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Wednesday 16 September

Information Theory · Cross-listed from cs.GT

Asymptotic Max-Min Fair Allocation with Random Utilities

We investigate the asymptotic behavior of max-min fair allocations for indivisible goods under i.i.d. random utilities. For $N$ agents and $K$ goods with utilities ${\mU_{i,j}}$ drawn independently from a common distribution $F$, we derive asymptotic characterizations of the max-min value in the balanced case $K=N$ (and in $K=LN$ extensions) via distributional quantiles. We then study the efficiency impact of max-min fairness by comparing the resulting total welfare with the optimal sum welfare. For distributions with sufficiently light tails, we prove that the relative efficiency loss converges to zero as the market grows, implying that max-min fairness incurs negligible welfare loss in large random instances for a broad class of distributions.
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Information Theory

Auxiliary Codes and the Generalized Packing-Covering Conjecture

The generalized packing–covering conjecture asks whether, at every order, the packing radius of a linear code is at most its covering radius. We prove the conjecture for every linear code of redundancy at most fourteen over every finite field, extending the previously established range of redundancies at most seven. We also prove the bound on generalized Hamming weights $d_t(C)\le2R_t(C)+1$ whenever the alphabet size $q$ satisfies $q\ge R_t(C)$. Both results use an auxiliary-code criterion that converts a covering property in the syndrome space into a weight bound. For binary primitive BCH codes, the packing radius is strictly smaller than the covering radius for every fixed error parameter and order, both at least two, once the extension degree is sufficiently large; this follows from existing covering bounds.
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Information Theory

Low-Rank Masking for Single-Server Matrix Multiplication

We study the statistical privacy of outsourcing matrix multiplication over a finite field ${\mathbb F_q}$ to a single server using additive masks of rank at most $r$. For independent uniform $n\times n$ inputs, we show that uniform rank-ball masks and products of independent uniform factors give maximal-correlation secrecy of at most $q^{-r}$ against the complete server view, with $O(n^2r)$ field operations for encoding and decoding. This secrecy captures how effectively the server is prevented from estimating functions of the inputs. We prove an asymptotically matching lower bound of this secrecy measure for $r=o(n)$, showing that both sampling methods are asymptotically optimal among input-independent additive masks of rank at most $r$, even when secret invertible transformations are allowed. We also characterize the posterior distribution for uniform rank-ball masks under arbitrary joint input distributions and prove approximate individual security for rows and columns under independent uniform inputs. Finally, we show that every input-independent additive mask of rank at most $r=o(n)$ requires $\delta\to1$ in entry-level $(\varepsilon,\delta)$-differential privacy for fixed field size $q$ and bounded $\varepsilon$.
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Information Theory

Computing the entropy rate of a quantized stationary Gaussian process

We consider a stationary Gaussian process observed after uniform quantization. The entropy rate of the resulting integer sequence is the fundamental limit on lossless compression of the quantized signal, but it has no closed form, and the classical high-resolution approximation breaks down whenever the spectral density is small or vanishing on part of the band, as happens routinely after smoothing or filtering. Here we present two methods for computing the rate. The first is an analytical approximation obtained by combining an exact dithering identity with the Kolmogorov-Szegő formula; the quantization noise power acts as a floor on the spectral density, so the rate remains finite where the classical formula fails. The second is a Monte Carlo estimate of the exact rate. Its minimum-phase spectral factor represents the process as a finite moving average of Gaussian innovations, making the quantized sequence a hidden Markov process whose optimal (fully adapted) particle filter is available in closed form; by the Shannon-McMillan-Breiman theorem the rate follows from the filter's log-likelihood on a single long sequence. In experiments across six process families, the approximation agrees with the estimate to within a few millibits per sample over most of the parameter range for quantization steps up to the signal standard deviation, including strongly filtered processes on which the classical formula fails; at the most strongly filtered points the discrepancy grows to a few percent of the rate, and for much coarser steps the estimator should be used. We also compare lossless coders against this limit. At a step of one quarter of the standard deviation, linear predictive coding followed by an entropy coder comes within 2 to 4 percent of the entropy rate and FLAC within 3 to 32 percent, whereas five general-purpose compressors on the raw samples remain 12 to 89 percent above it.
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Information Theory

