algorithmizations of the Lovasz local lemma (LLL), a nonconstructive tool for proving the existence of satisfying states by introducing a background measure on the state space. While powerful, the state transitions of algorithms in this class must be, in a precise sense, perfectly compatible with the background measure. In many applications this is a very restrictive requirement, and one needs to step outside the class. Here we introduce the notion of measure distortion and develop a framework for analyzing arbitrary focused stochastic local search algorithms, recovering LLL algorithmizations as the special case of no distortion. Our framework takes as input an arbitrary algorithm of such type and an arbitrary probability measure and shows how to use the measure as a yardstick of algorithmic progress, even for algorithms designed independently of the measure.
Year
DOI
Venue
2018
10.1137/16M109332X
SIAM JOURNAL ON COMPUTING
Keywords
Field
DocType
Lovasz local lemma,Moser-Tardos algorithm,stochastic local search
Stochastic algorithms,Discrete mathematics,Local search (optimization),Lovász local lemma,State space,Mathematics,Lemma (mathematics)
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
48
5
0097-5397
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
2
0.37
0
Authors
3
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Dimitris Achlioptas12037174.89
Fotis Iliopoulos2135.28
Vladimir Kolmogorov310067611.11