On Matrix Rigidity and the Complexity of Linear Forms

The rigidity function of a matrix is defined as the minimum number of its entries that need to be changed in order to reduce the rank of the matrix to below a given parameter. Proving a strong enough lower bound on the rigidity of a matrix implies a nontrivial lower bound on the complexity of any linear circuit computing the set of linear forms associated with it. However, although it is shown that most matrices are rigid enough, no explicit construction of a rigid family of matrices is known. In this survey report we review the concept of rigidity and some of its interesting variations as well as several notable results related to that. We also show the existence of highly rigid matrices constructed by evaluation of bivariate polynomials over finite fields.

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