A Unified Approach to Submodular Maximization Under Noise

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Bhawalkar, Kshipra, Cai, Yang, Feng, Zhe, Liaw, Christopher, Lin, Tao
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Bhawalkar, Kshipra
Cai, Yang
Feng, Zhe
Liaw, Christopher
Lin, Tao
author_facet Bhawalkar, Kshipra
Cai, Yang
Feng, Zhe
Liaw, Christopher
Lin, Tao
contents We consider the problem of maximizing a submodular function with access to a noisy value oracle for the function instead of an exact value oracle. Similar to prior work, we assume that the noisy oracle is persistent in that multiple calls to the oracle for a specific set always return the same value. In this model, Hassidim and Singer (2017) design a $(1-1/e)$-approximation algorithm for monotone submodular maximization subject to a cardinality constraint, and Huang et al (2022) design a $(1-1/e)/2$-approximation algorithm for monotone submodular maximization subject to any arbitrary matroid constraint. In this paper, we design a meta-algorithm that allows us to take any "robust" algorithm for exact submodular maximization as a black box and transform it into an algorithm for the noisy setting while retaining the approximation guarantee. By using the meta-algorithm with the measured continuous greedy algorithm, we obtain a $(1-1/e)$-approximation (resp. $1/e$-approximation) for monotone (resp. non-monotone) submodular maximization subject to a matroid constraint under noise. Furthermore, by using the meta-algorithm with the double greedy algorithm, we obtain a $1/2$-approximation for unconstrained (non-monotone) submodular maximization under noise.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_21128
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Unified Approach to Submodular Maximization Under Noise
Bhawalkar, Kshipra
Cai, Yang
Feng, Zhe
Liaw, Christopher
Lin, Tao
Data Structures and Algorithms
Computational Complexity
Discrete Mathematics
Machine Learning
We consider the problem of maximizing a submodular function with access to a noisy value oracle for the function instead of an exact value oracle. Similar to prior work, we assume that the noisy oracle is persistent in that multiple calls to the oracle for a specific set always return the same value. In this model, Hassidim and Singer (2017) design a $(1-1/e)$-approximation algorithm for monotone submodular maximization subject to a cardinality constraint, and Huang et al (2022) design a $(1-1/e)/2$-approximation algorithm for monotone submodular maximization subject to any arbitrary matroid constraint. In this paper, we design a meta-algorithm that allows us to take any "robust" algorithm for exact submodular maximization as a black box and transform it into an algorithm for the noisy setting while retaining the approximation guarantee. By using the meta-algorithm with the measured continuous greedy algorithm, we obtain a $(1-1/e)$-approximation (resp. $1/e$-approximation) for monotone (resp. non-monotone) submodular maximization subject to a matroid constraint under noise. Furthermore, by using the meta-algorithm with the double greedy algorithm, we obtain a $1/2$-approximation for unconstrained (non-monotone) submodular maximization under noise.
title A Unified Approach to Submodular Maximization Under Noise
topic Data Structures and Algorithms
Computational Complexity
Discrete Mathematics
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.21128