Are Near Earth Objects the Key to Optimization Theory
Richard A. Formato *
Consulting Engineer and Registered Patent Attorney, Cataldo and Fisher, LLC, P.O. Box 1714, Harwich, MA 02645, USA.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This note suggests that near earth objects and Central Force Optimization have something in common, that NEO theory may hold the key to solving some vexing problems in deterministic optimization: local trapping and proof of convergence. CFO analogizes Newton’s laws to locate the global maxima of a function. The NEO-CFO nexus is the striking similarity between CFO’s Davg and an NEO’s ΔV curves. Both exhibit oscillatory plateau-like regions connected by jumps, suggesting that CFO’s metaphorical “gravity” indeed behaves like real gravity, thereby connecting NEOs and CFO and being the basis for speculating that NEO theory may address difficult issues in optimization.
Keywords: Central force optimization, CFO, near earth objects, NEO, optimization theory, proof of convergence, local trapping, metaheuristic, evolutionary algorithm