Fast sparse representative tree splitting via local density for large-scale clustering

Abstract Large-scale clustering remains an active yet challenging task in data mining and machine learning, where existing algorithms often struggle to balance efficiency, accuracy, and adaptability. This paper proposes a novel large-scale clustering framework with three key innovations: (1) Paramet...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Renmin Wang, Jie Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-08-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-13848-w
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Large-scale clustering remains an active yet challenging task in data mining and machine learning, where existing algorithms often struggle to balance efficiency, accuracy, and adaptability. This paper proposes a novel large-scale clustering framework with three key innovations: (1) Parameter-free cluster discovery: unlike conventional methods requiring predefined cluster numbers, our algorithm autonomously identifies natural cluster structures through dynamic density-based splitting decisions. (2) Hybrid sampling-partitioning strategy: by integrating randomized sampling with K-means-based partitioning, we extract high-quality representative points that preserve data integrity with linear computational complexity. (3) Local density-driven MST segmentation: A minimum spanning tree (MST) constructed from representatives is adaptively partitioned using a local density criterion, which dynamically disconnects weakly associated edges by comparing density peaks between adjacent representative points. Extensive experiments on synthetic and real-world data sets (up to 20 million samples) demonstrate the algorithm’s superiority: it achieves higher clustering accuracy than state-of-the-art methods while reducing runtime. Notably, the framework exhibits remarkable robustness to sampling ratios and eliminates dependency on user-specified parameters, making it ideal for real-world applications with complex, arbitrary-shaped data distributions.
ISSN:2045-2322