The Pattern Matrix Method (Journal Version)

Abstract: We develop a novel and powerful technique for communication lower bounds, the pattern matrix method. Specifically, fix an arbitrary function f:{0,1}^n->{0,1} and let A_f be the matrix whose columns are each an application of f to some subset of the variables x_1,x_2,...,x_{4n}. We prove that A_f has bounded-error communication complexity Omega(d), where d is the approximate degree of f. This result remains valid in the quantum model, regardless of prior entanglement. In particular, it gives a new and simple proof of Razborov's breakthrough quantum lower bounds for disjointness and other symmetric predicates. We further characterize the discrepancy, approximate rank, and approximate trace norm of A_f in terms of well-studied analytic properties of f, broadly generalizing several recent results on small-bias communication and agnostic learning. The method of this paper has recently enabled important progress in multiparty communication complexity.