A stable majority population protocol using logarithmic time and states

Abstract: We study population protocols, a model of distributed computing appropriate for modeling well-mixed chemical reaction networks and other physical systems where agents exchange information in pairwise interactions, but have no control over their schedule of interaction partners. The well-studied majority problem is that of determining in an initial population of $n$ agents, each with one of two opinions $A$ or $B$, whether there are more $A$, more $B$, or a tie. A stable protocol solves this problem with probability 1 by eventually entering a configuration in which all agents agree on a correct consensus decision of $A$, $B$, or $T$, from which the consensus cannot change. We describe a protocol that solves this problem using $O(\log n)$ states ($\log \log n + O(1)$ bits of memory) and optimal expected time $O(\log n)$. The number of states $O(\log n)$ is known to be optimal for the class of stable protocols that are "output dominant" and "monotone". These are two natural constraints satisfied by our protocol, making it state-optimal for that class. We use, and develop novel analysis of, a key technique called a "fixed resolution clock" due to Gasieniec, Stachowiak, and Uznanski, who showed a majority protocol using $O(\log n)$ time and states that has a positive probability of error. Our protocol is nonuniform: the transition function has the value $\left \lceil {\log n} \right \rceil$ encoded in it. We show that the protocol can be modified to be uniform, while increasing the state complexity to $\Theta(\log n \log \log n)$.