Diversified top-<Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis> clique search

Maximal clique enumeration is a fundamental problem in graph theory and has been extensively studied. However, maximal clique enumeration is time-consuming in large graphs and always returns enormous cliques with large overlaps. Motivated by this, in this paper, we study the diversified top-k clique search problem which is to find top-k cliques that can cover most number of nodes in the graph. Diversified top-k clique search can be widely used in a lot of applications including community search, motif discovery, and anomaly detection in large graphs. A naive solution for diversified top-k clique search is to keep all maximal cliques in memory and then find k of them that cover most nodes in the graph by using the approximate greedy max k-cover algorithm. However, such a solution is impractical when the graph is large. In this paper, instead of keeping all maximal cliques in memory, we devise an algorithm to maintain k candidates in the process of maximal clique enumeration. Our algorithm has limited memory footprint and can achieve a guaranteed approximation ratio. We also introduce a novel light-weight \(\mathsf {PNP}\)-\(\mathsf {Index}\), based on which we design an optimal maximal clique maintenance algorithm. We further explore three optimization strategies to avoid enumerating all maximal cliques and thus largely reduce the computational cost. Besides, for the massive input graph, we develop an I/O efficient algorithm to tackle the problem when the input graph cannot fit in main memory. We conduct extensive performance studies on real graphs and synthetic graphs. One of the real graphs contains 1.02 billion edges. The results demonstrate the high efficiency and effectiveness of our approach.     

Payoff-monotonic game dynamics and the maximum clique problem

Evolutionary game-theoretic models and, in particular, the so-called replicator equations have recently proven to be remarkably effective at approximately solving the maximum clique and related problems. The approach is centered around a classic result from graph theory that formulates the maximum clique problem as a standard (continuous) quadratic program and exploits the dynamical properties of these models, which, under a certain symmetry assumption, possess a Lyapunov function. In this letter, we generalize previous work along these lines in several respects. We introduce a wide family of game-dynamic equations known as payoff-monotonic dynamics, of which replicator dynamics are a special instance, and show that they enjoy precisely the same dynamical properties as standard replicator equations. These properties make any member of this family a potential heuristic for solving standard quadratic programs and, in particular, the maximum clique problem. Extensive simulations, performed on random as well as DIMACS benchmark graphs, show that this class contains dynamics that are considerably faster than and at least as accurate as replicator equations. One problem associated with these models, however, relates to their inability to escape from poor local solutions. To overcome this drawback, we focus on a particular subclass of payoff-monotonic dynamics used to model the evolution of behavior via imitation processes and study the stability of their equilibria when a regularization parameter is allowed to take on negative values. A detailed analysis of these properties suggests a whole class of annealed imitation heuristics for the maximum clique problem, which are based on the idea of varying the parameter during the imitation optimization process in a principled way, so as to avoid unwanted inefficient solutions. Experiments show that the proposed annealing procedure does help to avoid poor local optima by initially driving the dynamics toward promising regions in state space. Furthermore, the models outperform state-of-the-art neural network algorithms for maximum clique, such as mean field annealing, and compare well with powerful continuous-based heuristics.     

Finding Minimum Vertex Covering in Stochastic Graphs: A Learning Automata Approach

Structural and behavioral parameters of many real networks such as social networks are unpredictable, uncertain, and have time-varying parameters, and for these reasons, deterministic graphs for modeling such networks are too restrictive to solve most of the real-network problems. It seems that stochastic graphs, in which weights associated to the vertices are random variables, might be better graph models for real-world networks. Once we use a stochastic graph as the model for a network, every feature of the graph such as path, spanning tree, clique, dominating set, and cover set should be treated as a stochastic feature. For example, choosing a stochastic graph as a graph model of an online social network and defining community structure in terms of clique, the concept of a stochastic clique may be used to study community structures’ properties or define spreading of influence according to the coverage of influential users; the concept of stochastic vertex covering may be used to study spread of influence. In this article, minimum vertex covering in stochastic graphs is first defined, and then four learning, automata-based algorithms are proposed for solving a minimum vertex-covering problem in stochastic graphs where the probability distribution functions of the weights associated with the vertices of the graph are unknown. It is shown that through a proper choice of the parameters of the proposed algorithms, one can make the probability of finding minimum vertex cover in a stochastic graph as close to unity as possible. Experimental results on synthetic stochastic graphs reveal that at a certain confidence level the proposed algorithms significantly outperform the standard sampling method in terms of the number of samples needed to be taken from the vertices of the stochastic graph.     