Counterexample to a Proposed Capacity Characterization of the Relay Channel

We present a counterexample to the relay channel capacity characterization proposed in a recent work, which is based on properties of typical sequences. The counterexample uses a binary relay channel with a noiseless source-destination component and binary symmetric relay links. An achievable scheme exceeds the proposed capacity characterization, thereby disproving the characterization of the capacity for general relay channels. We highlight that the counterexample is obtained with the assistance of ChatGPT-6 Astra and the proofs are simplified with human effort.
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Information Theory · Cross-listed from math.PR

Zeros of the Spectrogram of Colored Noise

We study the expected number of zeros of the Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT) with a Gaussian window for signals degraded by complex Gaussian colored noise. We provide an exact formula for this quantity and investigate its asymptotic behavior. From a computational perspective, we propose an algorithmic method to recover a smoothed power spectral density (PSD) directly from the spatial distribution of the transform's zeros. Our results formalize the commonly-held heuristic that detection algorithms based on spectrogram zeros, though designed for white noise, also perform adequately under moderately colored noise.
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Information Theory

Common Randomness: A Key Enabler of Trustworthy 6G Communication Systems

Common randomness (CR) is a valuable resource for enhancing the trustworthiness of 6G communication systems. This article highlights the role of CR in improving scalability, security, and resilience in distributed 6G architectures. It provides an overview of information-theoretic two-source models for CR generation and summarizes known capacity results, together with their implications for practical systems under different communication settings, including one-way, two-way, helper-assisted, and interactive scenarios. Furthermore, the article explores CR-assisted secure identification over Gaussian channels as an application and highlights selected open research problems in CR generation for next-generation wireless systems. The article targets researchers and practitioners interested in bridging information-theoretic tools with emerging 6G communication systems.
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All authors Rami Ezzine, Moritz Wiese, Wafa Labidi, Christian Deppe, Holger Boche

Information Theory

Information Spectrum Methods for $\varepsilon$-Capacity Problems in the Theory of Mixed Multiple-Access Channels with Cost Constraint

We study the $\varepsilon$-capacity regions of mixed multiple-access channels (MACs) with general mixture where the channel inputs are subject to a cost constraint from the information spectrum unified perspective. We first determine the $\varepsilon$-capacity results for additive MACs. We next give a single-letterized inner bound on the $\varepsilon$-capacity region for mixed memoryless MACs, and furthermore establish a single-letterized $0$-capacity region of the mixed memoryless MAC with finite alphabets in terms of the essential infimum of mutual informations for component channels. We also show that the MAC with additive Gaussian noise satisfies the strong converse property, which is stronger than the traditional strong converse theorem. We then focus on the quasi-static fading Gaussian MAC, for which we derive the $\varepsilon$-capacity region and show that it, in the case specialized to single-users, exactly coincides with the traditional $\varepsilon$-outage capacity region, thereby providing a Shannon-theoretic operational interpretation of the latter. We further verify that the $\varepsilon$-capacity regions coincide across four scenarios of CSI availability (no-CSI, CSIR, CSIT, and CSIRT). We also demonstrate that this coincidence generally fails for mixed MACs with general (not necessarily stationary or ergodic) components, and give a counter example to prove it. Finally, we extend these results to the $K$-user quasi-static fading Gaussian MAC.
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Information Theory

Generalized $p$-ary $\cPS$ Bent Functions

We use $m$-dimensional partial spreads of $\fp^{2n}$, where $p$ is an odd prime, $n$ is a positive integer and $m$ divides $n$, to construct two classes of bent functions from $\fp^{2n}$ to $\fp$. Our construction generalizes the classes of $p$-ary $\cPS^{-}$ and $\cPS^{+}$ bent functions proposed by P. Lison\v ek and H. Y. Lu (Des. Codes Cryptogr. 73 (2014), 209–216).
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Information Theory · Cross-listed from math.PR

