Theory of Computation: Lecture #43

Theory of Computation
Lecture #43
Sarmad Abbasi
Virtual University
Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)
1 / 31
Space Complexity
Our goal today is to prove the following theorem:
Theorem
NL = co-NL.
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Space Complexity
We will show that

1
There is a problem PATH that is NL-complete with respect to

LOGSPACE reducibility.
We will show that PATH is in NL. This means that PATH is in

co-NL.
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Space Complexity
Note that
Theorem
A L B
if and only if
A L B
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Space Complexity
This implies that PATH is co-NL complete. Since we will also show that
PATH
is in NL. This would tell us that NL = co NL.
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Space Complexity
Let G be a directed graph and s and t be two designated vertices in G.

Let
PATH = {hG, s, ti : there is a path from s to t in G}.
Thus given two vertices in a graph we have to decide if there is a path
from s to t in a graph. This problem is also called s t-connectivity.
6 / 31
Space Complexity
Savatichs theorem tell us that

PATH DSPACE(log2 n).
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Space Complexity
We want to show that

1
PATH is in NL.
PATH is NL-complete.
8 / 31
Space Complexity
To see that PATH is in NL we recall that non-determinism allows us to

guess. Thus given s and t we can try to guess the path from s to t and
accept if we find one. However, we are only allowed to use small
amount of space. So we have to be a bit more careful.
9 / 31
Space Complexity
Consider the following non-deterministic algorithm.
1
Input G = (V , E) and s, t V .
Set current vertex v = s;
For i = 1, . . . , n
Guess a vertex w V ;
if (v , w) 6 E reject;
else if w = t accept;
v = w;
The space used by this algorithm is the space to store i and v the
current vertex. The maximum value of i is n and there are n vertices in
the graph. Thus the total space used in O(log n).
10 / 31
Space Complexity
The algorithm is trying to guess a path. The trick is that it does so by

guessing one vertex at a time. It does not bother to remember the
previous vertices of the path thereby saving space.
11 / 31
Space Complexity
Now we would like to show that PATH is NL-complete. Let A L then

there is a non-deterministic TM M that accepts A.
12 / 31
Space Complexity
On an input x the NTM M performs a computation. Let think of making

a graph as follows:
1
The vertices in the graph are the configurations of M on the input

x.
A configuration c us connected to c 0 if and only if c yields c 0 in one
step.
13 / 31
Space Complexity
To find out if M accepts x all we have to is to find out if from the vertex
that corresponds to the initial configuration can we reach a vertex that
corresponds to the final configuration.
14 / 31
Space Complexity
Note that each configuration c of a NTM is specified by
1
The contents of the work tape.
The position of the head reading the work tape.
The position of the head reading the input tape.
Thus all configurations are given by

c = (w, i, j)
where w is the the contents of the work tape and the machine is
currently reading the i-th symbol on the work tape and the j-th symbol
of the input.
15 / 31
Space Complexity
Since M runs in LOGSPACE thus all such configurations can be

enumerated in LOGSPACE.
It is also easy to see that for any given configuration c we can compute
in LOGSPACE the configurations reachable from c in one step. Thus
we can output the edges of this whole graph.
16 / 31
Space Complexity
Let us denote by
GM (x)
the graph described above. Let us consider the following algorithm.
1
On input x.
Compute GM (x)
Output hGM (x), ci , cf )
Where ci is the initial configuration of M on x and cf is the final

configuration.
17 / 31
Space Complexity
This is a reducibility that shows that

A L PATH.
This implies that PATH is NL-complete.
18 / 31
Space Complexity
Next we will show that PATH is in NL. This is not a simple theorem. We
have to first understand the problem very carefully.
19 / 31
Space Complexity
Our goal is to design a non-deterministic TM (algorithm) that takes as

input a graph G and two vertices s and t. The TM M must have the
following properties:
1
If s is connected to t then all branches of M must reject.
If s is not connected to t then at least one branch of M must

accept.
M must run in (non-deterministic) LOGSPACE.
20 / 31
Space Complexity
What is the major difficulty? The problem is that non-deterministic TMs

are very good at finding things. However, this time a non-determnistic
TM has to accept is there is no path from s to t. So, it is a counter
intuitive problem from the point of view of non-determinism.
21 / 31
Space Complexity
This is a difficult problem to solve. So, we start with solving a much

simpler problem. Let us say we are given the following information.
1
We are given an input graph G = (V , E) and two vertices s and t.
We are told a number c. This is the number of vertices in G that

are reachable from s.
We have to design a LOGSPACE NTM.
The TM will reject all inputs where s is connected to t.
At least one branch of M will accept if s is not connected to t.
22 / 31
Space Complexity
This problem is easier to solve. Let us look at a overview of a
non-deterministic TM that solves this problem and then we will improve
it.
1
Input G, s, t and a number c (It is promised that there are exactly c