Approximating minimum cocolorings

A cocoloring of a graph G is a partition of the vertex set of G such that each set of the partition is either a clique or an independent set in G. Some special cases of the minimum cocoloring problem are of particular interest.We provide polynomial-time algorithms to approximate a minimum cocoloring on graphs, partially ordered sets and sequences. In particular, we obtain an efficient algorithm to approximate within a factor of 1.71 a minimum partition of a partially ordered set into chains and antichains, and a minimum partition of a sequence into increasing and decreasing subsequences.     

基于局部有限搜索的无向图近似最大团快速求解算法

无向图最大团求解是一个著名的NP-完全问题,解决该问题的经典算法基本上都采用完全精确搜索策略。鉴于NP-完全问题本身所固有的复杂性,这些算法或许仅适用于某些特殊的小规模图,对于具有大规模顶点和边的复杂图还是显得无力,难以适用。针对完全精确搜索策略下的无向图最大团求解算法的大部分时间都用于对图进行额外而无效的查找的问题,采用分划递归技术将图划分为邻接子图和悬挂子图,然后对邻接子图进行递归求解,而对悬挂子图则通过设置搜索范围控制函数进行局部有限搜索。在DIMACS数据集上将所提算法与当前主要的最大团求解算法进行对比实验,结果表明,文中提出的局部有限搜索求解策略能在75%的基准数据上获得最大团,剩下不能得到最大团的数据实际上也可以获得接近于最大团的近似最大团,但算法的平均求解时间仅为目前最大团精确求解算法的20%左右。因此,在很多最大团非精确要求的场景中,所提算法具有极高的应用价值。     

Extracting influential nodes on a social network for information diffusion

We address the combinatorial optimization problem of finding the most influential nodes on a large-scale social network for two widely-used fundamental stochastic diffusion models. The past study showed that a greedy strategy can give a good approximate solution to the problem. However, a conventional greedy method faces a computational problem. We propose a method of efficiently finding a good approximate solution to the problem under the greedy algorithm on the basis of bond percolation and graph theory, and compare the proposed method with the conventional method in terms of computational complexity in order to theoretically evaluate its effectiveness. The results show that the proposed method is expected to achieve a great reduction in computational cost. We further experimentally demonstrate that the proposed method is much more efficient than the conventional method using large-scale real-world networks including blog networks.     

Using an interval graph approach to efficiently solve the housing benefit data retrieval problem

Rappos and Thompson use a set covering formulation and a commercial software package to solve the problem of trying to minimize the number of data sets that have to be read in retrieving all new housing benefit (HB) data entries for a fixed period of time. In this paper, we show that determining the minimum number of data sets that have to be read in retrieving all new HB data entries for a fixed period of time can be solved by finding a minimum size clique cover for an interval graph. Since it is well‐known that a greedy algorithm finds a guaranteed minimum size clique cover for an interval graph, this approach will be more efficient than a set covering approach. Finally, it is obvious that this interval graph formulation and greedy algorithm solution approach is applicable to other data retrieval problems.     

Identifying the minor set cover of dense connected bipartite graphs via random matching edge sets

Using quantum annealing to solve an optimization problem requires minor embedding a logic graph into a known hardware graph. In an effort to reduce the complexity of the minor embedding problem, we introduce the minor set cover (MSC) of a known graph \({\mathcal {G}}\): a subset of graph minors which contain any remaining minor of the graph as a subgraph. Any graph that can be embedded into \({\mathcal {G}}\) will be embeddable into a member of the MSC. Focusing on embedding into the hardware graph of commercially available quantum annealers, we establish the MSC for a particular known virtual hardware, which is a complete bipartite graph. We show that the complete bipartite graph \(K_{N,N}\) has a MSC of N minors, from which \(K_{N+1}\) is identified as the largest clique minor of \(K_{N,N}\). The case of determining the largest clique minor of hardware with faults is briefly discussed but remains an open question.     

Approximating the maximum weight clique using replicator dynamics

Given an undirected graph with weights on the vertices, the maximum weight clique problem (MWCP) is to find a subset of mutually adjacent vertices (a clique) having the largest total weight. This is a generalization of the problem of finding the maximum cardinality clique of an unweighted graph, which is the special case of the MWCP when all vertex weights are equal. The problem is NP-hard for arbitrary graphs, and so is the problem of approximating it within a constant factor. We present a parallel, distributed heuristic for approximating the MWCP based on dynamics principles. It centers around a continuous characterization of the MWCP (a purely combinatorial problem), and lets it be formulated in terms of continuous quadratic programming. One drawback is the presence of spurious solutions, and we present their characterizations. To avoid them we introduce a regularized continuous formulation of the MWCP and show how it completely solves the problem. The formulation naturally maps onto a parallel, distributed computational network whose dynamical behavior is governed by the replicator equations. These are dynamical systems introduced in evolutionary game theory and population genetics to model evolutionary processes on a macroscopic scale. We present theoretical results which guarantee that the solutions provided by our clique finding replicator network are actually those sought. Experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

