The model of span programs is a linear algebraic model of
computation. Lower bounds for span programs imply lower bounds for
contact schemes, symmetric branching programs and for formula size.
Monotone span programs correspond also to linear secret-sharing schemes.
We present a new technique for proving lower bounds for ... more >>>

Span programs form a linear-algebraic model of computation, with span program "size" used in proving classical lower bounds. Quantum query complexity is a coherent generalization, for quantum algorithms, of classical decision-tree complexity. It is bounded below by a semi-definite program (SDP) known as the general adversary bound. We connect these ... more >>>

Quantum query complexity measures the number of input bits that must be read by a quantum algorithm in order to evaluate a function. Hoyer et al. (2007) have generalized the adversary semi-definite program that lower-bounds quantum query complexity. By giving a matching algorithm, we show that the general adversary lower ... more >>>

For a universal constant $\alpha > 0$, we prove size lower bounds of $2^{\alpha N}$ for computing an explicit monotone function in NP in the following models of computation: monotone formulas, monotone switching networks, monotone span programs, and monotone comparator circuits, where $N$ is the number of variables of the ... more >>>

We characterize the size of monotone span programs computing certain "structured" boolean functions by the Nullstellensatz degree of a related unsatisfiable Boolean formula.

This yields the first exponential lower bounds for monotone span programs over arbitrary fields, the first exponential separations between monotone span programs over fields of different ... more >>>

Motivated in part by applications in lattice-based cryptography, we initiate the study of the size of linear threshold (`$t$-out-of-$n$') secret-sharing where the linear reconstruction function is restricted to coefficients in $\{0,1\}$. We prove upper and lower bounds on the share size of such schemes. One ramification of our results is ... more >>>