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In computer science and optimization theory, the max-flow min-cut theorem states that in a flow network, the maximum amount of flow passing from the source to the sink is equal to the total weight of the edges in a minimum cut, i.e., the smallest total weight of the edges which if removed would disconnect the source from the sink.
In a flow network, the minimum cut separates the source and sink vertices and minimizes the total sum of the capacities of the edges that are directed from the source side of the cut to the sink side of the cut. As shown in the max-flow min-cut theorem, the weight of this cut equals the maximum amount of flow that can be sent from the source to ...
The maximum value of an s-t flow (i.e., flow from source s to sink t) is equal to the minimum capacity of an s-t cut (i.e., cut severing s from t) in the network, as stated in the max-flow min-cut theorem.
Approximate max-flow min-cut theorems deal with the relationship between maximum flow rate ("max-flow") and minimum cut ("min-cut") in a multi-commodity flow problem. The theorems have enabled the development of approximation algorithms for use in graph partition and related problems.
The max-flow min-cut theorem equates the value of a maximum flow to the value of a minimum cut, a partition of the vertices of the flow network that minimizes the total capacity of edges crossing from one side of the partition to the other. Approximate max-flow min-cut theorems provide an extension of this result to multi-commodity flow problems.
The max-flow min-cut theorem proves that the maximum network flow and the sum of the cut-edge weights of any minimum cut that separates the source and the sink are equal. There are polynomial-time methods to solve the min-cut problem, notably the Edmonds–Karp algorithm .
The capacity of the cut equals the weight of all positive-weight vertices minus the weight of the vertices in C, which is minimized when the weight of C is maximized. By the max-flow min-cut theorem, a minimum cut, and the optimal closure derived from it, can be found by solving a maximum flow problem. [1]
Claim 1 Current at any resistive element in the electrical network in either direction is always less than or equal to the maximum flow at the corresponding edge in the graph. Therefore, the maximum current through the electrical network is less than the weight of the minimum cut of the flow graph: