A game theoretic approach for core resilience

K-cores are maximal induced subgraphs where all vertices have degree at least k. These dense patterns have applications in community detection, network visualization and protein function prediction. However, k-cores can be quite unstable to network modifications, which motivates the question: How resilient is the k-core structure of a network, such as the Web or Facebook, to edge deletions? We investigate this question from an algorithmic perspective. More specifically, we study the problem of computing a small set of edges for which the removal minimizes the k-core structure of a network. This paper provides a comprehensive characterization of the hardness of the k-core minimization problem (KCM), including innaproximability and parameterized complexity. Motivated by these challenges, we propose a novel algorithm inspired by Shapley value-a cooperative game-theoretic concept- that is able to leverage the strong inter-dependencies in the effects of edge removals in the search space. We efficiently approximate Shapley values using a randomized algorithm with probabilistic guarantees. Our experiments show that the proposed algorithm outperforms competing solutions in terms of k-core minimization while being able to handle large graphs. Moreover, we illustrate how KCM can be applied in the analysis of the kcore resilience of networks.