Discrete Diversity and Dispersion Maximization: A Tutorial on Metaheuristic Optimization

This book presents metaheuristic methodologies for solving maximum diversity problems, which are NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems. It provides basic principles and fundamental ideas for discrete optimization, making it useful for researchers and practitioners in management science, industrial engineering, economics, and computer science. The chapters are divided into three main sections: a tutorial style description of the methodology, customization to a given diversity problem, and experimentation with the heuristic on the MDPLIB set of instances.

Format: Hardback
Length: 349 pages
Publication date: 17 November 2023
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

This book showcases metaheuristic approaches for tackling maximum diversity problems, which arise in various practical scenarios and pose significant challenges in combinatorial optimization. These problems encompass diverse domains, including facility location, social network analysis, and more, making them crucial NP-hard challenges. This volume fills a significant gap in the combinatorial optimization literature by providing fundamental principles and innovative ideas for discrete optimization. By offering practical applications and accessible explanations, the book empowers researchers and practitioners across management science, industrial engineering, economics, and computer science, while also serving as a valuable resource for non-experts in combinatorial optimization. The book's structure comprises three main sections. The first section introduces metaheuristic methodologies through tutorial-style descriptions, providing generic guidelines that can be applied to any optimization problem. The second section delves into the customization of these methodologies for specific diversity problems, demonstrating how to transform theoretical concepts into practical heuristics. The final part of the chapters focuses on experimentation, showcasing the results obtained through the application of the heuristic to solve diverse problems. The book utilizes the MDPLIB set of instances as a benchmark to assess the performance of the proposed methods.

Dimension: 235 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031383090
Edition number: 1st ed. 2023