More explanation for optimize function about hclust HOT 3 CLOSED

The purpose of the Optimize function is to optimize the leaf ordering. You can find an explanation of this in the paper by Bar-Joseph. For instance, Fig. 1 shows a simple example of node flipping to change the leaf ordering while maintaining clusters.

from hclust.

Thank you for the information. Can I summaries that optimise function rearrange the leaf so that distance of left leaf is smaller or equal to distance of right leaf?

from hclust.

You're on the right track. It's the between-leaf distances that are minimized, i.e. to order the leafs so that the sum of the distances between them is minimized.

from hclust.