Skip to main content

Dualities for Constraint Satisfaction Problems

  • Chapter
Complexity of Constraints

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNTCS,volume 5250))

Abstract

In a nutshell, a duality for a constraint satisfaction problem equates the existence of one homomorphism to the non-existence of other homomorphisms. In this survey paper, we give an overview of logical, combinatorial, and algebraic aspects of the following forms of duality for constraint satisfaction problems: finite duality, bounded pathwidth duality, and bounded treewidth duality.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Afrati, F., Cosmodakis, S.: Expressiveness of restricted recursive queries. In: STOC 1989, pp. 113–126 (1989)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Atserias, A.: On digraph coloring problems and treewidth duality. European Journal of Combinatorics 29(4), 796–820 (2008)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  3. Atserias, A., Bulatov, A., Dawar, A.: Affine systems of equations and counting infinitary logic. In: Arge, L., Cachin, C., JurdziÅ„ski, T., Tarlecki, A. (eds.) ICALP 2007. LNCS, vol. 4596, pp. 558–570. Springer, Heidelberg (2007)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  4. Bodirsky, M.: Constraint satisfaction problems with infinite templates. In: Creignou, N., Kolaitis, P.G., Vollmer, H. (eds.) Complexity of Constraints. LNCS, vol. 5250. Springer, Heidelberg (2008)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  5. Bodirsky, M., Dalmau, V.: Datalog and constraint satisfaction with infinite templates. In: Durand, B., Thomas, W. (eds.) STACS 2006. LNCS, vol. 3884, pp. 646–659. Springer, Heidelberg (2006)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  6. Bodirsky, M., Dalmau, V.: Datalog and constraint satisfaction with infinite templates (2008) arXiv: 0809.2386v1

    Google Scholar 

  7. Bulatov, A.: Tractable conservative constraint satisfaction problems. In: LICS 2003, pp. 321–330 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Bulatov, A.: A graph of a relational structure and constraint satisfaction problems. In: LICS 2004, pp. 448–457 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Bulatov, A.: Combinatorial problems raised from 2-semilattices. Journal of Algebra 298(2), 321–339 (2006)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  10. Bulatov, A.: A dichotomy theorem for constraint satisfaction problems on a 3-element set. Journal of the ACM 53(1), 66–120 (2006)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  11. Bulatov, A., Jeavons, P.: Algebraic structures in combinatorial problems. Technical Report MATH-AL-4-2001, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Bulatov, A., Jeavons, P., Krokhin, A.: Classifying complexity of constraints using finite algebras. SIAM Journal on Computing 34(3), 720–742 (2005)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  13. Bulatov, A., Valeriote, M.: Recent results on the algebraic approach to the CSP. In: Creignou, N., Kolaitis, P., Vollmer, H. (eds.) Complexity of Constraints. LNCS, vol. 5250, pp. 68–92. Springer, Heidelberg (2008)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  14. Carvalho, C., Dalmau, V., Krokhin, A.: Caterpillar duality for constraint satisfaction problems. In: LICS 2008, pp. 307–316 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Carvalho, C., Dalmau, V., Marković, P., MarĂ³ti, M.: CD(4) has bounded width. Algebra Universalis (accepted)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Clasen, M., Valeriote, M.: Tame congruence theory. In: Lectures on Algebraic Model Theory. Fields Institute Monographs, vol. 15, pp. 67–111 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Cohen, D., Jeavons, P.: The complexity of constraint languages. In: Rossi, F., van Beek, P., Walsh, T. (eds.) Handbook of Constraint Programming, ch. 8. Elsevier, Amsterdam (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Cooper, M.C., Cohen, D.A., Jeavons, P.G.: Characterising tractable constraints. Artificial Intelligence 65, 347–361 (1994)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  19. Creignou, N., Khanna, S., Sudan, M.: Complexity Classifications of Boolean Constraint Satisfaction Problems. SIAM Monographs on Discrete Mathematics and Applications, vol. 7 (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Dalmau, V.: Linear Datalog and bounded path duality for relational structures. Logical Methods in Computer Science 1(1) (2005) (electronic)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Dalmau, V.: There are no pure relational width 2 constraint satisfaction problems (submitted, 2008)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Dalmau, V., Krokhin, A.: Majority constraints have bounded pathwidth duality. European Journal of Combinatorics 29(4), 821–837 (2008)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  23. Dalmau, V., Larose, B.: Maltsev + Datalog \(\Rightarrow\) Symmetric Datalog. In: LICS 2008, pp. 297–306 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Dalmau, V., Pearson, J.: Set functions and width 1 problems. In: Jaffar, J. (ed.) CP 1999. LNCS, vol. 1713, pp. 159–173. Springer, Heidelberg (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Egri, L., Larose, B., Tesson, P.: Symmetric Datalog and constraint satisfaction problems in Logspace. In: LICS 2007, pp. 193–202 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Feder, T.: Classification of homomorphisms to oriented cycles and of k-partite satisfiability. SIAM Journal on Discrete Mathematics 14(4), 471–480 (2001)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  27. Feder, T., Hell, P., Huang, J.: Bi-arc graphs and the complexity of list homomorphisms. Journal of Graph Theory 42, 61–80 (2003)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  28. Feder, T., Vardi, M.Y.: The computational structure of monotone monadic SNP and constraint satisfaction: A study through Datalog and group theory. SIAM Journal on Computing 28, 57–104 (1998)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  29. Feder, T., Vardi, M.Y.: Homomorphism closed vs. existential positive. In: Proc. 18th IEEE Symp. on Logic in Computer Science, LICS 2003, pp. 311–320 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Furst, M., Saxe, J., Sipser, M.: Parity, circuits, and the polynomial-time hierarchy. Mathematical Systems Theory 17(1), 13–27 (1984)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  31. Garey, M., Johnson, D.S.: Computers and Intractability: A Guide to the Theory of NP-Completeness. Freeman, San Francisco (1979)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  32. Hell, P.: From graph colouring to constraint satisfaction: there and back again. In: Topics in Discrete Mathematics. Algorithms and Combinatorics, vol. 26, pp. 407–432. Springer, Heidelberg (2006)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  33. Hell, P., NeÅ¡etÅ™il, J.: On the complexity of H-coloring. Journal of Combinatorial Theory, Ser. B 48, 92–110 (1990)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  34. Hell, P., Nešetřil, J.: Graphs and Homomorphisms. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2004)

