Differential evolution dynamics modeled by longitudinal social network

Abstract

Differential evolution (DE) is a population-based algorithm using Darwinian and Mendel principles to find out an optimal solution to difficult problems. In this work, the dynamics of the DE algorithm are modeled by using a longitudinal social network. Because a population of the DE algorithm is improved in generations, each generation of DE algorithm is represented by one short-interval network. Each short-interval network is created by individuals contributing to population improvement. On the basis of this model, a new parent selection in the mutation operation is presented and a well-known benchmark set CEC 2013 Special Session on Real-Parameter Optimization (including 28 functions) is used to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm.