Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2013

DOI

10.1103/PhysRevSTAB.16.010101

Publication Title

Physical Review Special Topics- Accelerators and Beams

Volume

16

Issue

1

Pages

1-25

Abstract

The genetic algorithm (GA) is a powerful technique that implements the principles nature uses in biological evolution to optimize a multidimensional nonlinear problem. The GA works especially well for problems with a large number of local extrema, where traditional methods (such as conjugate gradient, steepest descent, and others) fail or, at best, underperform. The field of accelerator physics, among others, abounds with problems which lend themselves to optimization via GAs. In this paper, we report on the successful application of GAs in several problems related to the existing Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility nuclear physics machine, the proposed Medium-energy Electron-Ion Collider at Jefferson Lab, and a radio frequency gun-based injector. These encouraging results are a step forward in optimizing accelerator design and provide an impetus for application of GAs to other problems in the field. To that end, we discuss the details of the GAs used, include a newly devised enhancement which leads to improved convergence to the optimum, and make recommendations for future GA developments and accelerator applications.

Original Publication Citation

Hofler, A., Terzic, B., Kramer, M., Zvezdin, A., Morozov, V., Roblin, Y., . . . Jarvis, C. (2013). Innovative applications of genetic algorithms to problems in accelerator physics. Physical Review Special Topics-Accelerators and Beams, 16(1), 1-25. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevSTAB.16.010101

ORCID

0000-0002-9646-8155 (Terzic)

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