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 >>>

We show that the class of monotone $2^{O(\sqrt{\log n})}$-term DNF
formulae can be PAC learned in polynomial time under the uniform
distribution. This is an exponential improvement over previous
algorithms in this model, which could learn monotone
$o(\log^2 n)$-term DNF, and is the first efficient algorithm
for ... more >>>

Monotone span programs are a linear-algebraic model of computation which were introduced by Karchmer and Wigderson in 1993. They are known to be equivalent to linear secret sharing schemes, and have various applications in complexity theory and cryptography. Lower bounds for monotone span programs have been difficult to obtain because ... 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 >>>