We show how to efficiently construct a small probability space on n binary random variables such that for every subset, its parity is either zero or one with "almost" equal probability. They are called ffl-biased random variables. The number of random bits needed to generate the random variables is O(log n + log 1 ffl ). Thus, if ffl is polynomially small, then the size of the sample space is also polynomial. Random variables that are ffl-biased can be used to construct "almost" k-wise independent random variables where ffl is a function of k. These probability spaces have various applications: 1. Derandomization of algorithms: many randomized algorithms that require only k- wise independence of their random bits (where k is bounded by O(log n)), can be derandomized by using ffl-biased random variables. 2. Reducing the number of random bits required by certain randomized algorithms, e.g., verification of matrix multiplication. 3. Exhaustive testing of combinatorial circui...

We show that modified versions of the linear congruential generator and the shift register generator are provably good for amplifying the correctness of a probabilistic algorithm. More precisely, if r random bits are needed for a BPP algorithm to be correct with probability at least 2=3, then O(r + k 2 ) bits are needed to improve this probability to 1 \Gamma 2 \Gammak . We also present a different pseudo-random generator that is optimal, up to a constant factor, in this regard: it uses only O(r + k) bits to improve the probability to 1 \Gamma 2 \Gammak . This generator is based on random walks on expanders. Our results do not depend on any unproven assumptions. Next we show that our modified versions of the shift register and linear congruential generators can be used to sample from distributions using, in the limit, the information-theoretic lower bound on random bits. 1. Introduction Randomness plays a vital role in almost all areas of computer science, both in theory and in...

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We introduce a new technique called oblivious rounding --- a variant of randomized rounding that avoids the bottleneck of first solving the linear program. Avoiding this bottleneck yields more efficient algorithms and brings probabilistic methods to bear on a new class of problems. We give oblivious rounding algorithms that approximately solve general packing and covering problems, including a parallel algorithm to find sparse strategies for matrix games.

We show that with recently developed derandomization techniques, one can convert Clarkson's randomized algorithm for linear programming in fixed dimension into a lineartime deterministic one. The constant of proportionality is d O(d) , which is better than for previously known such algorithms. We show that the algorithm works in a fairly general abstract setting, which allows us to solve various other problems (such as finding the maximum volume ellipsoid inscribed into the intersection of n halfspaces) in linear time.

We first consider the problem of partitioning the edges of a graph G into bipartite cliques such that the total order of the cliques is minimized, where the order of a clique is the number of vertices in it. It is shown that the problem is NP-complete. We then prove the existence of a partition of small total order in a sufficiently dense graph and devise an efficient algorithm to compute such a partition. It turns out that our algorithm exhibits a trade-off between the total order of the partition and the running time. Next, we define the notion of a compression of a graph G and use the result on graph partitioning to efficiently compute an optimal compression for graphs of a given size. An interesting application of the graph compression result arises from the fact that several graph algorithms can be adapted to work with the compressed representation of the input graph, thereby improving the bound on their running times, particularly on dense graphs. This makes use of the trade-off ...

Small sample spaces with almost independent random variables are applied to design efficient sequential deterministic algorithms for two problems. The first algorithm, motivated by the attempt to design efficient algorithms for the All Pairs Shortest Path problem using fast matrix multiplication, solves the problem of computing witnesses for the Boolean product of two matrices. That is, if A and B are two n by n matrices, and C = AB is their Boolean product, the algorithm finds for every entry Cij = 1 a witness: an index k so that Aik = Bkj = 1. Its running time exceeds that of computing the product of two n by n matrices with small integer entries by a polylogarithmic factor. The second algorithm is a nearly linear time deterministic procedure for constructing a perfect hash function for a given n-subset of {1,..., m}.

We present a technique for converting RNC algorithms into NC algorithms. Our approach is based on a parallel implementation of the method of conditional probabilities. This method was used to convert probabilistic proofs of existence of combinatorial structures into polynomial time deterministic algorithms. It has the apparent drawback of being extremely sequential in nature. We show certain general conditions under which it is possible to use this technique for devising deterministic parallel algorithms. We use our technique to devise an NC algorithm for the set balancing problem. This problem turns out to be a useful tool for parallel algorithms. Using our de-randomization method and the set balancing algorithm, we provide an NC algorithm for the lattice approximation problem. We also use the lattice approximation problem to bootstrap the set balancing algorithm, and the result is a more processor efficient algorithm. The set balancing algorithm also yields an NC algorithm for near-optimal edge coloring of simple graphs. Our methods also extend to the parallelization of various algorithms in computational geometry that rely upon the random sampling technique of Clarkson. Finally, our methods apply to constructing certain combinatorial structures, e.g. ...

We consider systems where the keys for encrypting messages are derived from the pairwise intersections of sets of private keys issued to the users. We give improved bounds on the storage requirements of systems of this type for secure communication in a large network. Supported by NATO grant RG0088/89 y Supported by NSF grant CCR-8900112 and NATO grant RG0088/89 1 1

Let G(n, c/n) and Gr(n) be an n-node sparse random graph and a sparse random rregular graph, respectively, and let I(n, r) and I(n, c) be the sizes of the largest independent set in G(n, c/n) and Gr(n). The asymptotic value of I(n, c)/n as n →∞, can be computed using the Karp-Sipser algorithm when c ≤ e. For random cubic graphs, r = 3, it is only known that.432 ≤ lim infn I(n,3)/n ≤ lim sup n I(n,3)/n ≤.4591 with high probability (w.h.p.) as n →∞, as shown in Frieze and Suen [Random Structures Algorithms 5 (1994), 649–664] and Bollabas [European J Combin 1 (1980), 311–316], respectively. In this paper we assume in addition that the nodes of the graph are equipped with nonnegative weights, independently generated according to some common distribution, and we consider instead the maximum weight of an independent set. Surprisingly, we discover that for certain weight distributions, the limit limn I(n, c)/n can be computed exactly even when c> e, and limn I(n, r)/n can be computed exactly for some r ≥ 1. For example, when the weights are exponentially distributed with parameter 1, limn I(n,2e)/n ≈.5517, and limn I(n,3)/n ≈.6077. Our results are established using the recently developed local weak convergence method further reduced to a certain local optimality property exhibited by the models we