Tight inapproximability of max-LINSAT and implications for decoded quantum interferometry

Abstract: We establish tight inapproximability bounds for max-LINSAT, the problem of maximizing the number of satisfied linear constraints over the finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$, where each constraint accepts $r$ values. Specifically, we prove by a direct reduction from Håstad's theorem that no polynomial-time algorithm can exceed the random-assignment ratio $r/q$ by any constant, assuming $\mathsf{P} \neq \mathsf{NP}$. This threshold coincides with the $\ell/m \to 0$ limit of the semicircle law governing decoded quantum interferometry (DQI), where $\ell$ is the decoding radius of the underlying code: as the decodable structure vanishes, DQI's approximation ratio degrades to exactly the worst-case bound established by our result. Together, these observations delineate the boundary between worst-case hardness and potential quantum advantage, showing that any algorithm surpassing $r/q$ must exploit algebraic structure specific to the instance.