A Covariance Matrix Self-Adaptation Evolution Strategy for Optimization under Linear Constraints

Abstract: This paper addresses the development of a covariance matrix self-adaptation evolution strategy (CMSA-ES) for solving optimization problems with linear constraints. The proposed algorithm is referred to as Linear Constraint CMSA-ES (lcCMSA-ES). It uses a specially built mutation operator together with repair by projection to satisfy the constraints. The lcCMSA-ES evolves itself on a linear manifold defined by the constraints. The objective function is only evaluated at feasible search points (interior point method). This is a property often required in application domains such as simulation optimization and finite element methods. The algorithm is tested on a variety of different test problems revealing considerable results.