A Continuation Algorithm for Max-Cut Problem

A continuation algorithm for the solution of max-cut problems is proposed in this paper. Unlike the available semi-definite relaxation, a max-cut problem is converted into a continuous nonlinear programming by employing NCP functions, and the resulting nonlinear programming problem is then solved by using the augmented Lagrange penalty function method. The convergence property of the proposed algorithm is studied. Numerical experiments and comparisons with the Geomeans and Williamson randomized algorithm made on some max-cut test problems show that the algorithm generates satisfactory solutions for all the test problems with much less computation costs.