We introduce and study the notion of read-$k$ projections of the determinant: a polynomial $f \in \mathbb{F}[x_1, \ldots, x_n]$ is called a {\it read-$k$ projection of determinant} if $f=det(M)$, where entries of matrix $M$ are either field elements or variables such that each variable appears at most $k$ times in ... more >>>

An algebraic branching program (ABP) is a directed acyclic graph, with a start vertex $s$, and end vertex $t$ and each edge having a weight which is an affine form in $\F[x_1, x_2, \ldots, x_n]$. An ABP computes a polynomial in a natural way, as the sum of weights of ... more >>>

The determinantal complexity of a polynomial $P \in \mathbb{F}[x_1, \ldots, x_n]$ over a field $\mathbb{F}$ is the dimension of the smallest matrix $M$ whose entries are affine functions in $\mathbb{F}[x_1, \ldots, x_n]$ such that $P = Det(M)$. We prove that the determinantal complexity of the polynomial $\sum_{i = 1}^n x_i^n$ ... more >>>

An elementary proof of quadratic lower bound for determinantal complexity of the permanent in positive characteristic is stated. This is achieved by constructing a sequence of matrices with zero permanent, but the rank of Hessian is bounded below by a degree two polynomial.

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It is a well-known fact that the permanent polynomial is complete for the complexity class VNP, and it is largely suspected that the determinant does not share this property, despite its similar expression.
We study the question of why the VNP-completeness proof of the permanent fails for the determinant.
We ... more >>>

The symmetric determinantal complexity $\sdc(f)$ of a polynomial $f$ is the
least $m$ such that $f=\Det(M)$ for an $m\times m$ symmetric matrix $M$ of
affine-linear forms. We prove, over $\CC$, that
\[
\sdc\!\left(\sum_{i=1}^n x_i^n\right)
\ge \left(\frac{1}{2e}-o(1)\right)n^2 .
\]
The result is a symmetric companion to the author's non-symmetric ... more >>>

We prove an $\Omega(n^2)$ lower bound on the determinantal complexity of the power sum polynomial $\sum_{i=1}^n x_i^n$ over the field of complex numbers.

A similar result was claimed in a recent paper of Sheshadri, via an AI-assisted and AI-written proof. Assuming its correctness, this was the first super-linear lower bound ... more >>>

I give a short proof that the border determinantal complexity of F_n = x_1^n + ... + x_n^n over C is at least (n-1)^2/(4e), and at least (n-1)^2/(2e) in the symmetric model. The same argument shows that the border determinantal complexity of x_1^d + ... + x_N^d is Theta(Nd) for ... more >>>

In an earlier note (arXiv:2606.11090) I showed that the border determinantal complexity of the power sum x_1^d + ... + x_N^d is ?(Nd). The proof counted the simple solutions of an explicit polynomial system and compared that number with what a small determinant can produce. This left two questions. Does ... more >>>

OpenAI's Sep 2026 preprint introduced the first cubic lower bound on the border DC of the permanent. Their preprint generalizes the method I introduced in my June 2026 preprint (https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.15970; see also TR26-275). However, their proof only applies over $\mathbb{C}$.

In this note, I prove that the cubic lower bound ... more >>>