We show that degree-$d$ block-symmetric polynomials in
$n$ variables modulo any odd $p$ correlate with parity
exponentially better than degree-$d$ symmetric
polynomials, if $n \ge c d^2 \log d$ and $d \in [0.995
\cdot p^t - 1,p^t)$ for some $t \ge 1$. For these
infinitely many degrees, our result ... more >>>

The study of locally testable codes (LTCs) has benefited from a number of nontrivial constructions discovered in recent years. Yet we still lack a good understanding of what makes a linear error correcting code locally testable and as a result we do not know what is the rate-limit of LTCs ... more >>>

We consider the problem of constructing explicit Hitting sets for Combinatorial Shapes, a class of statistical tests first studied by Gopalan, Meka, Reingold, and Zuckerman (STOC 2011). These generalize many well-studied classes of tests, including symmetric functions and combinatorial rectangles. Generalizing results of Linial, Luby, Saks, and Zuckerman (Combinatorica 1997) ... more >>>