Application of graph search and genetic algorithms for the single machine scheduling problem with sequence-dependent setup times and quadratic penalty function of completion times

In this paper, we consider the single machine scheduling problem with quadratic penalties and sequence-dependent (QPSD) setup times. QPSD is known to be NP-Hard. Only a few exact approaches, and to the best of our knowledge, no approximate approaches, have been reported in the literature so far. This paper discusses exact and approximate approaches for solving the problem, and presents empirical findings. We make use of a graph search algorithm, Memory-Based Depth-First Branch-and-Bound (MDFBB), and present an algorithm, QPSD_MDFBB that can optimally solve QPSD, and advances the state of the art for finding exact solutions. For finding approximate solutions to large problem instances, we make use of the idea of greedy stochastic search, and present a greedy stochastic algorithm, QPSD_GSA that provides moderately good solutions very rapidly even for large problems. The major contribution of the current paper is to apply QPSD_GSA to generate a subset of the starting solutions for a new genetic algorithm, QPSD_GEN, which is shown to provide near-optimal solutions very quickly. Owing to its polynomial running time, QPSD_GEN can be used for much larger instances than QPSD_MDFBB can handle. Experimental results have been provided to demonstrate the performances of these algorithms.     

高校学分制环境下排考问题的改进图算法

本文利用图论模型的转化,改进传统贪心算法,设计了一种新的求解高校排考问题的图算法.改进后的算法可以更好应对在现实学分制环境下,跨年级、跨专业、主辅修等复杂的选课因素.为了解决传统算法中仅靠人工优化来实现的软约束目标,改进后的图算法首先将排考图着色模型,转化为无向赋权图的分团覆盖模型,通过深度优先策略和赋权机制,求解同时满足排考硬约束条件和软约束条件的排考方案.经过数据验证,改进算法的排考效果,在排考效果上优于传统贪心算法,在时间效率上优于人工排考方式.改进后的新算法在近年我校的期末考务工作中发挥了一定作用.     

Gibbs Field Approaches in Image Processing Problems

In this paper, we address the problem of image denoising using a stochastic differential equation approach. Proposed stochastic dynamics schemes are based on the property of diffusion dynamics to converge to a distribution on global minima of the energy function of the model, under a special cooling schedule (the annealing procedure). To derive algorithms for computer simulations, we consider discrete-time approximations of the stochastic differential equation. We study convergence of the corresponding Markov chains to the diffusion process. We give conditions for the ergodicity of the Euler approximation scheme. In the conclusion, we compare results of computer simulations using the diffusion dynamics algorithms and the standard Metropolis–Hasting algorithm. Results are shown on synthetic and real data.     

Structure and attribute index for approximate graph matching in large graphs

The increasing popularity of graph data in various domains has lead to a renewed interest in developing efficient graph matching techniques, especially for processing large graphs. In this paper, we study the problem of approximate graph matching in a large attributed graph. Given a large attributed graph and a query graph, we compute a subgraph of the large graph that best matches the query graph. We propose a novel structure-aware and attribute-aware index to process approximate graph matching in a large attributed graph. We first construct an index on the similarity of the attributed graph, by partitioning the large search space into smaller subgraphs based on structure similarity and attribute similarity. Then, we construct a connectivity-based index to give a concise representation of inter-partition connections. We use the index to find a set of best matching paths. From these best matching paths, we compute the best matching answer graph using a greedy algorithm. Experimental results on real datasets demonstrate the efficiency of both index construction and query processing. We also show that our approach attains high-quality query answers.     

A Markov random field model-based approach to image interpretation

An image is segmented into a collection of disjoint regions that form the nodes of an adjacency graph, and image interpretation is achieved through assigning object labels (or interpretations) to the segmented regions (or nodes) using domain knowledge, extracted feature measurements, and spatial relationships between the various regions. The interpretation labels are modeled as a Markov random field (MRF) on the corresponding adjacency graph, and the image interpretation problem is then formulated as a maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation rule, given domain knowledge and region-based measurements. Simulated annealing is used to find this best realization or optimal MAP interpretation. This approach also provides a systematic method for organizing and representing domain knowledge through appropriate design of the clique functions describing the Gibbs distribution representing the pdf of the underlying MRF. A general methodology is provided for the design of the clique functions. Results of image interpretation experiments on synthetic and real-world images are described     

