Minimum Cut on a Graph Using a Maximum Flow Algorithm

Minimum Cut on a Graph Using a Maximum Flow
Algorithm
1. Overview
In this tutorial, we’ll discuss how to find the minimum cut of a graph by calculating the
graph’s maximum flow. We’ll describe the max-flow min-cut theorem and present an
algorithm to find the maximum flow of a graph.
Finally, we’ll demonstrate the algorithm with an example and analyze the time complexity of
the algorithm.
2. Minimum Cut in a Graph
In general, a cut is a set of edges whose removal divides a connected graph into two
disjoint subsets. There are two variations of a cut: maximum cut and minimum cut. Before
discussing the max-flow min-cut theorem, it’s important to understand what a minimum cut
is.
Let’s assume a cut partition the vertex set into two sets and . The net
flow of a cut can be defined as the sum of flow , where are
two nodes , and . Similarly the capacity of a cut is the
sum of the individual capacities, where are two nodes , and .
The minimum cut of a weighted graph is defined as the minimum sum of weights of
edges that, when removed from the graph, divide the graph into two sets.
Let’s see an example:
Here in this graph, is an example of a minimum cut. It removes the edges
and , and the sum of weights of these two edges are minimum among all other cuts in this
graph.
3. Maximum Flow in a Graph
Formally, given a graph , a flow in is a

vector in a way that in every vertex , the Kirchhoff
law is verified (Law of conservation of flow at nodes). According to Kirchhoff’s law, the sum
of the flow entering a node (or a vertex) should be equal to the sum of the flow coming out of
it.
Let’s consider this graph:
Here all edges represent a flow value, so the set or vector of flows in this graph
is .
These flow values satisfy the Kirchhoff law. For , the sum of flows equal to for the
outgoing edges. Similarly, the sum of flows equal to for the incoming edges of
, which also equals the previously computed sum. This can be checked for the other vertices.
Flow in a network or a graph follows some properties. In a flow graph, there are two special
vertices: source and sink . Each edge in the flow network has a
capacity . A flow in a graph is a function and it satisfies a
capacity constraint: for each edge . Net flow in the edges
follows skew-symmetric property: .
A maximum flow is defined as the maximum amount of flow that the graph or network
would allow to flow from the source node to its sink node.
4. Max-Flow Min-Cut Theorem
The max-flow min-cut theorem states that the maximum flow through any network
from a given source to a given sink is exactly equal to the minimum sum of a cut. This
theorem can be verified using the Ford-Fulkerson algorithm. This algorithm finds the
maximum flow of a network or graph.
Let’s define the max-flow min-cut theorem formally. Let be a flow network,
a flow on . The value of the maximum flow from the source to the sink is equal to the
capacity of the minimum cut separating and :
5. The Ford-Fulkerson Algorithm
5.1. Residual Network and Augmented Path
The Ford-Fulkerson algorithm is based on the three important concepts: the residual
network augmented path and cut. We already discussed cut in a graph.
A residual network can be defined as ,

where . Residual capacity is defined
as .
An augmenting path is a simple path from source node to sink node in the residual
network .
We also use a Netflow graph in this algorithm in order to show the flow and capacity for each
edge in the graph.
5.2. General Idea
The algorithm starts with a workable flow through the graph, and the flow is improved
iteratively.
If this flow is maximum, it makes it possible to determine the flow function satisfying this
value as well as the minimum cut. If the flow is not maximum, its objective is to highlight an
improving path corresponding to this flow.
Initially, the algorithm starts by setting the flow value between the source and sink node to
. At each iteration, we find an augmented path and increase the flow value. We’ll
terminate the algorithm and return the flow value when no more augmented paths can be
found.
5.3. Pseudocode
Let’s see the pseudocode of the Ford-Fulkerson algorithm:

algorithm FordFulkerson(G, s, t):
// INPUT
// G = a directed connected graph
// s = source node
// t = sink node
// OUTPUT
// Maximum flow of the graph G
for edge (u, v) in E(G):
f(u, v) <- 0
f(v, u) <- 0
// G_f = global residual graph

while there exists an augmenting path p in G_f:
c_f(p) <- min {c_f(u, v): (u, v) in p} // the capacity of the residual graph
for edge (u, v) in p:
f(u, v) <- f(u, v) + c_f(p)
f(v, u) <- -f(u, v)Copy
6. Example
Initially, we’re taking a directed connected graph, and we’ll run the Ford-Fulkerson algorithm
on it. In each step, we pick an augmented path and present the residual graph and Netflow
graph:
First, we choose the path . In this path, the minimum capacity is . Now we’ll
construct a residual graph and a Netflow graph:
We’ll continue the algorithm and select the next augmented path :
Our next pick is :
Still, we can pick more augmented paths. We pick the path :
Now let’s observe the residual graph, and let’s see if we can find more augmented paths:
If we see the current residual graph from the source node , we can’t reach the sink node
via a path. Therefore, we terminate the algorithm as we can’t find any more augmented paths.
Now according to the algorithm, the maximum outgoing flow from the sink node should be
equal to the maximum incoming flow of the source node. Let’s verify this.
The maximum outgoing flow from the node is and also the maximum incoming
flow for the source node is , Hence, we verified that the Ford-Fulkerson algorithm
works fine and provides the maximum flow of a graph correctly.
Now according to the maximum-flow minimum-cut theorem, the minimum cut of this graph
would be equal to the maximum flow of the graph. Therefore, the minimum cut of this
example graph is .
7. Time Complexity Analysis
The Ford-Fulkerson algorithm depends heavily on the method used to find an augmented
path. An augmented path can be found using a Breadth-first search (BFS) or Depth-first
search (DFS). If we choose an augmented path using BFS or DFS, the algorithm runs
in polynomial time.
The execution time of BFS is equal to , where is the number of edges in the
residual graph . For each edge, the flow will be increased, and in the worst case, it reaches
its maximum flow value . Therefore the algorithm will be iterated at most times.
Hence, the overall time complexity of the Ford-Fulkerson algorithm would
be .
8. Conclusion
In this tutorial, we discussed how to find a minimum cut by calculating the maximum flow
value of a graph. We presented the Ford-Fulkerson algorithm to solve the maximum flow
problem in a graph.
To find the minimum cut of a graph, we discuss the max-flow min-cut theorem. Finally, we
verified the Ford-Fulkerson algorithm with an example and analyzed the time complexity.

Minimum Cut on a Graph Using a Maximum Flow Algorithm

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Minimum Cut on a Graph Using a Maximum Flow Algorithm

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Minimum Cut on a Graph Using a Maximum Flow

2. Minimum Cut in a Graph

3. Maximum Flow in a Graph

Formally, given a graph , a flow in is a

4. Max-Flow Min-Cut Theorem

5. The Ford-Fulkerson Algorithm

5.1. Residual Network and Augmented Path

A residual network can be defined as ,

5.2. General Idea

Let’s see the pseudocode of the Ford-Fulkerson algorithm:

// G_f = global residual graph

Still, we can pick more augmented paths. We pick the path :

7. Time Complexity Analysis

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