Yihan Zhang

I am a postdoc at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, hosted by Marco Mondelli. From Oct 2020 to Oct 2021, I was a postdoc at the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, hosted by Nir Ailon. I received my PhD degree in Aug 2020 from the Department of Information Engineering, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong where I was fortunate to be advised by Sidharth Jaggi (now at School of Mathematics, University of Bristol). From July 11 to Aug 9, 2019, I participated in a Summer Cluster Error-Correcting Codes and High-Dimensional Expansion at Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at University of California, Berkeley, hosted by Mary Wootters from Stanford University. I was working with Venkatesan Guruswami (now at University of California, Berkeley) at the Computer Science Department of Carnegie Mellon University from July to Dec, 2018. I received my BEng degree in Computer Science and Technology from Northeastern University, Shenyang, China, in June 2016. 

My research interests lie in coding theory, information theory and statistics theory (in no particular order). 

Here is my CV and here is my research statement. 

Reach me at zephyr (dot) z798 (at) gmail (dot) com or drop by I21.O1.112, Office Building West, IST Austria.

I am in support of slow science. See also reflections by Yoshua Bengio.

Since some people care about it, I may put the (α-β) label to indicate alphabetical author order (see the Hardy--Littlewood rule). 

Preprints

• Yihan Zhang, Marco Mondelli and Ramji Venkataramanan. ``Precise Asymptotics for Spectral Methods in Mixed Generalized Linear Models.'' 2022. arXiv.

Publications

• (α-β) Nicolas Resch, Chen Yuan and Yihan Zhang. ``Tight Bounds on List-Decodable and List-Recoverable Zero-Rate Codes.'' ITCS 2025. arXiv.

• Yihan Zhang and Marco Mondelli. ``Matrix Denoising with Doubly Heteroscedastic Noise: Fundamental Limits and Optimal Spectral Methods.'' NeurIPS 2024. arXiv.

• Yihan Zhang, Hong Chang Ji, Ramji Venkataramanan and Marco Mondelli. ``Spectral Estimators for Structured Generalized Linear Models via Approximate Message Passing.'' COLT 2024. Conference version. arXiv.

• (α-β) Bikash Kumar Dey, Sidharth Jaggi, Michael Langberg, Anand D. Sarwate and Yihan Zhang. ``Computationally Efficient Codes for Strongly Dobrushin--Stambler Nonsymmetrizable Oblivious AVCs.'' ISIT 2024. Conference version.

• (α-β) Nicolas Resch, Chen Yuan and Yihan Zhang. ``Zero-Rate Thresholds and New Capacity Bounds for List-Decoding and List-Recovery.'' ICALP 2023. Conference version. TIT. arXiv.

• Yihan Zhang and Nir Weinberger. ``Mean Estimation in High-Dimensional Binary Markov Gaussian Mixture Models.'' NeurIPS 2022. arXiv, poster, slides (for a 5min talk), errata.

• Yihan Zhang, Sidharth Jaggi, Michael Langberg and Anand D. Sarwate. ``The Capacity of Causal Adversarial Channels.'' ISIT 2022. Conference version. arXiv.

• Pranav Joshi, Amritakshya Purkayastha, Yihan Zhang, Amitalok J. Budkuley and Sidharth Jaggi. ``On the Capacity of Additive AVCs With Feedback.'' ISIT 2022. Conference version.

• Anuj Kumar Yadav, Mohammadreza Alimohammadi, Yihan Zhang, Amitalok J. Budkuley and Sidharth Jaggi. ``New Results on AVCs With Omniscient and Myopic Adversaries.'' ISIT 2022. Conference version.

• Yihan Zhang and Shashank Vatedka. ``Lower Bounds on List Decoding Capacity Using Error Exponents.'' ISIT 2022. Conference version. TIT (under the title ``Multiple Packing: Lower Bounds via Error Exponents''). arXiv.

• Yihan Zhang and Shashank Vatedka. ``List-Decodability of Poisson Point Processes.'' ISIT 2022. Conference version. TIT (under the title ``Multiple Packing: Lower Bounds via Infinite Constellations''). arXiv.

