Use of the q-Gaussian mutation in evolutionary algorithms

Copyright @ Springer-Verlag 2010.This paper proposes the use of the q-Gaussian mutation with self-adaptation of the shape of the mutation distribution in evolutionary algorithms. The shape of the q-Gaussian mutation distribution is controlled by a real parameter q. In the proposed method, the real parameter q of the q-Gaussian mutation is encoded in the chromosome of individuals and hence is allowed to evolve during the evolutionary process. In order to test the new mutation operator, evolution strategy and evolutionary programming algorithms with self-adapted q-Gaussian mutation generated from anisotropic and isotropic distributions are presented. The theoretical analysis of the q-Gaussian mutation is also provided. In the experimental study, the q-Gaussian mutation is compared to Gaussian and Cauchy mutations in the optimization of a set of test functions. Experimental results show the efficiency of the proposed method of self-adapting the mutation distribution in evolutionary algorithms.This work was supported in part by FAPESP and CNPq in Brazil and in part by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of the UK under Grant EP/E060722/1 and Grant EP/E060722/2

Self-adaptation of Genetic Operators Through Genetic Programming Techniques

Here we propose an evolutionary algorithm that self modifies its operators at the same time that candidate solutions are evolved. This tackles convergence and lack of diversity issues, leading to better solutions. Operators are represented as trees and are evolved using genetic programming (GP) techniques. The proposed approach is tested with real benchmark functions and an analysis of operator evolution is provided.Comment: Presented in GECCO 201

State Transition Algorithm

In terms of the concepts of state and state transition, a new heuristic random search algorithm named state transition algorithm is proposed. For continuous function optimization problems, four special transformation operators called rotation, translation, expansion and axesion are designed. Adjusting measures of the transformations are mainly studied to keep the balance of exploration and exploitation. Convergence analysis is also discussed about the algorithm based on random search theory. In the meanwhile, to strengthen the search ability in high dimensional space, communication strategy is introduced into the basic algorithm and intermittent exchange is presented to prevent premature convergence. Finally, experiments are carried out for the algorithms. With 10 common benchmark unconstrained continuous functions used to test the performance, the results show that state transition algorithms are promising algorithms due to their good global search capability and convergence property when compared with some popular algorithms.Comment: 18 pages, 28 figure