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An Evolutionary Strategy based on Partial Imitation for Solving Optimization Problems

In this work we introduce an evolutionary strategy to solve combinatorial optimization tasks, i.e. problems characterized by a discrete search space. In particular, we focus on the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP), i.e. a famous problem whose search space grows exponentially, increasing the number of cities, up to becoming NP-hard. The solutions of the TSP can be codified by arrays of cities, and can be evaluated by fitness, computed according to a cost function (e.g. the length of a path). Our method is based on the evolution of an agent population by means of an imitative mechanism, we define `partial imitation'. In particular, agents receive a random solution and then, interacting among themselves, may imitate the solutions of agents with a higher fitness. Since the imitation mechanism is only partial, agents copy only one entry (randomly chosen) of another array (i.e. solution). In doing so, the population converges towards a shared solution, behaving like a spin system undergoing a cooling process, i.e. driven towards an ordered phase. We highlight that the adopted `partial imitation' mechanism allows the population to generate solutions over time, before reaching the final equilibrium. Results of numerical simulations show that our method is able to find, in a finite time, both optimal and suboptimal solutions, depending on the size of the considered search space.