• Yihan Zhang and Shashank Vatedka. ``Lower Bounds for Multiple Packing.'' ISIT 2022. Conference version. arXiv.

• (α-β) Nikita Polyanskii and Yihan Zhang. ``Codes for the Z-channel.'' ISIT 2022. Conference version (under the title ``List-Decodable Zero-Rate Codes for the Z-Channel''). TIT. arXiv.

• Sijie Li, Rawad Bitar, Sidharth Jaggi and Yihan Zhang. ``Network Coding with Myopic Adversaries.'' ISIT 2021. Conference version. JSAIT. arXiv.

• Yihan Zhang. ``Zero-Error Communication over Adversarial MACs.'' ISIT 2021. Conference version. TIT. arXiv.

• Yihan Zhang, Sidharth Jaggi and Amitalok J. Budkuley. ``Tight List-Sizes for Oblivious AVCs under Constraints.'' ISIT 2021. Conference version. arXiv.

• (α-β) Qinghua (Devon) Ding, Sidharth Jaggi, Shashank Vatedka and Yihan Zhang. ``Empirical Properties of Good Channel Codes.'' ISIT 2020. Conference version. Full version.

• Yihan Zhang, Shashank Vatedka and Sidharth Jaggi. ``Quadratically Constrained Two-Way Adversarial Channels.'' ISIT 2020. Conference version. arXiv.

• Yihan Zhang. ``List Decoding for Oblivious Arbitrarily Varying MACs: Constrained and Gaussian.'' ISIT 2020. Conference version. arXiv.

• (α-β) Aditya Potukuchi and Yihan Zhang. ``Improved efficiency for covering codes matching the sphere-covering bound.'' ISIT 2020. Conference version. arXiv.

• Yihan Zhang, Amitalok J. Budkuley and Sidharth Jaggi. ``Generalized List Decoding.'' ITCS 2020 regular talk. Conference version. arXiv. Talk by Sid.

• Yihan Zhang and Shashank Vatedka. ``List Decoding Random Euclidean Codes and Infinite Constellations.'' ISIT 2019. Conference version. TIT. arXiv. 

• Yihan Zhang, Shashank Vatedka, Sidharth Jaggi and Anand D. Sarwate.  ``Quadratically Constrained Myopic Adversarial Channels.'' ISIT 2018. Conference version. TIT. arXiv. A short video by Sid; a short video by me. 

• Yunzhou Zhang, Yihan Zhang, Xiang Mu and Yuxi Wang. ``Pose control of quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle based on double filters.'' IEEE-CYBER 2015. Conference version.

Monograph

• (α-β) Bikash Kumar Dey, Sidharth Jaggi, Michael Langberg, Anand D. Sarwate and Yihan Zhang. ``Codes for Adversaries: Between Worst-Case and Average-Case Jamming.'' FnT. pdf.

Thesis

• ``The Geometry of Adversarial Channels.'' 2020.

Talks

• Zero-Rate Thresholds and New Capacity Bounds for List-Decoding and List-Recovery, ICALP 2023, 10:30am-10:50am, July 14, 2023, slides. 

• Discovering spikes in random matrices using approximate message passing

  • Statistics Seminar, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 9:00am-9:50am, Feb 29, 2024, CST, slides.

  • ITA 2024, 11:10am-11:30am, Feb 22, 2024, PDT, slides.

  • WOLIT 2023, 3:10pm-4:00pm, July 5, 2023, HKT, slides.

  • Youth in high dimensions 2023, 9:45am-10:30am, June 1, 2023, CEST, slides, video.

• Mean Estimation in Markov Gaussian Mixture Models, CCPS Seminar, 1:00pm-2:30pm, Apr 6, 2023, EST. 

• Precise Asymptotics for Spectral Methods in Mixed Generalized Linear Models, ITA 2023, 11:20am-11:40am, Feb 13, 2023, PST, slides.

