Graph clustering with Boltzmann machines

Abstract

Graph clustering is the process of labeling nodes so that nodes sharing common labels form densely connected subgraphs with sparser connections to the remaining vertices. Because of its difficult formulation, we translate the intra-cluster density maximization problem to a distance minimization problem. To achieve this reformulation, we use a novel vertex–vertex distance that accurately reflects density. Specifically, we extend the recent binary quadratic K-medoids formulation to graph clustering. We also generalize a quadratic formulation originally designed for partitioning complete graphs. Because binary quadratic optimization is an NP-hard problem, we obtain numerical solutions for these formulations through the use of two novel Boltzmann machine (meta-)heuristics. For benchmarking purposes, we compare solution quality and computational performances to those obtained using a commercial solver, Gurobi. We also compare clustering quality to the clusters obtained using the popular Louvain modularity maximization method. Our initial results clearly demonstrate the superiority of our problem formulations combined with our Boltzmann machines. In the case of smaller less complex graphs, our formulations solved using Boltzmann machines provide the same solutions as Gurobi, but with solution times that are orders of magnitude lower. In the case of larger and more complex graphs, Gurobi either fails to return meaningful results within a reasonable time frame or returns inferior results. Finally, we also note that both our clustering formulations, the distance minimization and K-medoids, when solved using our Boltzmann machines, yield clusters of superior quality to those obtained with the Louvain algorithm.