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Programs in Physics & Physical Chemistry



Manuscript Title: GenAnneal: Genetically modified Simulated Annealing
Authors: Ioannis G. Tsoulos, Isaac E. Lagaris
Program title: GenAnneal
Catalogue identifier: ADXI_v1_0 Distribution format: tar.gz
Journal reference: Comput. Phys. Commun. 174(2006)846
Programming language: GNU-C++, GNU-C, GNU Fortran - 77.
Computer: The tool is designed to be portable in all systems running the GNU C++ compiler.
Operating system: The tool is designed to be portable in all systems running the GNU C++ compiler.
RAM: 200KB
Word size: 32 bits
Keywords: Global optimization, stochastic methods, genetic programming, grammatical evolution.
PACS: 02.60.-x, 02.60.Pn, 07.05.Kf, 02.70.Lq, 07.05.Mh.
Classification: 4.9.
Nature of problem: A multitude of problems in science and engineering are often reduced to minimizing a function of many variables. There are instances that a local optimum does not correspond to the desired physical solution and hence the search for a better solution is required. Local optimization techniques are frequently trapped in local minima. Global optimization is hence the appropriate tool. For example, solving a non-linear system of equations via optimization, employing a "least squares" type of objective, one may encounter many local minima that do not correspond to solutions. ( i.e. they are far from zero).
Solution method: We modified the process of step selection that the traditional Simulated Annealing employs and instead we used a global technique based on grammatical evolution.