A self-adaptive chaotic differential evolution algorithm using gamma distribution for unconstrained global optimization

Evolutionary algorithms (EAs) have yielded promising results for solving nonlinear, non-differentiable and multi-modal optimization problems. Due to its population-based nature, EAs can avoid being trapped in a local optimum, and consequently have the ability to find global optimal solutions. As a novel evolutionary technique, differential evolution (DE) has received increasing attention and wide applications in a variety of fields. DE algorithm uses an efficient way of self-adapting mutation using small populations for function optimization over continuous spaces. The potentialities of DE are its simple structure, easy use, convergence property, quality of solution, and robustness. In this paper, an effective self-adaptive DE algorithm based on Gaussian probability distribution, gamma distribution and chaotic sequence (DEGC) for solving continuous global optimization problems is proposed. The proposed DEGC algorithm is tested on several benchmark functions from the usual literature. Numerical results comparisons with a classical DE approach and a self-adaptive DE approach demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed DEGC algorithm.