Position-Candidate-Hypothesis (PCH) Paradigm

A theoretical paradigm for structural-statistical analysis of NP-complete problems

Shifting focus from combinatorial search to structural decomposition.

Research Paradigm NP-Complete Theoretical CS Computational Complexity

Abstract — This research paper introduces the Position-Candidate-Hypothesis (PCH) paradigm as a novel theoretical approach to NP-complete problems. This work proposes a fundamental shift from traditional combinatorial search to structural-statistical analysis. The research explores the decomposition of problems into three interconnected components: positions, candidates, and hypotheses, followed by statistical integration.

Published: November 2025 · Status: Theoretical Research

DetailInformation
TitlePosition-Candidate-Hypothesis (PCH) Paradigm
DOI10.5281/zenodo.17614888
PublishedNovember 2025
LicenseCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
AuthorAlexander Suvorov
ORCID0009-0006-3427-9611
TypeTheoretical Research

PCH paradigm operates through structural decomposition:

Problem Analysis → Structural Decomposition → Parallel Investigation → Statistical Synthesis

ComponentDescription
Positions (n)Structural elements in solution space. For problem size n, there are n positions.
Candidates (n)Entities for position assignments. Each position considers n candidates.
Hypotheses (n)Independent research processes. n hypotheses provide complete problem coverage.

Research Proposition: PCH uses n hypotheses, n positions, and n candidates per position for problems of size n.

Hypothesis Investigation:

HypothesisStarting Candidate
h₁candidate c₁
h₂candidate c₂
......
hₙcandidate cₙ

Research Phases:

PhaseDescription
Hypothesis Launchn independent hypotheses start
Position ResearchAll n positions examined
Candidate EvaluationPotential assignments analyzed
Statistical IntegrationFindings synthesized across hypotheses

Parallelism:

LevelDescription
Hypothesis-levelAll n hypotheses run concurrently
Position-levelPosition research parallelized
DistributedHypotheses run on multiple nodes

Investigation:

  • Independent research trajectories
  • Minimal cross-hypothesis contamination
  • Simultaneous diverse solution exploration

PCH shifts problem-solving perspective:

FromTo
SearchStructure
SequentialParallel
DeterministicStatistical
Black-boxInterpretable

Detailed Transformations:

  • Search → Structure — Architectural analysis focus
  • Sequential → Parallel — Simultaneous investigation
  • Deterministic → Statistical — Probabilistic synthesis
  • Black-box → Interpretable — Transparent solution derivation

PCH applies to NP-complete problems:

  • TSP — Traveling Salesman Problem
  • SAT — Boolean Satisfiability Problem
  • Knapsack — Knapsack Problem
  • Graph Coloring — Graph Coloring Problem
  • Vertex Cover — Vertex Cover Problem
  • Hamiltonian Path — Hamiltonian Path Problem

Before the Study:

The following implementations represent practical work conducted prior to the formalization of the PCH paradigm:

  • Exact TSP Solver — High-performance exact solver for TSP implemented in Go with Branch and Bound algorithm
  • Smart TSP Benchmark — Professional algorithm testing infrastructure with configurable scenarios and detailed metrics
  • Smart TSP Oracle — High-performance exact solver for TSP implemented in Python
  • Smart TSP Solver — High-performance Python library with novel heuristic approaches outperforming classical methods by 25%

After the Study:

Research in this area is ongoing. New implementations based on the PCH paradigm are currently in development and will be released upon completion.

Note: The PCH paradigm is a theoretical framework. Practical implementations based on this paradigm are under active research and development.

Pointer-Based Security Paradigm

Architectural Application of Regeneration Principles

Local Data Regeneration Paradigm

Ontological Foundation for Synchronous Discovery

Deterministic Game Engine

Experimental Validation of Theoretical Framework

@misc{suvorov_2025_17614888,
  author       = {Suvorov, Alexander},
  title        = {Position-Candidate-Hypothesis (PCH) Paradigm: A
                   Structural-Statistical Approach to NP-Complete
                   Problems},
  month        = nov,
  year         = 2025,
  publisher    = {Zenodo},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.17614888},
  url          = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17614888},
}

ACADEMIC RESEARCH — NOT FOR PRACTICAL USE

This is theoretical research, not production software.

Warning: This work is for academic discussion only. Do not use in production systems.

Full academic disclaimer: See DISCLAIMER.md

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International