Optimal Passes and Perfect Sampling for Similarity Graph Statistics

Abstract

We study statistical estimation on implicit weighted similarity graphs presented as node-arrival streams. Previous work~\cite{LZ26b} obtained constant-pass, sublinear-space algorithms for several basic statistics of such graphs, including the diversity index $\mathsf{DI}=\sum_i d_i^{-1}$ and the degree moments $M_p=\sum_i d_i^p$ for $p>0$, together with their associated sampling problems $L_{\mathsf{DI}}$ and $L_{M_p}$. We settle three questions left unresolved by the previous work. First, we show that any two-pass streaming algorithm that $1.1$-approximates $\mathsf{DI}$ requires $\Omega(n)$ bits of space; combined with the three-pass $\tilde{O}(\sqrt n)$-space algorithm of~\cite{LZ26b}, this establishes a sharp transition between two and three passes for $\mathsf{DI}$. Second and third, for every fixed $c>0$ we give a three-pass $n^{-c}$-perfect $L_{\mathsf{DI}}$-sampler using $O_c(\sqrt n\log n)$ words and a two-pass $n^{-c}$-perfect $L_{M_p}$-sampler using $O_{p,c}(n^{1-1/(p+1)}\log n)$ words. Matching lower bounds up to polylogarithmic factors show that both the number of passes and the polynomial dependence on $n$ are optimal.