Sharif Digital Repository

In this paper we define critical graphs as minimal graphs that support a given set of rates for the index coding problem, and study them for both the one-shot and asymptotic setups. For the case of equal rates, we find the critical graph with minimum number of edges for both one-shot and asymptotic cases. For the general case of possibly distinct rates, we show that for one-shot and asymptotic linear index coding, as well as asymptotic non-linear index coding, each critical graph is a union of disjoint strongly connected subgraphs (USCS). On the other hand, we identify a non-USCS critical graph for a one-shot non-linear index coding problem. In addition, we show that the capacity region of... 

The sparsity and compressibility of finite-dimensional signals are of great interest in fields, such as compressed sensing. The notion of compressibility is also extended to infinite sequences of independent identically distributed or ergodic random variables based on the observed error in their nonlinear $k$ -term approximation. In this paper, we use the entropy measure to study the compressibility of continuous-domain innovation processes (alternatively known as white noise). Specifically, we define such a measure as the entropy limit of the doubly quantized (time and amplitude) process. This provides a tool to compare the compressibility of various innovation processes. It also allows us... 

In this paper we study the problem of generation of dependent random variables, known as the coordination capacity [4], [5], in multiterminal networks. In this model m nodes of the network are observing i.i.d. repetitions of X (1), X (2),⋯, X (m) distributed according to q(x (1),⋯, x (m)). Given a joint distribution q(x (1),⋯,x (m), y (1), ⋯, y (m)), the final goal of the i th node is to construct the i.i.d. copies of Y (i) after the communication over the network where X (1), X (2),⋯, X (m), Y (1), Y (2),⋯, Y (m) are jointly distributed according to q(x (1), , x (m), y (1),⋯,y (m)). To do this, the nodes can exchange messages over the network at rates not exceeding the capacity constraints... 

In this paper, we study the problem of simulating a DMC channel from another DMC channel. We assume that the input to the channel we are simulating is i.i.d. and that the transmitter and receivers are provided with common randomness at limited rates. We prove bounds for simulating point-to-point, MAC and broadcast channels. As a special case, we recover the achievability part of the result of Cuff for point-to-point channel simulation via a noiseless link and shared randomness  

A Santha-Vazirani (SV) source is a sequence of random bits where the conditional distribution of each bit, given the previous bits, can be partially controlled by an adversary. Santha and Vazirani show that deterministic randomness extraction from these sources is impossible. In this paper, we study the generalization of SV sources for nonbinary sequences. We show that unlike the binary case, deterministic randomness extraction in the generalized case is sometimes possible. We present a necessary condition and a sufficient condition for the possibility of deterministic randomness extraction. These two conditions coincide in “non-degenerate” cases. Next, we turn to a distributed setting. In... 

'Help bits' are some limited trusted information about an instance or instances of a computational problem that may reduce the computational complexity of solving that instance or instances. Assume that we can efficiently solve k instances of a decision problem using some help bits whose entropy is less than k when the k instances are drawn independently from a particular distribution. Then there is an upper bound on the average-case complexity of the problem, namely we can efficiently solve an instance drawn from that distribution correctly with probability better than 1/2  

“Help bits" are some limited trusted information about an instance or instances of a computational problem that may reduce the computational complexity of solving that instance or instances. In this paper, we study the value of help bits in the settings of randomized and average-case complexity. If k instances of a decision problem can be efficiently solved using ℓ< k help bits, then without access to help bits one can efficiently compute a k-bit vector that is not equal to the k-bit vector of solutions to the k instances. A decision problem with this property is called k-membership comparable. Amir, Beigel, and Gasarch (1990) show that for constant k, all k-membership comparable languages... 

A Santha-Vazirani (SV) source is a sequence of random bits where the conditional distribution of each bit, given the previous bits, can be partially controlled by an adversary. Santha and Vazirani show that deterministic randomness extraction from these sources is impossible. In this paper, we study the generalization of SV sources for nonbinary sequences. We show that unlike the binary setup of Santha and Vazirani, deterministic randomness extraction in the generalized case is sometimes possible. In particular, if the adversary has access to s "nondegenerate" dice that are c-sided and can choose one die to throw based on the previous realizations of the dice, then deterministic randomness... 

Proper functioning of electrical connectors used in high oscillation is of great importance. Vibrations in connector pins cause stress and electrical resistance variations in the contact surface. In the present paper, the impacts of vibrational loads on electrical connectors is being modeled using the finite element method, and the electrical resistance oscillations of the connectors will be examined. Ultimately, the parameters affecting the electrical resistance oscillations of contacts will be determined and their relations with oscillations in electrical resistance are specified as well. © 2018 by the authors; licensee Growing Science, Canada, 2018 Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved... 