vertices that are reachable from s)
Guess c vertices v1 , . . . , vc
if t = vi for some i reject.
For i = 1, . . . , c
Guess a path from s to vi
Verify the path from s to t by checking edges of G.
If the path is not valid reject.
Accept.
23 / 31
Space Complexity
This machine solves the problem. Lets see why! For it to reach accept
state it would verify that at least c vertices are reachable from s and t
is not one of them. Furthermore, if t is not reachable from s and the
machine makes all the right guesses it will accept. Thus at least one
branch will accept if and only if t is not reachable from s. But how
much space does this algorithm take?
24 / 31
Space Complexity
There are two problems in the algorithm.
1
It has to guess and remember {v1 , . . . , vc }.
It has to guess a path from s to vi and remember and verify it.
This is too space wasteful. So, we use the previous trick that we used
to solve PATH. We do not need to guess the whole set
{v1 , . . . , vc }
and similarly we do not need to guess the whole path. We can guess
them as we go along. Thus saving space. Let us look at these ideas
clearly.
25 / 31
Space Complexity
Let V = {v1 , . . . , vn } be a set of vertices. What we want to do is think

about choosing a subset of size c from these vertices. A subset can be
encoded in a 0/1 vector. Let
(g1 , . . . , gn )
be a 0/1 vector. Then
G = {vi : gi = 1}
is a subset of V .
26 / 31
Space Complexity
What we can do is guess the current bit of this vector one at a time.
Thus if gi = 1 we are guessing that the vertex is in G otherwise not.
Also, as we did previously we can forget all the previous bits and only
remember the number of them which were in G this way we will know
the size of G at the end of the loop.
27 / 31
Space Complexity
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Input G, s, t and a number c (It is promised that there are exactly c

vertices that are reachable from s)
Set d = 0.
For each vertex x V .
Guess a bit g.
If g = 1 (The algorithm has guessed that x is connected to s).
Set current vertex v = s;
For i = 1, . . . , n
Guess a vertex w V ;
if (v , w) 6 E reject;
else if w = x exit the For i loop.
v = w;
if x = t reject;
d = d + 1;
if d = c then accept.
28 / 31
Space Complexity
The previous algorithm tells us that given a graph G = (V , E) and a

source s if we can compute in LOGSPACE a number of vertices
reachable form s then we can solve the PATH problem in
non-deterministic LOGSPACE.
29 / 31
Space Complexity
Now, our task is a bit simpler. But we notice that it is even simpler than
we thought. What we want is an non-deterministic algorithm that does
the following.
1
On input G and s.
At least one branch of M should output a number c the number of

nodes reachable from s.
All other branches should reject.
30 / 31
Space Complexity
If we can accomplish the previous task we could run our algorithm at

the branches that output c and get our algorithm.
31 / 31
Space Complexity
However, solving this problem requires another similar idea. We will

study that idea in the next lecture.
32 / 31

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Theory of Computation

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

Our goal today is to prove the following theorem:

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

We will show that

There is a problem PATH that is NL-complete with respect to

We will show that PATH is in NL. This means that PATH is in

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

Let G be a directed graph and s and t be two designated vertices in G.

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

Savatichs theorem tell us that

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

We want to show that

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

To see that PATH is in NL we recall that non-determinism allows us to

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

Set current vertex v = s;

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

The algorithm is trying to guess a path. The trick is that it does so by

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

Now we would like to show that PATH is NL-complete. Let A L then

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

On an input x the NTM M performs a computation. Let think of making

The vertices in the graph are the configurations of M on the input

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

The contents of the work tape.

The position of the head reading the work tape.

The position of the head reading the input tape.

Thus all configurations are given by

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

Since M runs in LOGSPACE thus all such configurations can be

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

Output hGM (x), ci , cf )

Where ci is the initial configuration of M on x and cf is the final

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

This is a reducibility that shows that

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

Our goal is to design a non-deterministic TM (algorithm) that takes as

If s is connected to t then all branches of M must reject.

If s is not connected to t then at least one branch of M must

M must run in (non-deterministic) LOGSPACE.

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

What is the major difficulty? The problem is that non-deterministic TMs

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

This is a difficult problem to solve. So, we start with solving a much

We are given an input graph G = (V , E) and two vertices s and t.

We are told a number c. This is the number of vertices in G that

We have to design a LOGSPACE NTM.

The TM will reject all inputs where s is connected to t.

At least one branch of M will accept if s is not connected to t.

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

Input G, s, t and a number c (It is promised that there are exactly c

if t = vi for some i reject.

Guess a path from s to vi

Verify the path from s to t by checking edges of G.

If the path is not valid reject.

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

Sarmad Abbasi (Virtual University)

It has to guess and remember {v1 , . . . , vc }.