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arxiv: 2506.05023 · v2 · submitted 2025-06-05 · 💻 cs.DS

Compressing Hypergraphs using Suffix Sorting

Pith reviewed 2026-05-19 11:11 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification 💻 cs.DS
keywords hypergraph compressionsuffix sortingsuccinct data structuresneighbor queriesincidence queriesdata compressionhypergraph representation
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The pith

HyperCSA uses suffix sorting to compress hypergraphs to 26-79 percent of original size while supporting faster neighbor queries.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The paper introduces HyperCSA, a compression approach for hypergraphs that adapts suffix sorting to create a succinct representation. Hypergraphs capture multi-way relations such as group memberships or co-authorships, so compact storage and fast access matter when datasets grow large. The method is designed to keep exact support for standard operations including neighbor and incidence queries. Experiments on real-world hypergraphs show better compression than prior techniques on every large instance tested, plus the ability to handle bigger collections and query speeds improved by factors of 6 to 40.

Core claim

HyperCSA is a succinct representation of a hypergraph obtained by applying suffix sorting to an encoding of its incidences, which achieves compression ratios of 26 to 79 percent of the original file size on real-world data, scales to larger instances than existing methods, and answers neighbor queries between 6 and 40 times faster than both standard structures and other compressed formats while preserving exact query semantics.

What carries the argument

The HyperCSA structure, a compressed suffix array built over a linearized representation of hyperedges and vertices that directly supports incidence and neighbor queries on the succinct form without full decompression.

If this is right

  • Hypergraphs can be stored using substantially less space than existing compression schemes on large real-world instances.
  • The same representation scales to datasets too large for prior succinct hypergraph methods.
  • Neighbor queries become 6 to 40 times faster than both plain data structures and other compressed alternatives.
  • Applications that rely on repeated neighbor lookups, such as recommendation or social-network analysis, can operate on bigger hypergraphs within fixed memory limits.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • The same suffix-sorting idea might apply directly to other higher-order structures such as simplicial complexes or set systems.
  • If construction time remains practical, the approach could be integrated into hypergraph database engines to improve both storage and query latency.
  • Dynamic versions that support edge insertions while keeping the suffix order updated would further broaden the range of usable applications.

Load-bearing premise

The suffix-sorted encoding of hyperedge incidences can be constructed and queried while preserving every original incidence relation exactly, with no hidden information loss or prohibitive build cost.

What would settle it

A direct comparison on any real-world hypergraph where the set of neighbors returned by HyperCSA differs from the set returned by an uncompressed incidence list.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 2506.05023 by Enno Adler, Rita Hartel, Stefan B\"ottcher.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: The example hypergraph H = ({0, 1, 2, 3, 4}, {{0, 1, 2, 3}, {1, 2, 3}, {2}, {0, 1, 2, 4}, {2}}) with 5 hyperedges. 0 1 4 2 3 We define the degree(v) = |{e ∈ EG : v ∈ e}| and MG = P e∈EG P rank(e) = v∈V degree(v). For the example hypergraph H, degree(2) = 5 and MH = 13. We define a string T of length |T| over an alphabet Σ as a sequence T = T[0] · T[1] · · · T[|T| − 1] of characters T[i] ∈ Σ for i < |T|. We… view at source ↗
Figure 2
Figure 2. Figure 2: Example for HyperCSA data structure. It contains the edges [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p006_2.png] view at source ↗
Figure 3
Figure 3. Figure 3: Hypergraph compression sizes in relation to the original file size. [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p010_3.png] view at source ↗
Figure 4
Figure 4. Figure 4: Query time of contains(v0) query, which returns all neighbors of node v0. Missing datapoints indicate that the method failed to complete in decent time. SeCo HoCo SeBi HoBi MaAn WaTr TrCl CpFr StAn AmRe CoOr 10−1 100 101 102 103 104 runtime in milliseconds per query (logarithmic) HyperCSA Array-vanilla Array-V Array-E Array-V&E incidence list incidence matrix Second, we investigate resource costs of the co… view at source ↗
Figure 5
Figure 5. Figure 5: Query times of contains(v0, . . . vk−1) query on the largest dataset CoOr. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 102 103 length of contains query k runtime in milliseconds per query (logarithmic) HyperCSA Array-vanilla incidence list Second, [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p012_5.png] view at source ↗
read the original abstract

Hypergraphs model complex, non-binary relationships like co-authorships, social group memberships, and recommendations. Like traditional graphs, hypergraphs can grow large, posing challenges for storage, transmission, and query performance. We propose HyperCSA, a novel compression method for hypergraphs that maintains support for standard queries over the succinct representation. HyperCSA achieves compression ratios of 26% to 79% of the original file size on real-world hypergraphs - outperforming existing methods on all large hypergraphs in our experiments. Additionally, HyperCSA scales to larger datasets than existing approaches. Furthermore, for common real-world hypergraphs, HyperCSA evaluates neighbor queries 6 to 40 times faster than both standard data structures and other hypergraph compression approaches.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

2 major / 2 minor

Summary. The manuscript introduces HyperCSA, a compression method for hypergraphs that serializes the structure into a form amenable to suffix sorting and constructs a compressed suffix array (CSA) representation. The approach claims to support standard neighbor and incidence queries directly on the succinct structure. Experiments on real-world hypergraphs report compression ratios of 26% to 79% of the original file size (outperforming existing methods on all large instances), improved scalability to larger datasets, and neighbor query evaluation that is 6 to 40 times faster than both standard data structures and other hypergraph compressors.

