Clustering by fast search and find of density peaks

Discerning clusters of data points Cluster analysis is used in many disciplines to group objects according to a defined measure of distance. Numerous algorithms exist, some based on the analysis of the local density of data points, and others on predefined probability distributions. Rodriguez and Laio devised a method in which the cluster centers are recognized as local density maxima that are far away from any points of higher density. The algorithm depends only on the relative densities rather than their absolute values. The authors tested the method on a series of data sets, and its performance compared favorably to that of established techniques. Science , this issue p. 1492