Graph based crossover - a case study with the busy beaver problem

摘要

The success of the application of evolutionary approaches depends, to a large extent, on problem representation and on the used genetic operators. In this paper we introduce a new graph based crossover operator and compare it with classical two-point crossover. The study was carried out using a theoretical hard problem known as Busy Beaver. This problem involves the search for the Turing Machine that produces the maximum number of ones when started on a blank tape. Experimental results show that, in this domain, the new graph-based operator provides a clear advantage over two-point crossover.