For bipartite binary quadratic optimization, if is the sign optimum and its semidefinite relaxation of binary quadratic optimization value, then . The upper bound follows from rank-one lifting. For the lower bound, Krivine rounding scheme preprocessing followed by Gaussian hyperplane rounding has expected objective exactly , and every rounded vector is feasible. Some outcome reaches at least this expectation. No independence of rounded coordinates or positive semidefiniteness of the original bipartite objective is needed.
Entrywise matrix function 2026-10-06
Applying a scalar function separately to each matrix entry: . This differs from spectral matrix functional calculus. In particular, in Gaussian hyperplane rounding is entrywise, and its contribution to a matrix trace can be restricted to selected blocks by the support of the other matrix.
Krivine rounding scheme 2026-10-06
For a bipartite elliptope matrix , put and apply within the two diagonal blocks and across them. Matching absolute power series coefficients give a positive semidefinite matrix by coefficient-dominated entrywise positivity, while gives unit diagonal. Gaussian hyperplane rounding then turns each cross-block correlation coefficient into because . The zero diagonal blocks of the bipartite objective eliminate every other contribution.
The Gram matrix representation and give . For a standard Gaussian random vector , each is a standard normal scalar, so the zero event has probability zero. Choose either sign convention at zero; the resulting vector is almost surely a feasible sign vector. Consequently almost surely.
The Gaussian sign-correlation identity gives
The last equality uses symmetry of the real matrices. Hence
The inverse sine is applied entrywise, not through spectral matrix functional calculus.
For completeness, the correlation coefficient identity has a geometric proof. If the angle between two unit vectors is , the isotropic Gaussian random vector direction in their two-dimensional span gives opposite signs on angular sectors with probability . Thus the sign product has expectation . Parallel and antiparallel pairs give the endpoint values and directly. This is Gaussian hyperplane rounding, and needs no independence between the rounded coordinates.
Randomized rounding 2026-10-06
A method turning a solution of a continuous optimization relaxation into a random feasible solution of a discrete problem. An expected objective bound can give an approximation guarantee. Gaussian hyperplane rounding and Rademacher rounding for a semidefinite relaxation are different examples.