title: On the choice of the offspring population size in evolutionary algorithms.
abstract: Evolutionary algorithms (EAs) generally come with a large number of parameters that have to be set before the algorithm can be used. Finding appropriate settings is a difficult task. The influence of these parameters on the efficiency of the search performed by an evolutionary algorithm can be very high. But there is still a lack of theoretically justified guidelines to help the practitioner find good values for these parameters. One such parameter is the offspring population size. Using a simplified but still realistic evolutionary algorithm, a thorough analysis of the effects of the offspring population size is presented. The result is a much better understanding of the role of offspring population size in an EA and suggests a simple way to dynamically adapt this parameter when necessary.
authors.affiliation: FB Informatik, LS 2, Universität Dortmund, 44221 Dortmund, Germany. Thomas.Jansen@udo.edu
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.forename: Kenneth A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: De Jong
authors.forename: Ingo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Wegener
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003198:Computer Simulation; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D011156:Population Density; D012641:Selection, Genetic