Unbiased Insights: Optimal Streaming Algorithms for $\ell_p$ Sampling, the Forget Model, and Beyond

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Lin, Honghao, Nguyen, Hoai-An, Swartworth, William, Woodruff, David P.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Lin, Honghao
Nguyen, Hoai-An
Swartworth, William
Woodruff, David P.
author_facet Lin, Honghao
Nguyen, Hoai-An
Swartworth, William
Woodruff, David P.
contents We study $\ell_p$ sampling and frequency moment estimation in a single-pass insertion-only data stream. For $p \in (0,2)$, we present a nearly space-optimal approximate $\ell_p$ sampler that uses $\widetilde{O}(\log n \log(1/δ))$ bits of space and for $p = 2$, we present a sampler with space complexity $\widetilde{O}(\log^2 n \log(1/δ))$. This space complexity is optimal for $p \in (0, 2)$ and improves upon prior work by a $\log n$ factor. We further extend our construction to a continuous $\ell_p$ sampler, which outputs a valid sample index at every point during the stream. Leveraging these samplers, we design nearly unbiased estimators for $F_p$ in data streams that include forget operations, which reset individual element frequencies and introduce significant non-linear challenges. As a result, we obtain near-optimal algorithms for estimating $F_p$ for all $p$ in this model, originally proposed by Pavan, Chakraborty, Vinodchandran, and Meel [PODS'24], resolving all three open problems they posed. Furthermore, we generalize this model to what we call the suffix-prefix deletion model, and extend our techniques to estimate entropy as a corollary of our moment estimation algorithms. Finally, we show how to handle arbitrary coordinate-wise functions during the stream, for any $g \in \mathbb{G}$, where $\mathbb{G}$ includes all (linear or non-linear) contraction functions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_07067
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Unbiased Insights: Optimal Streaming Algorithms for $\ell_p$ Sampling, the Forget Model, and Beyond
Lin, Honghao
Nguyen, Hoai-An
Swartworth, William
Woodruff, David P.
Data Structures and Algorithms
We study $\ell_p$ sampling and frequency moment estimation in a single-pass insertion-only data stream. For $p \in (0,2)$, we present a nearly space-optimal approximate $\ell_p$ sampler that uses $\widetilde{O}(\log n \log(1/δ))$ bits of space and for $p = 2$, we present a sampler with space complexity $\widetilde{O}(\log^2 n \log(1/δ))$. This space complexity is optimal for $p \in (0, 2)$ and improves upon prior work by a $\log n$ factor. We further extend our construction to a continuous $\ell_p$ sampler, which outputs a valid sample index at every point during the stream. Leveraging these samplers, we design nearly unbiased estimators for $F_p$ in data streams that include forget operations, which reset individual element frequencies and introduce significant non-linear challenges. As a result, we obtain near-optimal algorithms for estimating $F_p$ for all $p$ in this model, originally proposed by Pavan, Chakraborty, Vinodchandran, and Meel [PODS'24], resolving all three open problems they posed. Furthermore, we generalize this model to what we call the suffix-prefix deletion model, and extend our techniques to estimate entropy as a corollary of our moment estimation algorithms. Finally, we show how to handle arbitrary coordinate-wise functions during the stream, for any $g \in \mathbb{G}$, where $\mathbb{G}$ includes all (linear or non-linear) contraction functions.
title Unbiased Insights: Optimal Streaming Algorithms for $\ell_p$ Sampling, the Forget Model, and Beyond
topic Data Structures and Algorithms
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.07067