The Sum of Square Roots (SSR) problem is the following computational problem: Given positive integers $a_1, \dots, a_k$, and signs $\delta_1, \dots, \delta_k \in \{-1, 1\}$, check if $\sum_{i=1}^k \delta_i \sqrt{a_i} > 0$. The problem is known to have a polynomial time algorithm on the real RAM model of computation, ... more >>>

We prove that the blocklength $n$ of a linear $3$-query locally correctable code (LCC) $\mathcal{L} \colon \mathbb{F}^k \to \mathbb{F}^n$ with distance $\delta$ must be at least $n \geq 2^{\Omega\left(\left(\frac{\delta^2 k}{(|\mathbb{F}|-1)^2}\right)^{1/8}\right)}$. In particular, the blocklength of a linear $3$-query LCC with constant distance over any small field grows exponentially with $k$. ... more >>>

Suppose we have access to a small number of samples from an unknown distribution, and would like learn facts about the distribution.
An untrusted data server claims to have studied the distribution and makes assertions about its properties. Can the untrusted data server prove that its assertions are approximately correct? ... more >>>