Galactic Gravitational Search Algorithm for Numerical Optimization

The gravitational search algorithm (GSA) has proven to be a good optimization algorithm to solve various optimization problems. However, due to the lack of exploration capability, it often traps into local optima when dealing with complex problems. Hence its convergence speed will slow down. A clustering-based learning strategy (CLS) has been applied to GSA to alleviate this situation, which is called galactic gravitational search algorithm (GGSA). The CLS firstly divides the GSA into multiple clusters, and then it applies several learning strategies in each cluster and among clusters separately. By using this method, the main weakness of GSA that easily trapping into local optima can be effectively alleviated. The experimental results confirm the superior performance of GGSA in terms of solution quality and convergence in comparison with GSA and other algorithms.