Pseudorandom generators in propositional proof complexity

Michael Alekhnovich*, Eli Ben-Sasson, Alexander A. Razborov, Avi Wigderson

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

59 Scopus citations

Abstract

We call a pseudorandom generator G n: {0,1} n → {0, 1} m hard for a propositional proof system P if P cannot efficiently prove the (properly encoded) statement G n(x 1,..., x n) ≠ b for any string b ε {0, 1} m. We consider a variety of "combinatorial" pseudorandom generators inspired by the Nisan-Wigderson generator on the one hand, and by the construction of Tseitin tautologies on the other. We prove that under certain circumstances these generators are hard for such proof systems as resolution, polynomial calculus, and polynomial calculus with resolution (PCR).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)67-88
Number of pages22
JournalSIAM Journal on Computing
Volume34
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2005

Keywords

  • Generator
  • Polynomial calculus
  • Prepositional proof complexity
  • Resolution

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