Improved extremal optimization for the asymmetric traveling salesman problem

This paper presents an improved extremal optimization (IEO) algorithm for solving the asymmetric traveling salesman problem (ATSP). At each update step, the IEO algorithm proceeds through two main steps: extremal dynamics and cooperative optimization. As an improvement of extremal optimization (EO), the IEO provides a general combinatorial optimization framework by emphasizing the step of cooperative optimization. In the paper, an effective cooperative optimization strategy with combination of greedy search and random walk is designed in terms of the microscopic characteristics of the ATSP solutions. Simulation results on a set of benchmark ATSP instances show that the proposed IEO algorithm provides satisfactory performance on computational effectiveness and efficiency.