• Codes, 4:00pm-4:30pm, Dec 2, 2022, CEST, Raiffeisen Lecture Hall, Central Building, Institute of Science and Technology Austria, slides.

• ISIT 2022

  • Lower Bounds for Multiple Packing, 3:10pm-3:30pm, July 1, 2022, EEST, slides.

  • List-Decodability of Poisson Point Processes, 4:40pm-5pm, June 30, 2022, EEST, slides.

  • Codes for the Z-channel, 4:20pm-4:40pm, June 30, 2022, EEST, slides.

  • The Capacity of Causal Adversarial Channels, 2:30pm-2:50pm, June 30 , 2022, EEST, slides.

  • Lower Bounds on List Decoding Capacity Using Error Exponents, 2:50pm-3:10pm, June 28, 2022, EEST, slides.

• Coding against adversaries, 3rd Buffalo Day for 5G and Wireless Internet of Things, Nov 19, 2021, EST, slides, video. 

• ISIT 2021

  • Network Coding with Myopic Adversaries, 10:24pm-10:28pm, July 12, 2021, AEST, slides, video.

  • Zero-Error Communication over Adversarial MACs, 10:24pm-10:28pm, July 16, 2021, AEST, slides, video.

  • Tight List-Sizes for Oblivious AVCs under Constraints, 12:04am-12:08am, July 15, 2021, AEST, slides, video.

• Euclidean Multiple Packing

  • 9:00am-11:00am, Aug 15 and 29, 2022, CEST, Shandong University. 

  • 10:00am-11:00am, Apr 2, 2021, CEST, IST Austria, notes.

• Complete Positivity in Information Theory

  • Theory lunch talk at CMU, 12:00pm-1:00pm, Apr 28, 2021, EST, slides, video.

  • Coding theory seminar at Skoltech, 4:00pm-5:30pm, Apr 28, 2021.

  • ITCS talk, 10:00am-11:00am, Jan 17, 2020, SIME 602, ITCS at SHUFE, slides.

  • JHC Lecture Series, 2:00pm-3:00pm, Jan 9, 2020, SEIEE Building 3-318, JHC at SJTU, slides.

• PhD thesis defense, 3:30pm-5:30pm, July 3, 2020, SHB 801, slides.

• ISIT 2020

  • Improved efficiency for covering codes matching the sphere-covering bound, slides, video.

  • List Decoding for Oblivious Arbitrarily Varying MACs: Constrained and Gaussian, slides, video.

  • Quadratically Constrained Two-Way Adversarial Channels, slides, video.

  • Empirical Properties of Good Channel Codes, slides, video.

• ITA 2020, Catamaran Resort, Pacific Beach, San Diego

  • Graduation Day talk, 11:50am-12:00am, Feb 5, 2020, Treasured, slides. 

  • Graduation Day poster presentation, poster, handout (page 1, page 2).

• Generalized List Decoding

  • ITCS 2020 talk, 10:00am-10:15am, Jan 13, 2020, Zillow Commons Event Center, 4th floor, Bill and Melinda Gates Center for CSE, UW, slides, video (1:10:16-1:22:00). 

  • Short talk at Simons Institute, 11:20am-11:40am, Aug 9, 2019, 2nd floor lounge. 

  • Theory Lunch Talk at CUHK, 11:00am-12:00am, Sep 27, 2019, SHB 833.

• List Decoding Random Euclidean Codes and Infinite Constellations

  • ISIT 2019 presentation, 1:00pm-1:20pm, July 10, 2019, Odéon, Level 3, Maison de la Mutualité, slides. 

  • Theory Lunch Talk at CUHK, 11:00am-12:00am, Feb 15, 2019, SHB 833.

• Quadratically Constrained Myopic Adversarial Channels

  • Theory Group Talk at UBuffalo SUNY, 1:00pm-2:00pm, Aug 24, 2018, Davis Hall 203, slides. 

  • Theory Lunch Talk at CMU, 12:00pm-1:00pm, Oct 31, 2018, GHC 8102, slides, video.