基于图论的化学分子数据挖掘研究

近年来,人们提出了很多频繁图模式挖掘的算法。首先分析了贪婪搜索策略,然后对各种不同的图数据挖掘的方法进行比较。受购物篮分析的影响,基于ILP方法引起了人们的重视。如何修改各种不同的图数据挖掘方法以适用化学分子数据的挖掘是人们研究的热点问题。因为化学分子不仅是标准的图结构,而且它有典型的频繁环和链结构,还有一些频繁出现的代表原子类型的结点,所以在这个领域有一些特殊问题需要考虑。     

Worst case analysis of a greedy algorithm for graph thickness

In this paper, we consider a greedy algorithm for thickness of graphs. The greedy algorithm we consider here takes a maximum planar subgraph away from the current graph in each iteration and repeats this process until the current graph has no edge. The greedy algorithm outputs the number of iterations which is an upper bound of thickness for an input graph G=(V,E). We show that the performance ratio of the greedy algorithm is .     

A hybrid algorithmic model for the minimum weight dominating set problem

Iterated greedy algorithms belong to the class of stochastic local search methods. They are based on the simple and effective principle of generating a sequence of solutions by iterating over a constructive greedy heuristic using destruction and construction phases. This paper, first, presents an efficient randomized iterated greedy approach for the minimum weight dominating set problem, where—given a vertex-weighted graph—the goal is to identify a subset of the graphs’ vertices with minimum total weight such that each vertex of the graph is either in the subset or has a neighbor in the subset. Our proposed approach works on a population of solutions rather than on a single one. Moreover, it is based on a fast randomized construction procedure making use of two different greedy heuristics. Secondly, we present a hybrid algorithmic model in which the proposed iterated greedy algorithm is combined with the mathematical programming solver CPLEX. In particular, we improve the best solution provided by the iterated greedy algorithm with the solution polishing feature of CPLEX. The simulation results obtained on a widely used set of benchmark instances shows that our proposed algorithms outperform current state-of-the-art approaches.     

A Weakly Robust PTAS for Minimum Clique Partition in Unit Disk Graphs

We consider the problem of partitioning the set of vertices of a given unit disk graph (UDG) into a minimum number of cliques. The problem is NP-hard and various constant factor approximations are known, with the current best ratio of 3. Our main result is a weakly robust polynomial time approximation scheme (PTAS) for UDGs expressed with edge-lengths that either (i) computes a clique partition or (ii) gives a certificate that the graph is not a UDG; for the case (i) it computes a clique partition having size that is guaranteed to be within (1+ε) of the optimum size if the input is UDG; however if the input is not a UDG it either computes a clique partition as in case (i) with no guarantee on the quality of the clique partition or detects that it is not a UDG. Noting that recognition of UDG’s is NP-hard even if we are given edge lengths, our PTAS is a weakly-robust algorithm. Our algorithm can be transformed into an $O(\frac{\log^{*} n}{{\varepsilon}^{O(1)}})$ time distributed PTAS. We consider a weighted version of the clique partition problem on vertex-weighted UDGs that generalizes the problem. We note some key distinctions with the unweighted version, where ideas useful in obtaining a PTAS break down. Yet, surprisingly, it admits a (2+ε)-approximation algorithm for the weighted case where the graph is expressed, say, as an adjacency matrix. This improves on the best known 8-approximation for the unweighted case for UDGs expressed in standard form.     

Efficient algorithms for (3, 1) graphs

In this paper, we define a class of graphs which are referred to as (3, 1) graphs. A graph is a member of this class if it has the property that within each set of three vertices, there is at least one edge. We derive a lower bound for the size of a maximum clique in a (3, 1) graph as well as an upper bound for the size of a minimum clique covering. In addition, we show that there exists a linear algorithm for constructing a Hamiltonian circuit in a connected (3, 1) graph and an n⁴-algorithm for finding a minimum coloring in a (3, 1) graph.     

Replicator equations, maximal cliques, and graph isomorphism

We present a new energy-minimization framework for the graph isomorphism problem that is based on an equivalent maximum clique formulation. The approach is centered around a fundamental result proved by Motzkin and Straus in the mid-1960s, and recently expanded in various ways, which allows us to formulate the maximum clique problem in terms of a standard quadratic program. The attractive feature of this formulation is that a clear one-to-one correspondence exists between the solutions of the quadratic program and those in the original, combinatorial problem. To solve the program we use the so-called replicator equations--a class of straightforward continuous- and discrete-time dynamical systems developed in various branches of theoretical biology. We show how, despite their inherent inability to escape from local solutions, they nevertheless provide experimental results that are competitive with those obtained using more elaborate mean-field annealing heuristics.