RDT based upper bounds on the largest average submatrix values

We study statistical variants of the classical largest average submatrix problem. For small submatrices (where the dimension is less than linearly proportional to the original matrix), the problem is typically well understood and believed to exhibit the statistical-computational gap (SCG). However, analytical treatment of both the information-theoretic and algorithmic aspects of the linear regime remains challenging, and no mathematically rigorous results have yet arrived anywhere close to proving or disproving SCG existence in this setting. Focusing on the linear regime, we make strong progress in several key directions: 1) We develop a generic Random Duality Theory (RDT) framework to characterize largest average submatrix values. 2) Using the plain RDT variant, we obtain closed-form upper bounds as explicit functions of dimensionality proportionality parameters. 3) We demonstrate that a lifted RDT variant strictly improves upon the plain RDT within a certain linear range of submatrix dimensions. 4) For small submatrices where the dimensional proportionality constants approach zero, we prove that our results match both the replica results from [34] (obtained via one-step replica symmetry breaking) and the sublinear results from [18,45].
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Information Theory

The 3/4 Conjecture for q-Ary Fix-Free Codes With at Most Three Distinct Codeword Lengths

We prove the \(3/4\) conjecture for \(q\)-ary fix-free codes with at most three distinct codeword lengths, for every integer \(q\geq2\). Every prescribed length distribution with Kraft sum at most \(3/4\) is realized by a deterministic construction. We introduce a matrix approach based on an exact identity for the overlap between forbidden prefix extensions and suffix residuals. Natural numerical order fixes the shortest layer, and the remaining selection problem is expressed through row and column counts. A fixed-cardinality interpolation theorem supplies feasible sets of every intermediate cardinality between nested endpoints, provided their differences satisfy one-sided uniqueness and either acyclicity or integral slack. Reverse-order selection handles the uniform cases directly; in the remaining cases, layer completion and aligned groups provide endpoints for interpolation. Together, these methods extend the binary three-length result to arbitrary finite alphabets and give a deterministic procedure for constructing the code.
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Information Theory · Cross-listed from quant-ph

Unbounded Holevo additivity gaps in finite dimensions

We establish unbounded two-use Holevo additivity gaps in finite dimensions. For each sufficiently large fixed integer $K$ and all sufficiently large $n$, we construct channels $T_n$ with output dimension $K^n$, input dimension $\exp(\Theta_K(n^2))$, and \[ \chi(T_n^{\otimes2})-2\chi(T_n) \ge n\left[\frac{\log_2K}{K}-2\log_2(1+9/K)\right]-O(1/n). \] The gap is linear in output qubits, with an explicit quadratic input-qubit cost and an explicit threshold on $n$. We also obtain channels whose single-use Holevo quantity tends to zero while their two-use Holevo information, and hence classical capacity, diverges. The channels arise from structured tensor products of the complementary mixed-unitary channels used in Collins's free-probabilistic proof. We establish minimum-output-entropy gaps by combining Collins–Youn's product-group Haagerup inequality with Bordenave–Collins's quantitative strong-convergence estimates. We also provide a Lean certificate for our proofs.
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Information Theory

Hyper-derivative Algebraic Geometry Codes via Local Expansions

In this paper, we develop a systematic construction framework of hyper-derivative algebraic geometry codes via local expansions, extending hyper-derivative Reed-Solomon codes from the rational function field to general algebraic function fields. Using the residue theorem, we determine their Euclidean duals and illustrate that the duals naturally reverse. We further give criteria for reverse self orthogonality and reverse self duality in terms of two classes of bilinear forms. Finally, we provide an asymptotic bound on the rate and relative distance via function field towers.
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All authors Xiaofeng Liu, Hengfeng Liu, Jun Zhang, Fang-Wei Fu, Chunming Tang

Information Theory · Cross-listed from cs.LG

FedPGT: Progressive Gradient Transmission for Vehicular Federated Learning over Time-Varying Channels

