Network dismantling aims at breaking a network into disconnected components and attacking vertices that intersect with many loops has proven to be a most efficient strategy. Yet existing loop-focusing methods do not distinguish the short loops within densely connected local clusters (e.g., cliques) from the long loops connecting different clusters, leading to lowered performance of these algorithms. Here we propose a new solution framework for network dismantling based on a two-scale bipartite factor-graph representation, in which long loops are maintained while local dense clusters are simplistically represented as individual factor nodes. A mean-field spin-glass theory is developed for the corresponding long-loop feedback vertex set problem. The framework allows for the advancement of various existing dismantling algorithms; we developed the new version of two benchmark algorithms BPD (which uses the message-passing equations of the spin-glass theory as the solver) and CoreHD (which is fastest among well-performing algorithms). New solvers outperform current state-of-the-art algorithms by a considerable margin on networks of various sorts. Further improvement in dismantling performance is achievable by opting flexibly the choice of local clusters.

• Received 1 March 2021
• Revised 6 April 2021
• Accepted 29 May 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.103.L061302