A fundamental notion in Algorithmic Statistics is that of a stochastic object, i.e., an object having a simple plausible explanation. Informally, a probability distribution is a plausible explanation for $x$ if it looks likely that $x$ was drawn at random with respect to that distribution. In this paper, we ... more >>>

We prove new lower bounds on the sizes of proofs in the Cutting Plane proof system, using a concept that we call "unsatisfiability certificate". This approach is, essentially, equivalent to the well-known feasible interpolation method, but is applicable to CNF formulas that do not seem suitable for interpolation. Specifically, we ... more >>>

The question of finding an epsilon-biased set with close to optimal support size, or, equivalently, finding an explicit binary code with distance $\frac{1-\epsilon}{2}$ and rate close to the Gilbert-Varshamov bound, attracted a lot of attention in recent decades. In this paper we solve the problem almost optimally and show an ... more >>>