Vehicular federated learning (VFL) enables privacy-preserving collaborative model training for intelligent transportation systems, where communication resource allocation and gradient sparsification techniques have been explored to reduce communication overhead. However, vehicle mobility leads to rapidly varying channel conditions and transmission capacity, rendering predetermined resource allocation and sparsification decisions ineffective. In this paper, we propose FedPGT, a progressive gradient transmission scheme for VFL over time-varying channels, where vehicles progressively transmit high-magnitude gradient entries in response to instantaneous channel conditions. We establish a convergence bound that characterizes the impact of transmitted gradient entries and reveals diminishing-return behavior governed by a power-law decay. Motivated by this result, we formulate a stochastic optimization problem for online decision-making, where the main challenge lies in a cumulatively coupled, non-separable objective. To handle this challenge, we introduce per-slot surrogate transmission variables to decouple the long-term dependence across time slots and convert the original objective into an additive per-slot optimization problem, enabling a Lyapunov drift-plus-penalty approach for online scheduling. We further develop a low-complexity resource allocation algorithm for efficient online implementation. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed scheme achieves a 3.65% accuracy improvement on the CIFAR-10 image classification task and a 12.66% reduction in average displacement error on the Argoverse trajectory prediction task compared with state-of-the-art baselines, demonstrating its applicability to diverse learning tasks under highly dynamic vehicular environments.
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All authors Jintao Yan, Tan Chen, Yuxuan Sun, Sheng Zhou, Zhisheng Niu

Information Theory

Pinching-Antenna-Enabled ISAC: A Unified Architecture for Flexible Communication and Sensing

Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) is a cornerstone of sixth-generation (6G) networks, yet conventional fixed-antenna systems lack the spatial adaptability to cope with dynamic users and targets. The emerging pinching antenna (PA) offers a flexible, low-cost solution by dynamically reconfiguring radiation points along waveguides, introducing large-scale spatial degrees of freedom. This article develops a unified architectural perspective for PA-enabled ISAC. We first discuss the unique advantages of PAs over existing flexible solutions, and then propose a PA-enabled ISAC framework that accommodates both uplink and downlink communication while being compatible with passive and active sensing targets. Within this framework, we identify representative application scenarios, discuss major design challenges, and highlight critical enabling techniques. A numerical case study demonstrates how PA reconfigurability affects the communication-sensing rate trade-off. We also outline open issues to guide further PA-ISAC research for future 6G networks.
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All authors Yunshu Chen, Qing Xue, Chongjun Ouyang, Zhidu Li, Yi Wang, Meng Hua

Information Theory

Second-Order Asymptotics for the Gaussian MAC on the Relative Interior of the Sum-Rate Face

We completely characterize the second-order coding rate region of the two-user Gaussian multiple-access channel at points in the relative interior of the sum-rate face, under maximal per-codeword power constraints. For any fixed average error probability $0 < \varepsilon < 1/2$, a nontrivial mixture of power splits reduces the sum-rate dispersion and strictly improves upon standard inner bounds based on a constant power split. Thus, a constant power split, although sufficient to attain the first-order capacity region, is insufficient for second-order optimality in this regime. Our achievability proof builds on the constant composition and coded time-sharing framework of Scarlett, Martinez, and Guillén i Fàbregas, with an optimization over admissible power splits. A matching second-order converse establishes the optimality of the resulting coded time-sharing strategy.
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Information Theory · Cross-listed from eess.SP

Antenna Placement for Monostatic Near-Field Wireless Sensing

The emergence of movable antenna technology enables flexible antenna placement, allowing transceiver antennas to more effectively exploit spatial degrees of freedom. In this paper, we investigate a monostatic near-field sensing system, aiming to minimize the worst-case squared position error bound (SPEB) over the entire near-field region by jointly optimizing the transmit and receive antenna placements, along with the transmit power allocation. Toward this end, we first derive the closed-form expression of SPEB by calculating the Cramér-Rao bound (CRB) for estimating the target's angle and distance. It is shown that the derived SPEB is governed by the power-weighted moments of the transmit antenna locations and the moments of the receive antenna locations, motivating the development of a moment-based optimization algorithm. Functional analysis of the SPEB's moment structure proves that the optimal antenna distributions can be realized by a centro-symmetric structure, and shows that the worst-case target is located at the array broadside on the Rayleigh boundary. Moreover, by leveraging moment-based analysis and the Richter-Tchakaloff theorem, we derive closed-form antenna distributions with three points supported at the aperture center and two edges. Specifically, the optimal transmit antenna distribution can be exactly realized by activating only three transmit antennas while the optimal receive antenna distribution consists of three clusters. Numerical results show that the proposed closed-form design significantly outperforms conventional antenna placements and power allocation benchmark schemes.
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Tuesday 15 September

Information Theory · Cross-listed from stat.OT

When Can World Models Recover Physical Laws?

