An Approximate Minimum Degree Ordering Algorithm

An approximate minimum degree (AMD), ordering algorithm for preordering a symmetric sparse matrix prior to numerical factorization is presented. We use techniques based on the quotient graph for matrix factorization that allow us to obtain computationally cheap bounds for the minimum degree. We show that these bounds are often equal to the actual degree. The resulting algorithm is typically much faster than previous minimum degree ordering algorithms and produces results that are comparable in quality with the best orderings from other minimum degree algorithms.