    Book  MATH  Google Scholar 

  35. Hell, P., NeÅ¡etÅ™il, J., Zhu, X.: Duality and polynomial testing of tree homomorphisms. Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 348, 147–156 (1996)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  36. Hell, P., NeÅ¡etÅ™il, J., Zhu, X.: Duality of graph homomorphisms. In: Combinatorics, Paul Erdös is Eighty. Bolyai Soc. Math. Stud., vol. 2, pp. 271–282. JĂ¡nos Bolyai Math. Soc. (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  37. Hell, P., Zhou, H., Zhu, X.: On homomorphisms to acyclic local tournaments. Journal of Graph Theory 20(4), 467–471 (1995)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  38. Hell, P., Zhu, X.: Homomorphisms to oriented paths. Discrete Mathematics 132, 107–114 (1994)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  39. Hell, P., Zhu, X.: The existence of homomorphisms to oriented cycles. SIAM Journal on Discrete Mathematics 8, 208–222 (1995)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  40. Hobby, D., McKenzie, R.N.: The Structure of Finite Algebras. Contemporary Mathematics, vol. 76. American Mathematical Society, Providence (1988)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  41. Idziak, P., Markovic, P., McKenzie, R., Valeriote, M., Willard, R.: Tractability and learnability arising from algebras with few subpowers. In: LICS 2007, pp. 213–222 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  42. Jeavons, P.: On the algebraic structure of combinatorial problems. Theoretical Computer Science 200, 185–204 (1998)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  43. Jeavons, P.G., Cohen, D.A., Cooper, M.C.: Constraints, consistency and closure. Artificial Intelligence 101(1-2), 251–265 (1998)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  44. Kiss, E.W., Valeriote, M.: On tractability and congruence distributivity. Logical Methods in Computer Science 3(2) (2007) (electronic)

