Lower Bounds for all List-Decodable Deletion Codes

Abstract

A length-$n$ binary $k$-deletion code is a set of binary strings such that if we delete any $k$ bits of a string, leaving a length-$(n-k)$ binary string, we can uniquely recover the codeword. In this paper, we consider $t$-list decodable deletion codes, where after $k$ bits of a codeword are deleted, we can identify a list of size at most $t$ such that the original codeword lies in the list. We prove a lower bound of $\Omega_k(2^n t\log^{1/t}n/n^{k+k/t})$ on the optimal size of a $t$-list decodable $k$-deletion code, giving a $\sqrt{\log n}$ improvement over the previously best known bounds for $2$-list decodable $2$-deletion codes [GH21] and providing the first nontrivial lower bound when $t>2$ or $k>2$. Our bound holds for all $t\leq n^k$, showing that $t=\Omega(\log n)-$list decodable deletion codes have optimal size $\Theta_k(2^n t/n^k)$, asymptotically matching the known upper bound. We also prove upper bounds on the number of common subsequences and common supersequences of a given length for any two binary strings.