An Illuminating Algorithm for the Light Bulb Problem
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The Light Bulb Problem is one of the most basic problems in data analysis. One is given as input n vectors in {-1,1}^d, which are all independently and uniformly random, except for a planted pair of vectors with inner product at least ρ· d for some constant ρ > 0. The task is to find the planted pair. The most straightforward algorithm leads to a runtime of Ω(n^2). Algorithms based on techniques like Locality-Sensitive Hashing achieve runtimes of n^2 - O(ρ); as ρ gets small, these approach quadratic. Building on prior work, we give a new algorithm for this problem which runs in time O(n^1.582 + nd), regardless of how small ρ is. This matches the best known runtime due to Karppa et al. Our algorithm combines techniques from previous work on the Light Bulb Problem with the so-called `polynomial method in algorithm design,' and has a simpler analysis than previous work. Our algorithm is also easily derandomized, leading to a deterministic algorithm for the Light Bulb Problem with the same runtime of O(n^1.582 + nd), improving previous results.
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