Parallel Algorithm For Finding The Minimum s/t Cut in a Structured 3-Dimensional Proper Order Graph

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel parallel push-relabel algorithm with level synchronized relabeling for efficiently computing minimum s-t cuts in structured 3D graphs, especially useful in seismic image segmentation.

Contribution

The paper presents a new parallel push-relabel algorithm with level synchronized relabeling tailored for structured 3D graphs, improving efficiency in image segmentation tasks.

Findings

The parallel push-relabel algorithm outperforms hierarchical merging methods.

Level synchronized relabeling enables concurrent label updates without global queues.

The approach effectively handles large seismic imaging volumes.

Abstract

We present a parallel algorithm for computing the minimum s-t cut in structured 3-dimensional proper order graphs arising from image segmentation problems. Proper order graphs are multi-column structures where vertices are arranged in parallel columns, with each vertex connected to consecutive vertices in adjacent columns. This graph structure naturally arises in surface extraction problems for geological horizon segmentation in seismic imaging volumes. We develop two parallel approaches: a hierarchical merging variant of the Boykov-Kolmogorov algorithm, and a novel parallel push-relabel algorithm with level synchronized global relabeling. Our primary contribution is the push-relabel variant, which partitions the graph into segments along columns with processor affinity, eliminating the need for a global shared queue. We introduce level synchronized global relabeling that enables concurrent label updates while maintaining correctness through barriers at each frontier level.