Valiant's Holant theorem is a powerful tool for algorithms and reductions for counting problems. It states that if two sets $\mathcal{F}$ and $\mathcal{G}$ of tensors (a.k.a. constraint functions or signatures) are related by a \emph{holographic transformation}, then $\mathcal{F}$ and $\mathcal{G}$ are \emph{Holant-indistinguishable}, i.e., every tensor network using tensors from $\mathcal{F}$ , resp. from $\mathcal{G}$ , contracts to the same value. Xia (ICALP 2010) conjectured the converse of the Holant theorem, but a counterexample was found based on \emph{vanishing} signatures, those which are Holant-indistinguishable from 0. We prove two near-converses of the Holant theorem using techniques from invariant theory. (I) Holant-indistinguishable $\mathcal{F}$ and $\mathcal{G}$ always admit two sequences of holographic transformations mapping them arbitrarily close to each other, i.e., their $\text{GL}_q$ -orbit closures intersect. (II) We show that vanishing signatures are the only true obstacle to a converse of the Holant theorem. As corollaries of the two theorems we obtain the first characterization of homomorphism-indistinguishability over graphs of bounded degree, a long standing open problem, and show that two graphs with invertible adjacency matrices are isomorphic if and only if they are homomorphism-indistinguishable over graphs with maximum degree at most three. We also show that Holant-indistinguishability is complete for a complexity class \textbf{TOCI} introduced by Lysikov and Walter, and hence hard for graph isomorphism.Valiant's Holant theorem is a powerful tool for algorithms and reductions for counting problems. It states that if two sets $\mathcal{F}$ and $\mathcal{G}$ of tensors (a.k.a. constraint functions or signatures) are related by a \emph{holographic transformation}, then $\mathcal{F}$ and $\mathcal{G}$ are \emph{Holant-indistinguishable}, i.e., every tensor network using tensors from $\mathcal{F}$, resp. from $\mathcal{G}$, contracts to the same value. Xia (ICALP 2010) conjectured the converse of the Holant theorem, but a counterexample was found based on \emph{vanishing} signatures, those which are Holant-indistinguishable from 0. We prove two near-converses of the Holant theorem using techniques from invariant theory. (I) Holant-indistinguishable $\mathcal{F}$ and $\mathcal{G}$ always admit two sequences of holographic transformations mapping them arbitrarily close to each other, i.e., their $\text{GL}_q$-orbit closures intersect. (II) We show that vanishing signatures are the only true obstacle to a converse of the Holant theorem. As corollaries of the two theorems we obtain the first characterization of homomorphism-indistinguishability over graphs of bounded degree, a long standing open problem, and show that two graphs with invertible adjacency matrices are isomorphic if and only if they are homomorphism-indistinguishable over graphs with maximum degree at most three. We also show that Holant-indistinguishability is complete for a complexity class \textbf{TOCI} introduced by Lysikov and Walter, and hence hard for graph isomorphism.

arXiv:2509.10991Leibniz international proceedings in informaticsSep 13, 20250 citations

Clifford gates in the Holant framework

Jin‐Yi Cai, Heng Guo, Tyson Williams

arXiv:1705.00942Theoretical Computer ScienceJun 7, 20186 citations

Holographic Algorithms Beyond Matchgates

Jin‐Yi Cai, Heng Guo, Tyson Williams

Holographic algorithms introduced by Valiant are composed of two ingredients: matchgates, which are gadgets realizing local constraint functions by weighted planar perfect matchings, and holographic reductions, which show equivalences among problems with different descriptions via certain basis transformations. In this paper, we replace matchgates in the paradigm above by the affine type and the product type constraint functions, which are known to be tractable in general (not necessarily planar) graphs. More specifically, we present polynomial-time algorithms to decide if a given counting problem has a holographic reduction to another problem defined by the affine or product-type functions. Our algorithms also find a holographic transformation when one exists. We further present polynomial-time algorithms of the same decision and search problems for symmetric functions, where the complexity is measured in terms of the (exponentially more) succinct representations. The algorithm for the symmetric case also shows that the recent dichotomy theorem for Holant problems with symmetric constraints is efficiently decidable. Our proof techniques are mainly algebraic, e.g., using stabilizers and orbits of group actions.Holographic algorithms introduced by Valiant are composed of two ingredients: matchgates, which are gadgets realizing local constraint functions by weighted planar perfect matchings, and holographic reductions, which show equivalences among problems with different descriptions via certain basis transformations. In this paper, we replace matchgates in the paradigm above by the affine type and the product type constraint functions, which are known to be tractable in general (not necessarily planar) graphs. More specifically, we present polynomial-time algorithms to decide if a given counting problem has a holographic reduction to another problem defined by the affine or product-type functions. Our algorithms also find a holographic transformation when one exists. We further present polynomial-time algorithms of the same decision and search problems for symmetric functions, where the complexity is measured in terms of the (exponentially more) succinct representations. The algorithm for the symmetric case also shows that the recent dichotomy theorem for Holant problems with symmetric constraints is efficiently decidable. Our proof techniques are mainly algebraic, e.g., using stabilizers and orbits of group actions.

arXiv:1307.7430Jul 29, 20130 citations

Valiant's Holant theorem is a powerful tool for algorithms and reductions for counting problems. It states that if two sets

\mathcal{F}

and

\mathcal{G}

of tensors (a.k.a. constraint functions or signatures) are related by a \emph{holographic transformation}, then

\mathcal{F}

and

\mathcal{G}

are \emph{Holant-indistinguishable}, i.e., every tensor network using tensors from

\mathcal{F}

, resp. from

\mathcal{G}

, contracts to the same value. Xia (ICALP 2010) conjectured the converse of the Holant theorem, but a counterexample was found based on \emph{vanishing} signatures, those which are Holant-indistinguishable from 0. We prove two near-converses of the Holant theorem using techniques from invariant theory. (I) Holant-indistinguishable

\mathcal{F}

and

\mathcal{G}

always admit two sequences of holographic transformations mapping them arbitrarily close to each other, i.e., their

\text{GL}_q

-orbit closures intersect. (II) We show that vanishing signatures are the only true obstacle to a converse of the Holant theorem. As corollaries of the two theorems we obtain the first characterization of homomorphism-indistinguishability over graphs of bounded degree, a long standing open problem, and show that two graphs with invertible adjacency matrices are isomorphic if and only if they are homomorphism-indistinguishable over graphs with maximum degree at most three. We also show that Holant-indistinguishability is complete for a complexity class \textbf{TOCI} introduced by Lysikov and Walter, and hence hard for graph isomorphism.