algorithms

Computer scientists can now solve a decades-old problem in practically the time it takes to write it down.

Why verify every line of a proof, when just a few checks will do?

Finding out whether a question is too difficult to ever solve efficiently depends on figuring out just how hard it is. Researchers have now shown how to do that for a major class of problems.

Researchers say we’re on the cusp of “GoPro physics,” where a camera can point at an event and an algorithm can identify the underlying physics equation.

For years, intermediate measurements made it hard to quantify the complexity of quantum algorithms. New work establishes that those measurements aren’t necessary after all.

Quantum bits are fussy and fragile. Useful quantum computers will need to use an error-correction technique like the one that was recently demonstrated on a real machine.

Algorithms that zero in on solutions to optimization problems are the beating heart of machine reasoning. New results reveal surprising limits.

The most widely used technique for finding the largest or smallest values of a math function turns out to be a fundamentally difficult computational problem.

Rediet Abebe uses the tools of theoretical computer science to understand pressing social problems — and try to fix them.