Accurate prediction does not establish that a world model has recovered a physical law: distinct dynamics can generate identical records under the same observation protocol. We formulate law recovery on a fixed physical domain under an explicit catalog of experiments, sensor uncertainty, and an acquisition budget. A rate–distortion converse separates the information needed to describe a law from the information the apparatus can reveal. Its constructive counterpart gives a finite response codebook and an explicit decoding budget. On compact world classes, uniform recovery is possible exactly when every pair of different laws is experimentally distinguishable; equivalently, the apparatus can recover all the entropy of every finite law source. An inverse response modulus quantifies stability. For Lipschitz fields on a $d$-dimensional state–action domain, noisy full-state readouts after resets require minimax budget $\Theta(\varepsilon^{-(d+4)/2})$ for squared law error $\varepsilon$, compared with $\Theta(\varepsilon^{-(d+2)/2})$ for direct field observations. Exact crossing-time symmetries establish the lower bound under adaptive experiment selection and arbitrary durations with constant inputs. Reproducible synthetic cases illustrate the separate roles of intervention, calibration, and repeated measurement. Together, the results identify which evidence supports a claim of physical-law recovery and the cost of acquiring it.
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Information Theory · Cross-listed from quant-ph

Classical, quantum, and general probabilistic state-discrimination profiles

For a collection of states indexed by $[n]={1,\ldots,n}$, let $F(H)$ denote the optimal unnormalized minimum discrimination error for each nonempty subfamily $H\subseteq[n]$. We call $F$ the discrimination profile and characterize exactly which profiles can arise in a general probabilistic theory (GPT). For fixed $n$, the GPT region $\mathfrak{G}_n$ is a bounded rational polytope, giving a hierarchy $\mathfrak{C}_n\subseteq\mathfrak{Q}_n\subseteq\mathfrak{G}_n$ of classical, quantum, and GPT profiles, analogous to the local–quantum–no-signalling hierarchy in Bell theory. For $n=3$ we determine the classical and GPT polytopes explicitly. Within $\mathfrak{G}_3$, the classical region is characterized by $\beta:=F(123)-F(12)-F(13)-F(23)\le0$, while the GPT maximum is $1$. For qubit triples, the maximal value is attained by the trine, $\beta_{\mathrm{tr}}=3\sqrt3/2-2$, and we prove the dimension-independent quantum bound $\beta_{\mathrm Q}\le2/3$, with a slight further improvement. Hence $0=\beta_{\mathrm C}<3\sqrt3/2-2\le\beta_{\mathrm Q}\le2/3<1=\beta_{\mathrm{GPT}}$. We conjecture $\beta_{\mathrm Q}=\beta_{\mathrm{tr}}$ and prove this for arbitrary pure-state triples, together with further supporting evidence. For arbitrary $n$, every classical facet admitting a GPT violation already admits a quantum violation in dimension at most $3$. A four-state qubit example shows that quantum success profiles need not be submodular, unlike for $n=3$. Finally, we exhibit a four-dimensional quantum triple whose discrete profile is classical for all subfamilies but becomes nonclassical when unequal priors are allowed.
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Information Theory

