Abstract
We give a O(log n)-approximation algorithm for the sparsest cut, edge expansion, balanced separator, and graph conductance problems. This improves the O(log n)-approximation of Leighton and Rao (1988). We use a well-known semidefinite relaxation with triangle inequality constraints. Central to our analysis is a geometric theorem about projections of point sets in R d, whose proof makes essential use of a phenomenon called measure concentration. We also describe an interesting and natural approximate certificate for a graph's expansion, which involves embedding an n-node expander in it with appropriate dilation and congestion. We call this an expander flow.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 5 |
Journal | Journal of the ACM |
Volume | 56 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 1 2009 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Software
- Control and Systems Engineering
- Information Systems
- Hardware and Architecture
- Artificial Intelligence
Keywords
- Expanders
- Expansion
- Graph partitioning
- Graph separators
- Multicommodity flows
- Semidefinite programs