arXiv:2510.21669cs.LGstat.ML2025-10NeurIPS

提出新模型可无边密度信号下实现最优图聚类,突破传统方法局限。

Optimal Graph Clustering without Edge Density Signals

  • 引入独立的簇内/间连接流行度参数,刻画更真实的节点异质性
  • 证明在边密度消失时仍可聚类,只要簇内与簇间流行度不同
  • 建议用 $k^2$ 个特征向量替代传统 $k$ 个,提升真实数据表现

本文在流行度调整块模型(PABM)下建立了图聚类的理论极限,克服了现有模型的不足。与假设节点度均匀的随机块模型(SBM)及对所有簇使用统一度修正的度修正块模型(DCBM)不同,PABM为簇内和簇间连接分别引入流行度参数。主要贡献在于刻画了在PABM下的最优聚类误差率,揭示新洞察:当传统边密度信号消失时,只要簇内与簇间流行度系数不同,聚类依然可能实现。这凸显了PABM捕捉局部连通模式差异的能力,而此特性被DCBM忽略。此外,由于PABM结构更丰富,其期望邻接矩阵的秩介于 $k$ 与 $k^2$ 之间,因此基于前 $k$ 个主特征向量的谱嵌入可能遗漏关键结构信息。在合成与真实数据上的数值实验表明,采用 $k^2$ 个特征向量的谱聚类算法优于传统方法。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

This paper establishes the theoretical limits of graph clustering under the Popularity-Adjusted Block Model (PABM), addressing limitations of existing models. In contrast to the Stochastic Block Model (SBM), which assumes uniform vertex degrees, and to the Degree-Corrected Block Model (DCBM), which applies uniform degree corrections across clusters, PABM introduces separate popularity parameters for intra- and inter-cluster connections. Our main contribution is the characterization of the optimal error rate for clustering under PABM, which provides novel insights on clustering hardness: we demonstrate that unlike SBM and DCBM, cluster recovery remains possible in PABM even when traditional edge-density signals vanish, provided intra- and inter-cluster popularity coefficients differ. This highlights a dimension of degree heterogeneity captured by PABM but overlooked by DCBM: local differences in connectivity patterns can enhance cluster separability independently of global edge densities. Finally, because PABM exhibits a richer structure, its expected adjacency matrix has rank between $k$ and $k^2$, where $k$ is the number of clusters. As a result, spectral embeddings based on the top $k$ eigenvectors may fail to capture important structural information. Our numerical experiments on both synthetic and real datasets confirm that spectral clustering algorithms incorporating $k^2$ eigenvectors outperform traditional spectral approaches.

图聚类块模型谱聚类理论分析

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