Simulated annealing

Abstract

This chapter introduces simulated annealing, an algorithmic method that produces approximate solutions for optimization problems with certain mathematical properties. The name of this magical method is due to an analogy with an industrial technique that involves the heating and controlled cooling - annealing - of a material to improve its stability. The author first uses a tiling game to demonstrate the principle, and he then outlines how the technique may be applied to the travelling salesman problem. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.