DPC-DIST: an improved density peak clustering algorithm based on geometric distribution

Abstract Density Peak Clustering (DPC) is a widely used clustering method that automatically identifies cluster centers based on local density and distance metrics. However, DPC tends to converge to local optimal solutions when processing datasets with uneven density distributions. This paper proposes DPC-DIST, an improved algorithm that addresses this limitation through a geometric distribution coefficient δ. By incorporating spatial distribution characteristics into density calculations, DPC-DIST effectively prevents convergence to suboptimal solutions. Comprehensive experiments on six benchmark datasets (Wine, Iris, Seeds, Blobs, R15, R3) demonstrate that DPC-DIST consistently outperforms the original DPC, K-means++, and spectral clustering algorithms. Significant improvements were observed in high-dimensional data processing, with 9.3 % increase in Silhouette Coefficient and 47.7 % improvement in Calinski-Harabasz Score on the Wine dataset. The algorithm shows particular advantages in facility location optimization and logistics planning applications, demonstrating its practical value for real-world scenarios.