A Structural Theorem for Local Algorithms with Applications to Coding, Testing, and Verification

TL;DR

This paper establishes a structural theorem for local algorithms, enabling sample-based transformations with near-optimal complexity, and applies it to improve bounds and resolve open problems in coding, testing, and verification.

Contribution

The paper introduces a general structural theorem for local algorithms, leading to near-optimal sample complexity transformations and resolving several open problems in coding theory and property testing.

Findings

Strengthens lower bounds for relaxed locally decodable codes.

Shows all constant-query testable properties have sublinear sample testers.

Maximally separates proofs of proximity from testers, confirming theoretical limits.

Abstract

We prove a general structural theorem for a wide family of local algorithms, which includes property testers, local decoders, and PCPs of proximity. Namely, we show that the structure of every algorithm that makes $q$ adaptive queries and satisfies a natural robustness condition admits a sample-based algorithm with $n^{1- 1/O(q^2 \log^2 q)}$ sample complexity, following the definition of Goldreich and Ron (TOCT 2016). We prove that this transformation is nearly optimal. Our theorem also admits a scheme for constructing privacy-preserving local algorithms. Using the unified view that our structural theorem provides, we obtain results regarding various types of local algorithms, including the following. - We strengthen the state-of-the-art lower bound for relaxed locally decodable codes, obtaining an exponential improvement on the dependency in query complexity; this resolves an open problem raised by Gur and Lachish (SICOMP 2021). - We show that any (constant-query) testable property admits a sample-based tester with sublinear sample complexity; this resolves a problem left open in a work of Fischer, Lachish, and Vasudev (FOCS 2015) by extending their main result to adaptive testers. - We prove that the known separation between proofs of proximity and testers is essentially maximal; this resolves a problem left open by Gur and Rothblum (ECCC 2013, Computational Complexity 2018) regarding sublinear-time delegation of computation. Our techniques strongly rely on relaxed sunflower lemmas and the Hajnal-Szemer\'edi theorem.