Theoretical analysis proves that fixed-degree Minkowski factorization of homogeneous supports is NP-complete, indicating computational intractability for factoring Boolean polynomials and monomial...
For integers k, N ≥ 1, let Hk,N = {x ∈ N^k : Σ_i x_i = N}. We study the following fixed-degree recognition problem: given an explicitly represented support S ⊆ Hk,4, decide whether S = Q + R, Q, R ⊆ Hk,2, where + denotes Minkowski addition of finite sets. We prove that this problem is NP-complete. The hardness persists on almost-complete instances: only O(k) of the Θ(k^4) states of Hk,4 are missing, every missing state is square-free, and the corresponding missing-state 4-uniform hypergraph has maximum degree at most 8. The key structural result is an exact characterization for supports obtained by deleting square-free states from Hk,4. In this regime, quadratic factorization is equivalent to a binary edge-coloring CSP on the two-shadow of the missing hypergraph: missing four-sets force equal colors on opposite edges, whereas present four-cliques force at least one opposite pair to have different colors. A direct reduction from bounded-occurrence Monotone NAE-3-SAT then gives NP-hardness. We also formulate the result through a support invariant, factorization arity, and derive equivalent fixed-degree hardness statements for homogeneous formal polynomials over the Boolean semiring and for products of quadratic monomial ideals.
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Mehmet Emin Ozyigit (2026) studied this question.
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