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We show the first conditionally optimal deterministic algorithm for 3-coloring forests in the low-space massively parallel computation (MPC) model. Our algorithm runs in O(log log n) rounds and uses optimal global space. The best previous algorithm requires 4 colors [Ghaffari, Grunau, Jin, DISC'20] and is randomized, while our algorithm are inherently deterministic. Our main technical contribution is an O(log log n)-round algorithm to compute a partition of the forest into O(log n) ordered layers such that every node has at most two neighbors in the same or higher layers. Similar decompositions are often used in the area and we believe that this result is of independent interest. Our results also immediately yield conditionally optimal deterministic algorithms for maximal independent set and maximal matching for forests, matching the state of the art [Giliberti, Fischer, Grunau, SPAA'23]. In contrast to their solution, our algorithms are not based on derandomization, and are arguably simpler.

Locally Checkable Labeling (LCL) problems are graph problems in which a solution is correct if it satisfies some given constraints in the local neighborhood of each node. Example problems in this class include maximal matching, maximal independent set, and coloring problems. A successful line of research has been studying the complexities of LCL problems on paths/cycles, trees, and general graphs, providing many interesting results for the LOCAL model of distributed computing. In this work, we initiate the study of LCL problems in the low-space Massively Parallel Computation (MPC) model. In particular, on forests, we provide a method that, given the complexity of an LCL problem in the LOCAL model, automatically provides an exponentially faster algorithm for the low-space MPC setting that uses optimal global memory, that is, truly linear. While restricting to forests may seem to weaken the result, we emphasize that all known (conditional) lower bounds for the MPC setting are obtained by lifting lower bounds obtained in the distributed setting in tree-like networks (either forests or high girth graphs), and hence the problems that we study are challenging already on forests. Moreover, the most important technical feature of our algorithms is that they use optimal global memory, that is, memory linear in the number of edges of the graph. In contrast, most of the state-of-the-art algorithms use more than linear global memory. Further, they typically start with a dense graph, sparsify it, and then solve the problem on the residual graph, exploiting the relative increase in global memory. On forests, this is not possible, because the given graph is already as sparse as it can be, and using optimal memory requires new solutions.