On Maximal Cliques with Connectivity Constraints in Directed Graphs

Finding communities in the form of cohesive subgraphs is a fundamental problem in network analysis. In domains that model networks as undirected graphs, communities are generally associated with dense subgraphs, and many community models have been proposed. Maximal cliques are arguably the most widely studied among such models, with early works dating back to the \u2760s, and a continuous stream of research up to the present. In domains that model networks as directed graphs, several approaches for community detection have been proposed, but there seems to be no clear model of cohesive subgraph, i.e., of what a community should look like. We extend the fundamental model of clique to directed graphs, adding the natural constraint of strong connectivity within the clique. We characterize the problem by giving a tight bound for the number of such cliques in a graph, and highlighting useful structural properties. We then exploit these properties to produce the first algorithm with polynomial delay for enumerating maximal strongly connected cliques

A Tutorial on Clique Problems in Communications and Signal Processing

Since its first use by Euler on the problem of the seven bridges of K\"onigsberg, graph theory has shown excellent abilities in solving and unveiling the properties of multiple discrete optimization problems. The study of the structure of some integer programs reveals equivalence with graph theory problems making a large body of the literature readily available for solving and characterizing the complexity of these problems. This tutorial presents a framework for utilizing a particular graph theory problem, known as the clique problem, for solving communications and signal processing problems. In particular, the paper aims to illustrate the structural properties of integer programs that can be formulated as clique problems through multiple examples in communications and signal processing. To that end, the first part of the tutorial provides various optimal and heuristic solutions for the maximum clique, maximum weight clique, and $k$-clique problems. The tutorial, further, illustrates the use of the clique formulation through numerous contemporary examples in communications and signal processing, mainly in maximum access for non-orthogonal multiple access networks, throughput maximization using index and instantly decodable network coding, collision-free radio frequency identification networks, and resource allocation in cloud-radio access networks. Finally, the tutorial sheds light on the recent advances of such applications, and provides technical insights on ways of dealing with mixed discrete-continuous optimization problems