Prior-Aided Masked Vector Quantization CSI Feedback for FDD Massive MIMO Systems

Downlink channel state information (CSI) feedback is a key bottleneck in frequency-division duplex (FDD) massive MIMO systems, as the user equipment (UE) must convey its estimated channel to the base station (BS) over a limited uplink (UL) budget. To improve CSI reconstruction accuracy under tight feedback constraints, we propose prior-aided masked vector quantization (PM-VQ), a learning-based separate source–channel coding (SSCC) feedback scheme conditioned on the average angle–delay power map—a compact representation of the channel second-order statistics available at both the UE and the BS. In PM-VQ, a prior-aided encoder maps the CSI to latent tokens, and a spatially-adaptive masking module (SAMM) scores and selects the most informative tokens within the feedback budget. The selected tokens are vector-quantized and fed back together with their positions, while an adaptive de-masking module (ADM) completes the latent representation at the BS before prior-conditioned decoding. To support variable-rate compression, a single model is trained over a range of selected-token counts, enabling operation across multiple feedback dimensions without retraining. We evaluate PM-VQ against three representative baselines on a Sionna-generated 3GPP TR~38.901 UMa dataset, focusing on the most challenging diffuse regime where channel energy is spread across many angle–delay coefficients. Simulation results show that PM-VQ achieves the lowest NMSE across all tested SNR levels and feedback dimensions in this regime. Moreover, the angle–delay power-map prior remains beneficial even when estimated from only a few channel realizations.
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All authors Yi Song, Tianyu Yang, Kangda Zhi, Shuangyang Li, Fangzhou Wu, Songyan Xue, Giuseppe Caire

Information Theory

A Polynomial-Time Attack on the McEliece Cryptosystem on Elliptic Codes with Arbitrary Divisors

The McEliece cryptosystem based on algebraic geometry codes has been proposed as a way to reduce the key size of code-based cryptography, but several structural attacks have demonstrated the vulnerability of particular families of algebraic geometry codes. Despite this, until recently, there remained schemes and parameter sets that were not vulnerable to any known attack. We propose a new structural attack with “hints” that applies to elliptic codes with arbitrary effective divisors. In particular, we prove that, given the elliptic curve, the public generator matrix, and three points from the evaluation divisor, the entire divisor can be recovered in polynomial time, independently of the number of errors used in the cryptosystem. The attack requires $\mathcal{O}(k^2n^2+|\mathcal{E}(\mathbb{F}_q)|+n)$ operations in $\mathbb{F}_q$ and succeeds with overwhelming probability, after which the second divisor is recovered in $\mathcal{O}\!\left(k^2n^2 + (|\mathcal{E}(\mathbb{F}_q)|-n)n^2\right)$ operations. We further propose an optimized version of the attack that requires no additional information at all. Exploiting the action of the automorphisms of the curve, the three known points are replaced by the enumeration of a single pair of field elements, which yields an equivalent key on the given public curve in $\mathcal{O}\!\left(k^2n^2 + q^2 + (|\mathcal{E}(\mathbb{F}_q)|-n)n^2\right)$ operations on average.
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Information Theory · Cross-listed from cs.DS

Intrinsic-Dimensional Wasserstein Guarantees for Private Synthetic Measures

We study an $\varepsilon$-differentially private synthetic measure for $n$ points in $[0,1]^d$ by applying the existing PrivTree algorithm to construct an adaptive binary partition and then privately releasing its leaf masses. We consider the worst-case data model without any sampling or population-distribution assumption. The 1-Wasserstein error of the synthetic measure is $\widetilde O_d((\varepsilon n)^{-1/d})$ for $d\ge2$, which is optimal compared to the minimax lower bound up to a logarithmic factor. Moreover, for $d\ge3$ and $2<s\le d$, if the data set has covering number at most $Ar^{-s}$ over the relevant finite range of scales $r$, the expected error improves to $\widetilde O_{d,s}((\varepsilon n)^{-1/s})$. Thus the rate depends on a finite-scale intrinsic dimension rather than the ambient dimension, without requiring the recovery of a low-dimensional manifold. We also introduce a shifting technique to further avoid the exponential dependence of the constant on the ambient dimension $d$.
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Information Theory · Cross-listed from quant-ph

Regularized barycentric Rényi divergences

Barycentric Rényi divergences were introduced in [Mosonyi, Bunth, Vrana, Linear Algebra and its Applications, 2024] as an alternative to standard Kubo-Ando constructions to define multivariate quantum Rényi divergences. They are defined via a variational expression and depend on a finite collection of quantum relative entropies $D^{q_x}$. When all the relative entropies are monotone under CPTP maps then so are the corresponding barycentric Rényi divergences, and when all the relative entropies are additive then the corresponding barycentric Rényi divergences are subadditive under tensor product. Additivity has only been established before for the case where all $D^{q_x}$ are chosen to be the Umegaki relative entropy, which is also the only case where the barycentric Rényi divergence (called the minimal one) was known to admit an explicit expression. Here we settle the problem of additivity by showing that for any choice of monotone quantum relative entropies, the regularized barycentric Rényi divergence coincides with the minimal barycentric Rényi divergence on invertible inputs. This in turn implies that if at least two of the $D^{q_x}$ are strictly larger than the Umegaki relative entropy (in a precise sense), then the resulting barycentric Rényi divergence is not even weakly additive.
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Information Theory

