Nima Anari

Beyond the Bethe Approximation of the Permanent

The canonical Bethe approximation gives a deterministic approximation to the permanent of every nonnegative matrix within a factor of $(\sqrt{2})^n$. We improve the base of this exponential factor: for some absolute constant $c<\sqrt{2}$, there is a deterministic polynomial-time $c^n$-approximation for the permanent of...