min_maximal_matching

min_maximal_matching(G)

Returns the minimum maximal matching of G. That is, out of all maximal matchings of the graph G, the smallest is returned.

Parameters:

GNetworkX graph

Undirected graph

Returns:

min_maximal_matchingset

Returns a set of edges such that no two edges share a common endpoint and every edge not in the set shares some common endpoint in the set. Cardinality will be 2*OPT in the worst case.

Notes

The algorithm computes an approximate solution for the minimum maximal cardinality matching problem. The solution is no more than 2 * OPT in size. Runtime is \(O(|E|)\).

References

[1]

Vazirani, Vijay Approximation Algorithms (2001)