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arXiv · 2611.03880

The Hyperclique Hypothesis is False

Nick Fischer
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Abstract

The Hyperclique Hypothesis postulates that, for all constants $k > h \geq 3$, detecting a $k$-clique in an $h$-uniform hypergraph with $n$ vertices requires time $n^{k-o(1)}$. This hypothesis is false: there is an algebraic algorithm that detects (and even counts) $k$-cliques in $h$-uniform hypergraphs in time $O(n^{(1-ε_h)k})$. Via known reductions, this also refutes the recently proposed $k$-AP Hypothesis. As a consequence, many problems with conditional lower bounds based on these two hypotheses may admit faster algorithms after all. This result is almost entirely due to AI.

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Nick Fischer. 2026-11-02. The Hyperclique Hypothesis is False. https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.03880

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