NP-hard
Even deciding OCT ≤ k is NP-complete. Approximation and parameterized approaches.
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Approximation
O(log n) approximation via LP relaxation. Better: (2 - 2/OPT) approximation via multi-cut techniques.
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FPT algorithm
Reed-Smith-Vetta: O(3^k · V · E). For each k, either solves or reports 'no OCT of size k'.
Iterative compression
Key FPT technique. Given OCT of size k+1, find one of size k. Reduces to bipartite s-t min cut.