Max-3-Lin over Non-Abelian Groups with Universal Factor Graphs

Abstract: Factor graph of an instance of a constraint satisfaction problem with n variables and m constraints is the bipartite graph between [m] and [n] describing which variable appears in which constraints. Thus, an instance of a CSP is completely defined by its factor graph and the list of predicates. We show inapproximability of Max-3-LIN over non-abelian groups (both in the perfect completeness case and in the imperfect completeness case), with the same inapproximability factor as in the general case, even when the factor graph is fixed. Along the way, we also show that these optimal hardness results hold even when we restrict the linear equations in the Max-3-LIN instances to the form x * y * z = g, where x, y, z are the variables and g is a group element. We use representation theory and Fourier analysis over non-abelian groups to analyze the reductions.