Conditional lower bounds for sparse parameterized 2-CSP: A streamlined proof

Abstract

Assuming the Exponential Time Hypothesis (ETH), a result of Marx (ToC'10) implies that there is no $f(k)\cdot n^{o(k/\log k)}$ time algorithm that can solve 2-CSPs with $k$ constraints (over a domain of arbitrary large size $n$) for any computable function $f$. This lower bound is widely used to show that certain parameterized problems cannot be solved in time $f(k)\cdot n^{o(k/\log k)}$ time (assuming the ETH). The purpose of this note is to give a streamlined proof of this result.