Analytical Channel Modeling and Stability Aware Optimization of Optical Inter Satellite Links

Optical inter-satellite links (OISLs) are key enablers for high-capacity space networks and next-generation satellite constellations. However, their extreme directionality makes link reliability highly sensitive to platform-induced pointing jitter, which causes random misalignment between the transmitter and receiver beams. In this paper, we develop a tractable closed-form statistical channel model for point-to-point OISLs subject to independent pointing errors at both terminals. Accurate Gaussian main-lobe approximations are applied to the transmitter far-field pattern and receiver coupling efficiency. This transforms the diffraction-based channel response into closed-form expressions for the channel-gain distribution, outage probability, and ergodic capacity. The analytical results are validated through Monte Carlo simulations and used to study the impact of terminal stability, beam divergence, and link margin on OISL performance. The results show that outage probability is governed by the weaker terminal in terms of pointing stability, while improving only the stronger terminal provides minimal additional benefit. In contrast, the ergodic-capacity penalty depends on the combined stability of both terminals, revealing a fundamental distinction between reliability and throughput metrics. The proposed framework provides practical design guidelines for selecting beam parameters and specifying pointing and tracking requirements under varying levels of platform instability.
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All authors Hossein Safi, Ziheng Wang, Stijn Mast, Harald Haas, Iman Tavakkolnia

Information Theory

Multi-sequences with large linear and error linear complexity from function fields

The linear complexity and the error linear complexity of multi-sequences are measures for security in stream ciphers. In this manuscript, we present a general framework for constructing periodic multi-sequences via function fields. We prove that the constructed multi-sequences possess both large linear complexity and large error linear complexity. We apply this framework of constructing multi-sequences to various maximal function fields and we obtain many new multi-sequences with various lengths and dimensions. As a byproduct, we adopt this idea and produce many new quasi-cyclic algebraic geometric codes as well.
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All authors Xubin Hu, Shu Liu, Liming Ma, Chaoping Xing

Information Theory · Cross-listed from quant-ph

Generalised quantum Stein's lemma more robust than ever

The generalised quantum Stein's lemma is a key result in quantum hypothesis testing, and connects this fundamental primitive of quantum information processing with quantum resource manipulation, a task that is central for technological applications. Prior works have proved this statement in the idealised setting of independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) sequences of quantum states, and recent extensions consider also sources that are 'close' to i.i.d., according to the strict notion put forth by Mazzola, Sutter, and Renner. For several applications, however, one would need to consider yet more general sources. We establish a version of the generalised quantum Stein's lemma that is conceptually much simpler and general, as it applies to any source that is asymptotically close to an i.i.d. state with respect to the normalised quantum Wasserstein distance of order 1. As an immediate consequence, we solve the Stein exponent of a scenario where the null hypothesis is arbitrarily varying, expressing it in terms of i.i.d. Stein exponents corresponding to arbitrary states in the convex hull of the null hypothesis base set.
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All authors Filippo Girardi, Kuan-Yi Lee, Masahito Hayashi, Ludovico Lami

Information Theory

On Twisted Roth-Lempel Codes

In 1989, Roth and Lempel constructed a well-known family of non-Reed-Solomon maximum distance separable (MDS) codes. For decades, this family of codes has attracted extensive research attention due to its algebraic structure, low-complexity decoding, and broad applications in cryptography and data storage. In this paper, we present a class of twisted Roth-Lempel codes. We investigate their minimum distance, MDS and NMDS properties. Specifically, we determine the necessary and sufficient conditions for the TRL codes to have minimum distance n-k or n-k+1. Furthermore, we determine the necessary and sufficient conditions for the TRL code to be an MDS or NMDS code. Moreover, we show that the dimension of the Schur square of the TRL code is at least 2k+1, and thus the TRL code is a non-RS code inequivalent to the corresponding RL code.
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All authors Huiyue Lei, Haojie Gu, Jun Zhang, Haiyan Zhou