We establish several new results on Marton's inner bound on the capacity region of the general broadcast channel. Inspired by the fact that Marton's coding scheme without superposition coding is optimal in the Gaussian case, we consider the class of binary input degraded broadcast channels with no common message that have the same property. We characterize this class. We also establish new properties of Marton's inner bound that help restrict the search space for computing the Marton sum rate. In particular, we establish an extension of the XOR case of the binary inequality of Nair, Wang, and Geng  

Cut-set bounds are not, in general, tight for all classes of network communication problems. In this paper, we introduce a new technique for proving converses for the problem of transmission of correlated sources in networks, which results in bounds that are tighter than the corresponding cut-set bounds. We also define the concept of 'uncertainty region' which might be of independent interest. We provide a full characterization of this region for the case of two correlated random variables. The bounding technique works as follows: on one hand, we show that if the communication problem is solvable, the uncertainty of certain random variables in the network with respect to imaginary parties... 

Cut-set bounds on achievable rates for network communication protocols are not in general tight. In this paper we introduce a new technique for proving converses for the problem of transmission of correlated sources in networks, that results in bounds that are tighter than the corresponding cut-set bounds. We also define the concept of "uncertainty region" which might be of independent interest. We provide a full characterization of this region for the case of two correlated random variables. The bounding technique works as follows: on one hand we show that if the communication problem is solvable, the uncertainty of certain random variables in the network with respect to imaginary parties... 

Being able to track objects that surround us is key for planning actions in dynamic environments. However, rigorous cognitive models for tracking of one or more objects are currently lacking. In this study, we asked human subjects to judge the time to contact (TTC) a finish line for one or two objects that became invisible shortly after moving. We showed that the pattern of subject responses had an error variance best explained by an inverse Gaussian distribution and consistent with the output of a biased drift-diffusion model. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the pattern of errors made when tracking two objects showed a level of dependence that was consistent with subjects using a single... 

This paper introduces a new and ubiquitous framework for establishing achievability results in network information theory problems. The framework uses random binning arguments and is based on a duality between channel and source coding problems. Furthermore, the framework uses pmf approximation arguments instead of counting and typicality. This allows for proving coordination and strong secrecy problems, where certain statistical conditions on the distribution of random variables need to be satisfied. These statistical conditions include independence between messages and eavesdropper's observations in secrecy problems and closeness to a certain distribution (usually, i.i.d. distribution) in... 

In this paper we derive a new upper bound on the quantum key distillation capacity. This upper bound is an extension of the classical bound of Gohari and Anantharam on the source model problem. Our bound strictly improves the quantum extension of reduced intrinsic information bound of Christandl et al. Although this bound is proposed for quantum settings, it also serves as an upper bound for the special case of classical source model, and may improve the bound of Gohari and Anantharam. The problem of quantum key distillation is one in which two distant parties, Alice and Bob, and an adversary, Eve, have access to copies of quantum systems A, B, E respectively, prepared jointly according to... 

In this paper we develop a finite blocklength version of the Output Statistics of Random Binning (OSRB) framework. This framework is shown to be optimal in the point-to-point case. New second order regions for broadcast channel and wiretap channel with strong secrecy criterion are derived  

This paper presents a new and ubiquitous framework for establishing achievability results in network information theory (NIT) problems. The framework is used to prove various new results. To express the main tool, consider a set of discrete memoryless correlated sources (DMCS). Assume that each source (except one, Z n) is randomly binned at a finite rate. We find sufficient conditions on these rates such that the bin indices are nearly mutually independent of each other and of Z n. This is used in conjunction with the Slepian-Wolf (S-W) result to set up the framework. We begin by illustrating this method via examples from channel coding and rate-distortion (or covering problems). Next, we... 

In this paper we use the Output Statistics of Random Binning (ORSB) framework to extend the noisy network coding of Lim et al. to include an eavesdropper  

Wireless infrared optical code-division multiple access (W-OCDMA) is a new developing technique with many useful applications. Noting the limitation on power consumption and eye-safety requirements, wireless optical systems are power limited. Therefore control and efficient use of optical power is a key issue in analysis and design of these systems. Also, multi-user interference is the major source of impairment in these systems and power control is required to control and reduce this interference. Power control and the inevitable errors in its algorithms play an important role in design and implementation of these systems. In this article the authors study the uplink performance of W-OCDMA... 

This study considers a secure network coding problem in which some secret keys are shared among legitimate nodes, and there exists an eavesdropper that is able to hear a subset of links. We show the equivalency of secure network coding under weak and strong secrecy conditions. For linear network coding, we show a stronger result: equivalency of "perfect secrecy and zero-error constraints" to "weak secrecy and ϵ-error constraints". This is a secure version of the result obtained by Langberg and Effiros on the equivalence of zero-error and ϵ-error regions in the network coding problem with co-located sources. Jalali and Ho exploited extractor functions to prove the weak and strong rate region...