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arXiv · 2609.36050

From Weak to Strong Testing in Gaussian Models

Ansh Nagda·Alexander S. Wein
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Abstract

We study the computational complexity of hypothesis testing in the spiked Wigner model, a prototypical model for detecting low-rank structure in a large random matrix. Below the "BBP" eigenvalue transition, it is expected that strong detection --- with both type I and II errors vanishing --- requires exponential time. Assuming this as a conjecture, we determine the limits of polynomial-time weak detection, exactly characterizing the possible tradeoffs between type I and II errors. Specifically, the optimal tradeoff is achieved by a particular linear spectral statistic. Thus, the question of weak detection is entirely reduced to that of strong detection. The proof builds on ideas of Nagda-Raghavendra (2025) and Moitra-Wein (2025). The low-degree likelihood ratio (LDLR) plays a key role: any test that slightly beats the LDLR can be boosted to have an even higher success probability. This leads us to establish a computational analogue of the Neyman-Pearson lemma for a subclass of additive Gaussian models: for a given super-polynomial runtime, the best possible tradeoff between type I and II errors is either the one achieved by thresholding the LDLR, or the trivial tradeoff that results from strong detection.

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Ansh Nagda, Alexander S. Wein. 2026-09-28. From Weak to Strong Testing in Gaussian Models. https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.36050

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