Max-3-Lin Over Non-abelian Groups with Universal Factor Graphs

Abstract

The factor graph of an instance of a constraint satisfaction problem with n variables and m constraints is the bipartite graph between [m] and [n] describing which variable appears in which constraints. Thus, an instance of a CSP is completely determined by its factor graph and the list of predicates. We show optimal inapproximability of Max-3-LIN over non-Abelian groups (both in the perfect completeness case and in the imperfect completeness case), even when the factor graph is fixed. Previous reductions which proved similar optimal inapproximability results produced factor graphs that were dependent on the input instance. Along the way, we also show that these optimal hardness results hold even when we restrict the linear equations in the Max-3-LIN instances to the form xcdot ycdot z = g, where x, y, z are the variables and g is a group element. We use representation theory and Fourier analysis over non-Abelian groups to analyze the reductions.