An Efficient Local Search Algorithm for Minimum Weighted Vertex Cover on Massive Graphs.

The minimum weighted vertex cover (MWVC) problem is a well known NP-hard problem with various real-world applications. In this paper, we design an efficient algorithm named FastWVC to solve MWVC problem in massive graphs. Two strategies are proposed. One is the ConstructWVC procedure, aiming to generate a quality initial vertex cover. The other is a new exchange step for reconstructing a vertex cover. Experiments on 102 instances were conducted to confirm the effectiveness of our algorithm. The results show that the FastWVC algorithm outperforms other algorithms in terms of both solution quality and computational time in most of the instances.