Information Theory

Towards Digital Halftoning on Closed Manifolds–An Error Diffusion Scheme for the $2D$ Torus based on Sigma-Delta Quantization along the Rank-one Lattice

Digital halftoning aims to represent continuous-tone images by binary patterns while preserving their visually relevant low-frequency content. Among the many available approaches, error-diffusion methods implement noise shaping through causal feedback filters and can be interpreted as two-dimensional versions of the signal quantization paradigm Sigma–Delta modulation. On closed domains, however, the terminal state of the underlying recurrence relation need not match the initial one, producing boundary artifacts. We study this problem for bandlimited functions on the two-dimensional torus. By arranging all pixels along a single closed rank-one lattice, we replace the multiple mismatches associated with separately processed rows and columns with a single terminal contribution, while retaining exact reconstruction. For a uniform lattice with \(N=M^2+1\) points, we obtain first- and second-order error bounds of order \(N^{-1/2}\) and \(N^{-1}\). A suitable constant update eliminates the terminal mismatch and reduces the spatial localization of the error without changing these asymptotic orders. For fixed-direction rank-one lattices, the corrected first- and second-order reconstructions instead achieve rates \(N^{-1}\) and \(N^{-2}\). Numerical experiments illustrate a reduction in boundary artifacts compared with classical schemes applied on the Cartesian grid.
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Information Theory

A Multiuser Channel Capacity Region

A finite structural characterization of the $U$-user multiuser channel-capacity region appears here. This region relies upon three concepts: (i) subset-based message atomization, (ii) synchronized receiver chain-rule/Fano reduction, and (iii) successive-decoding achievability via a finite-super-symbol closure. The resulting region is a finite union of order-indexed polytopes parameterized by the synchronized minimum mutual-information vector $\mathcal{I}_{\min}$. The framework removes auxiliary-random-variable proliferation and makes explicit the finite geometric structure underlying general multiuser converses, with the interference channel providing the primary illustration. For the linear matrix Gaussian multiuser-channel special case under per-user trace covariance constraints, Gaussian signaling is capacity-region-achieving within this framework. Also shown is that maximum rate sum for any Gaussian multiple-user-channel derives from simple iterative procedures.
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Information Theory

List Decoding, Linear Hashing, and Furstenberg over $\mathbb{F}_q$

We give new bounds for list sizes of random linear codes at capacity, max loads of linear hash functions, and Furstenberg sets, over every finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$. 1. Random linear codes over $\mathbb{F}_q$ with rate $1 - H_q(p) - \epsilon$ are $(p, O(q H_q(p)/\epsilon))$-list decodable with high probability for all values of $p, q, \epsilon$, including the high error regime. This nearly matches the list size lower bound of $H_q(p)/\epsilon$ due to Guruswami, Li, Mosheiff, Resch, Silas, and Wootters [IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory 2022]. Our bound is the first uniform improvement for $q > 2$ since Guruswami, Håstad, and Kopparty [STOC 2010]. 2. Linear hash functions over $\mathbb{F}_q$ hashing $n$ balls to $n$ bins achieve maximum load $O(q \ln \ln q / {\ln q}) \cdot \ln n / {\ln \ln n}$, both in expectation and with probability $1-o(1)$. This nearly matches the lower bound of $\ln n / {\ln \ln n}$. Previously, only a polylogarithmic upper bound was known for $q > 2$, due to Alon, Dietzfelbinger, Miltersen, Petrank, and Tardos [J. ACM 1999]. We reduce list decodability and linear hashing to strong Furstenberg set lower bounds, which we prove using a new polynomial method of multiplicity gaps. While previous polynomial methods analyze a set $S$ by studying polynomials that vanish on it, we consider polynomials that vanish everywhere, but with higher multiplicity inside $S$ than outside.
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