    Google Scholar 

  45. Kolaitis, P.G.: On the expressive power of logics on finite models. In: Finite Model Theory and its Applications. EATCS Series: Texts in Theoretical Computer Science, pp. 27–124. Springer, Heidelberg (2007)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  46. Kolaitis, P.G., Vardi, M.Y.: On the expressive power of Datalog: tools and a case study. Journal of Computer and System Sciences 51, 110–134 (1995)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  47. Kolaitis, P.G., Vardi, M.Y.: Conjunctive-query containment and constraint satisfaction. Journal of Computer and System Sciences 61, 302–332 (2000)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  48. Kolaitis, P.G., Vardi, M.Y.: A logical approach to constraint satisfaction. In: Finite Model Theory and its Applications. EATCS Series: Texts in Theoretical Computer Science, pp. 339–370. Springer, Heidelberg (2007)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  49. KomĂ¡rek, P.: Some new good characterisations of directed graphs. ÄŒasopis PÄ›st. Mat. 51, 348–354 (1984)

    MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  50. Krokhin, A., Bulatov, A., Jeavons, P.: The complexity of constraint satisfaction: an algebraic approach. In: Structural Theory of Automata, Semigroups, and Universal Algebra. NATO Science Series II: Math., Phys., Chem., vol. 207, pp. 181–213. Springer, Heidelberg (2005)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  51. Larose, B., Loten, C., Tardif, C.: A characterisation of first-order constraint satisfaction problems. Logical Methods in Computer Science 3(4) (2007) (electronic)

    Google Scholar 

  52. Larose, B., Tesson, P.: Universal algebra and hardness results for constraint satisfaction problems. In: Arge, L., Cachin, C., JurdziÅ„ski, T., Tarlecki, A. (eds.) ICALP 2007. LNCS, vol. 4596, pp. 267–278. Springer, Heidelberg (2007)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  53. Larose, B., Valeriote, M., ZĂ¡dori, L.: Omitting types, bounded width and the ability to count (submitted, 2008)

    Google Scholar 

  54. Larose, B., ZĂ¡dori, L.: Bounded width problems and algebras. Algebra Universalis 56(3-4), 439–466 (2007)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  55. Libkin, L.: Elements of Finite Model Theory. EATCS Series: Texts in Theoretical Computer Science. Springer, Heidelberg (2004)

    Book  MATH  Google Scholar 

  56. Loten, C., Tardif, C.: Majority functions on structures with finite duality. European Journal of Combinatorics 29(4), 979–986 (2008)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  57. MarĂ³ti, M., McKenzie, R.: Existence theorems for weakly symmetric operations. In: Algebra Universalis (to appear, 2007)

    Google Scholar 

  58. NeÅ¡etÅ™il, J., Pultr, A.: On classes of relations and graphs determined by subobjects and factorobjects. Discrete Mathematics 22, 287–300 (1978)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  59. NeÅ¡etÅ™il, J., Tardif, C.: Duality theorems for finite structures (characterising gaps and good characterisations). Journal of Combinatorial Theory, Ser. B 80, 80–97 (2000)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  60. NeÅ¡etÅ™il, J., Tardif, C.: Short answers to exponentially long questions: extremal aspects of homomorphism duality. SIAM Journal on Discrete Mathematics 19(4), 914–920 (2005)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  61. Rossi, F., van Beek, P., Walsh, T. (eds.): Handbook of Constraint Programming. Elsevier, Amsterdam (2006)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  62. Rossman, B.: Existential positive types and preservation under homomorphisms. In: LICS 2005, pp. 467–476 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  63. Szendrei, A.: Clones in Universal Algebra. Seminaires de Mathematiques Superieures, vol. 99. University of Montreal (1986)

    Google Scholar 

  64. Valeriote, M.: A subalgebra intersection property for congruence-distributive varieties. Canadian Journal of Mathematics (to appear, 2007)

    Google Scholar 

  65. ZĂ¡dori, L.: Posets, near-unanimity functions and zigzags. Bulletin of the Australian Mathematical Society 47, 79–93 (1993)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Bulatov, A.A., Krokhin, A., Larose, B. (2008). Dualities for Constraint Satisfaction Problems. In: Creignou, N., Kolaitis, P.G., Vollmer, H. (eds) Complexity of Constraints. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 5250. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-92800-3_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-92800-3_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-92799-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-92800-3

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics