Skip to content
Preprint

CNOT-Distance is NP-complete under all-to-all connectivity

Aug 2026 · 1 citation · 23 references
Physics Computer Science

TL;DR

A polynomial-time decoder yields NP-hardness of approximation within every fixed additive constant and, through an L-reduction from Minimum Vertex Cover on cubic graphs, APX-hardness of the associated CNOT-circuit optimisation problem.

Abstract

Given $A\in\operatorname{GL}(N,2)$ and an integer $K$, we ask whether $A$ can be implemented by at most $K$ CNOT gates on fixed labelled wires with all-to-all connectivity. We prove that this problem is NP-complete. From a finite simple graph $G=(V,E)$, we construct an upper-unitriangular matrix $A_G\in\operatorname{GL}(2|V|+|E|+1,2)$ satisfying $\ell_{\mathrm{CNOT}}(A_G)=2|V|+2|E|+\tau(G)$, where $\tau(G)$ is the minimum vertex-cover size. Each target matrix has $O(N)$ nonzero entries and row Hamming weight at most four. The lower bound unfolds an arbitrary CNOT circuit into an XOR directed acyclic graph and applies projection--contraction operations, allowing cancellation and unrestricted reuse of intermediate parities. For this family, the optimum is unchanged by any finite number of clean or borrowed ancillary wires that must be restored. A polynomial-time decoder further yields NP-hardness of approximation within every fixed additive constant and, through an L-reduction from Minimum Vertex Cover on cubic graphs, APX-hardness of the associated CNOT-circuit optimisation problem.

View source

Similar papers

Preprint Aug 2026

A Single-Exponential FPT Algorithm for 2-Vertex-Connectivity Augmentation

We study restricted-link augmentation to $2$-vertex-connectivity. An instance consists of a graph $G$, possibly disconnected, a set $L$ of admissible links on its vertices, integer link costs in $\{1,\dots,W\}$, and an integer $k$; the task is to add at most $k$ links of minimum total cost so that the resulting multigraph is $2$-vertex-connected. Recent work gives $O^*(k^{O(k)})$-time algorithms for unweighted $\lambda$-vertex-connectivity augmentation for every $\lambda\leq 4$ [Carmesin and Ramanujan, SODA 2026], and an $O^*((k+\lambda)^{O(k)})$-time algorithm for arbitrary $\lambda$ [Korhonen and Thorup, arXiv 2026]. We give a deterministic algorithm with running time $O^*(36^kW)$. Thus, for $\lambda=2$, the unweighted running time improves from $O^*(k^{O(k)})$ to $O^*(36^k)$, and the algorithm also handles link costs with pseudo-polynomial dependence on $W$. We reduce the problem to a boundary-pair variant of $2$-vertex-connected spanning subgraph, where each vertex is assigned a pair of incident edges with an associated pair cost. We solve this variant using a cancellation identity, inspired by Cut&Count [Cygan et al., TALG 2022], obtained by applying M\"obius inversion to decompositions along cut vertices: the identity cancels every connected spanning graph with more than one block and keeps exactly the $2$-vertex-connected spanning graphs.

Tomohiro Koana, Soh Kumabe · 1 citation
Preprint Aug 2026

The Erd\H{o}s four-edge intersection problem

For an $n$-vertex graph $G$ and a permutation $\sigma$ of its vertex set, let $\sigma(G)$ denote the corresponding relabelling of $G$, and put \[ I_G(\sigma)=|E(G)\cap E(\sigma(G))|. \] Let $f(n,k)$ be the minimum number of edges in an $n$-vertex graph for which $I_G(\sigma)\geq k$ for every $\sigma$. In 1977 Erd\H{o}s asked whether $f(n,4)=2n-4$, observing that $K_{2,n-2}$ gives the upper bound. We prove that, for all sufficiently large $n$, \[ f(n,4)=2n-4. \] Equivalently, every sufficiently large $n$-vertex graph with at most $2n-5$ edges has a relabelling with at most three common edges. Our proof is inspired by the recent work of Fang and Hou on the Erd\H{o}s--Mullin five-edge intersection problem and builds on their core--buffer and absorption framework. The main additional ingredients are a growing high-degree core $C$ satisfying \[ |C|\Delta(G-C)=o(n), \] and a rigidity analysis of the equality case in the relevant first-moment estimate. This analysis shows that the only core--buffer configuration forcing four local common edges is of $K_{2,|C|}$ type; the strict bound $e(G)\leq2n-5$ then supplies a defect which breaks this configuration.

Andrzej Żak · 0 citations
Preprint Aug 2026

A higher-connectivity spectral Ore theorem for triangle-free graphs

Let $B_{n,k}$ be the graph obtained from the balanced complete bipartite graph on $n$ vertices by deleting a matching of size $k$. If $G$ is an $n$-vertex triangle-free graph with $\kappa(\comp G)\geq k$, we prove that $\rhoA(G)\leq\rhoA(B_{n,k})$ for $n\geq4k+2$, with equality precisely when $G\cong B_{n,k}$, and we compute $\rhoA(B_{n,k})$ explicitly. We also solve the bipartite problem for every $n\geq2k+1$, determine the boundary value $\operatorname{spex}_{\kappa}(2k,K_3;k)=k-1$, and settle the full problem for $k=2$. In particular, $B_{n,2}$ is uniquely extremal exactly from order $6$ onward. For $k=1$, equivalently when the complement is connected, $B_{n,1}=K_{\ceil{n/2},\floor{n/2}}-e$ is uniquely extremal for every $n\geq3$.

Joyentanuj Das, Sayan Gupta · 0 citations
Preprint Aug 2026

On the structure of graphs with given odd girth and large algebraic connectivity

A classical result of Andr\'asfai, Erd\H{o}s, and S\'os states that every $n$-vertex graph with odd girth at least $2k+1$ and minimum degree larger than $\frac{2n}{2k+1}$ is bipartite. Rather than imposing a minimum-degree condition, in this paper we investigate conditions on algebraic connectivity that force graphs of given odd girth to have a simple structure. The algebraic connectivity of a graph $G$, denoted by $\mu_2(G)$, is the second smallest eigenvalue of its Laplacian matrix. Our main results are as follows. 1. Every $n$-vertex triangle-free graph $G$ with $\mu_2(G)\geq \frac{n}{3}$ is bipartite. Moreover, the constant $\frac{1}{3}$ is asymptotically best possible. 2. For $k\geq 3$, every $n$-vertex graph $G$ of odd girth at least $2k+1$ with $\mu_2(G)>\frac{4n}{6k-1}$ is bipartite. 3. For $k\geq 22$, every $n$-vertex graph $G$ of odd girth at least $2k+1$ with $\mu_2(G)>\frac{3456n}{k^3}$ is bipartite. Moreover, the term $k^{-3}$ is asymptotically best possible.

Zhengbo Chen, Chen-Xing Li, Zhouningxin Wang · 0 citations
Preprint Aug 2026

Disconnected graphs and extremal bounds for realizable distance orders

Let $G$ be a graph together with a total order $\prec$ on its edges. We say that $\prec$ is realizable in $\mathbb{R}^d$ if there is a placement of the vertices of $G$ in $\mathbb{R}^d$ such that the Euclidean lengths of the edges induce exactly the order $\prec$. Almendra-Hern\'andez and Mart\'inez-Sandoval proved that every total order on the edges of the complete graph $K_n$ is realizable in $\mathbb{R}^{n-2}$. We show that the same is not true for the disjoint union of two complete graphs: for every $n\geq 3$ there is a total order on the edges of $K_n\sqcup K_n$ that is not realizable in $\mathbb{R}^{n-2}$, but is in $\mathbb{R}^{n-1}$. Surprisingly, the realizability of an order on a disconnected graph is not determined by its restrictions to the connected components. We also study realizability on the real line: we characterize which disjoint unions of two cycles are realizable, and estimate the largest number of edges an $n$-vertex graph can have while all of its edge-orders remain realizable on the line. In general dimension, we show that the largest number of edges of an $n$-vertex graph all of whose edge-orders are realizable in $\mathbb{R}^d$ is $dn+O\!\left(dn/\ln(dn)\right)$.

Gerardo L. Maldonado, Leonardo Martínez-Sandoval, Miguel Raggi et al. · 0 citations
Preprint Jul 2026

A note on zero-sum Ramsey numbers of complete graphs

For a graph $H$ with $3\mid e(H)$, the zero-sum Ramsey number $R(H,\Z_3)$ is the least integer $N$ such that every labeling of the edges of $K_N$ by elements of $\Z_3$ contains a copy of $H$ whose edge labels sum to zero. We determine the last previously unresolved infinite family in the complete-graph case modulo $3$. More precisely, we prove that \(R(K_n,\Z_3)=n+3\) for every $n\ge 10$ satisfying $n\equiv 1\pmod 3$. Consequently, for $k\ge 1$, \(R(K_{9k+7},\Z_3)=9k+10\), resolving a problem of Caro and Mifsud.

Cheng Chi, Jia-Lin He, Fuhong Ma · 0 citations

We use cookies to run the site and, with your consent, for analytics and to show ads. See our Cookie Policy.