Significance. If the central claims hold, the work would offer a practical succinct representation for hypergraphs that simultaneously reduces space and accelerates queries, which is valuable for applications involving large-scale co-authorship networks, social groups, and recommendation systems. Adapting suffix-array techniques from stringology to hypergraph incidence lists is a novel cross-domain idea, and the empirical results on real data provide concrete evidence of practicality. The absence of free parameters in the core construction (as implied by the method description) and the focus on query-preserving compression are strengths.

major comments (2)
  1. [§3 and §4] §3 (Construction) and §4 (Query Algorithms): The description of how the serialized hyperedge list is mapped to symbols for suffix sorting and how random-access neighbor queries are resolved inside the CSA is insufficiently detailed. Standard CSA constructions require the suffix array, inverse suffix array, and often LCP or sampled pointers; it is unclear whether these are stored in compressed form or if query resolution involves linear scans or auxiliary structures that would affect the reported space bounds and 6-40× speedup.
  2. [§5] §5 (Experimental Evaluation): The performance numbers (compression ratios, query times) are given without explicit specification of the exact baseline implementations, hypergraph dataset selection criteria, number of runs for timing, or error bars. This makes it difficult to assess whether the outperformance on large hypergraphs and the query speedup claims are robust.
minor comments (2)
  1. [Abstract] The abstract and introduction would benefit from a short paragraph clarifying the precise hypergraph representation (e.g., incidence list vs. edge list) assumed as input.
  2. [§2] Notation for the alphabet size and symbol mapping in the suffix array construction should be introduced earlier and used consistently.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

2 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for the positive assessment of the work's significance and for the constructive major comments. We address each point below and will incorporate clarifications to improve the manuscript.

read point-by-point responses
  1. Referee: [§3 and §4] §3 (Construction) and §4 (Query Algorithms): The description of how the serialized hyperedge list is mapped to symbols for suffix sorting and how random-access neighbor queries are resolved inside the CSA is insufficiently detailed. Standard CSA constructions require the suffix array, inverse suffix array, and often LCP or sampled pointers; it is unclear whether these are stored in compressed form or if query resolution involves linear scans or auxiliary structures that would affect the reported space bounds and 6-40× speedup.

    Authors: We appreciate the referee's request for greater precision. In the revised manuscript we will expand Sections 3 and 4 with an explicit description of the symbol alphabet construction from the serialized incidence lists and a step-by-step account of how neighbor and incidence queries are answered inside the CSA. We will state that the implementation follows a standard compressed suffix array (using compressed representations of the suffix array, inverse suffix array, and sampled LCP array via wavelet trees or equivalent structures) and that all random-access operations are performed with rank/select primitives in logarithmic time without linear scans or additional uncompressed auxiliary tables. These clarifications will confirm that the reported space bounds and query speedups remain unchanged. revision: yes

  2. Referee: [§5] §5 (Experimental Evaluation): The performance numbers (compression ratios, query times) are given without explicit specification of the exact baseline implementations, hypergraph dataset selection criteria, number of runs for timing, or error bars. This makes it difficult to assess whether the outperformance on large hypergraphs and the query speedup claims are robust.

    Authors: We agree that additional experimental details will strengthen reproducibility. In the revision we will add a dedicated paragraph specifying the exact baseline codebases and versions, the precise selection criteria and sources for each hypergraph dataset, the number of independent timing runs performed for each query measurement, and error bars (or standard deviations) on the reported query times. These additions will allow readers to better evaluate the robustness of the compression and speedup results. revision: yes

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No circularity: empirical claims rest on external real-world hypergraphs

full rationale

The paper presents HyperCSA as an algorithmic construction that serializes hyperedges for suffix-array compression while claiming direct support for neighbor and incidence queries. All reported compression ratios (26-79%), scalability, and 6-40x query speedups are measured against independent external datasets rather than quantities defined in terms of the method's own parameters or self-referential fits. No equation or claim reduces by construction to a prior input, self-citation chain, or renamed empirical pattern; the central representation and query support are presented as properties of the suffix-sorting construction evaluated on outside data.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 1 axioms · 0 invented entities

The approach relies on standard suffix-array construction and hypergraph incidence representations that are assumed to transfer directly; no new mathematical axioms or invented entities are introduced in the abstract.

axioms (1)
  • standard math Suffix sorting algorithms remain correct and efficient when applied to the chosen hypergraph encoding.
    The method depends on established suffix-array primitives working as expected on the hypergraph-derived strings.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5648 in / 1266 out tokens · 48617 ms · 2026-05-19T11:11:51.813116+00:00 · methodology

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Reference graph

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27 extracted references · 27 canonical work pages · 1 internal anchor

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