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Optimal Static and Self-Adjusting Parameter Choices for the \((1+(\lambda ,\lambda ))\) Genetic Algorithm

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Abstract

The \((1+(\lambda ,\lambda ))\) genetic algorithm proposed in Doerr et al. (Theor Comput Sci 567:87–104, 2015) is one of the few examples for which a super-constant speed-up of the expected optimization time through the use of crossover could be rigorously demonstrated. It was proven that the expected optimization time of this algorithm on OneMax is \(O(\max \{n \log (n) / \lambda , \lambda n\})\) for any offspring population size \(\lambda \in \{1,\ldots ,n\}\) (and the other parameters suitably dependent on \(\lambda \)) and it was shown experimentally that a self-adjusting choice of \(\lambda \) leads to a better, most likely linear, runtime. In this work, we study more precisely how the optimization time depends on the parameter choices, leading to the following results on how to optimally choose the population size, the mutation probability, and the crossover bias both in a static and a dynamic fashion. For the mutation probability and the crossover bias depending on \(\lambda \) as in Doerr et al. (2015), we improve the previous runtime bound to \(O(\max \{n \log (n) / \lambda , n \lambda \log \log (\lambda )/\log (\lambda )\})\). This expression is minimized by a value of \(\lambda \) slightly larger than what the previous result suggested and gives an expected optimization time of \(O\left( n \sqrt{\log (n) \log \log \log (n) / \log \log (n)}\right) \). We show that no static choice in the three-dimensional parameter space of offspring population, mutation probability, and crossover bias gives an asymptotically better runtime. We also prove that the self-adjusting parameter choice suggested in Doerr et al. (2015) outperforms all static choices and yields the conjectured linear expected runtime. This is asymptotically optimal among all possible parameter choices.

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Notes

  1. In [15, Section 4.4] and [16] a slightly different selection rule was suggested for the crossover phase, namely excluding from the crossover selection individuals identical with x. This can speed-up traversing large plateaus of equal fitness. For the OneMax function, naturally, there is no difference, so we present the algorithm in the simpler fashion given above.

  2. To be precise, we use here the fact that the bound of Theorem 1(b) is also valid if both occurrences of E[X] are replaced by an upper bound for E[X]. This is a well-known fact, but seemingly a reference is not so easy to find. Hence the easiest solution is maybe to derive this fact right from Theorem 1(b) by extending the sequence \(X_1, \ldots , X_n\) of random variables by random variables that take a certain value with probability one. By this, we can artificially increase E[X] without changing the random variable \(X - E[X]\). Hence the bound obtained from applying the Theorem to the extended sequence applies also to the original one.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a public Grant as part of the Investissement d’avenir Project, reference ANR-11-LABX-0056-LMH, LabEx LMH, in a joint call with Programme Gaspard Monge en Optimisation et Recherche Opérationnelle. It is also supported by a second Project within the “FMJH Program Gaspard Monge in optimization and operation research” program, and from the support to this program from EDF (Électricité de France).

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  1. École Polytechnique, LIX - UMR 7161, 1 rue Honoré d’Estienne d’Orves, Bâtiment Alan Turing, CS35003, 91120, Palaiseau, France

    Benjamin Doerr

  2. Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, LIP6 UMR 7606, 4 place Jussieu, 75005, Paris, France

    Carola Doerr

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Correspondence to Carola Doerr.

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Results presented in this work are based on [12,13,14].

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Doerr, B., Doerr, C. Optimal Static and Self-Adjusting Parameter Choices for the \((1+(\lambda ,\lambda ))\) Genetic Algorithm. Algorithmica 80, 1658–1709 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00453-017-0354-9

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