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A Study of Multiobjective Metaheuristics When Solving Parameter Scalable Problems

Durillo, Juan J.; Nebro, Antonio J.; Coello Coello, Carlos A.; García Nieto, José Manuel; Luna, Francisco; Alba, Enrique

Abstract

To evaluate the search capabilities of a multiobjective algorithm, the usual approach is to choose a benchmark of known problems, to perform a fixed number of function evaluations, and to apply a set of quality indicators. However, while real problems could have hundreds or even thousands of decision variables, current benchmarks are normally adopted with relatively few decision variables (normally from 10 to 30). Furthermore, performing a constant number of evaluations does not provide information about the effort required by an algorithm to get a satisfactory set of solutions; this information would also be of interest in real scenarios, where evaluating the functions defining the problem can be computationally expensive. In this paper, we study the effect of parameter scalability in a number of state-of-the-art multiobjective metaheuristics. We adopt a benchmark of parameter-wise scalable problems (the Zitzler–Deb–Thiele test suite) and analyze the behavior of eight multiobjective metaheuristics on these test problems when using a number of decision variables that range from 8 up to 2048. By using the hypervolume indicator as a stopping condition, we also analyze the computational effort required by each algorithm in order to reach the Pareto front. We conclude that the two analyzed algorithms based on particle swarm optimization and differential evolution yield the best overall results.

Full text

A S udy o Mul iobjec i e Me aheu is ics When Sol ing Pa ame e Scalable P oblems Juan J. Du illo, S uden Membe , IEEE, An onio J. Neb o, Ca los A. Coello Coello, Senio Membe , IEEE, Jos´ e Ga cía-Nie o, F ancisco Luna, and En ique Alba Abs ac —To e alua e he sea ch capabili ies o a mul iobjec- i e algo i hm, he usual app oach is o choose a benchma k o known p oblems, o pe o m a ixed numbe o unc ion e alua ions, and o apply a se o quali y indica o s. Howe e , while eal p oblems could ha e hund eds o e en housands o decision a iables, cu en benchma ks a e no mally adop ed wi h ela i ely ew decision a iables (no mally om 10 o 30). Fu he mo e, pe o ming a cons an numbe o e alua ions does no p o ide in o ma ion abou he e o equi ed by an algo i hm o ge a sa is ac o y se o solu ions; his in o ma ion would also be o in e es in eal scena ios, whe e e alua ing he unc ions de ining he p oblem can be compu a ionally expensi e. In his pape , we s udy he e ec o pa ame e scalabili y in a numbe o s a e-o - he-a mul iobjec i e me aheu is ics. We adop a benchma k o pa ame e -wise scalable p oblems ( he Zi zle –Deb–Thiele es sui e) and analyze he beha io o eigh mul iobjec i e me aheu is ics on hese es p oblems when using a numbe o decision a iables ha ange om 8 up o 2048. By using he hype olume indica o as a s opping condi ion, we also analyze he compu a ional e o equi ed by each algo i hm in o de o each he Pa e o on . We conclude ha he wo analyzed algo i hms based on pa icle swa m op imiza ion and di e en ial e olu ion yield he bes o e all esul s. Index Te ms—Compa a i e s udy, e iciency, me aheu is ics, mul i-objec i e op imiza ion, scalabili y. I. In oduc ion MANY REAL-WORLD op imiza ion p oblems equi e he op imiza ion o mo e han one objec i e unc ion a he same ime. These p oblems a e called mul iobjec i e This wo k was suppo ed in pa by he Conseje ía de Inno aci´on, Ciencia y Emp esa, Jun a de Andalucía unde Con ac P07-TIC-03044, he DIRI-COM P ojec (h p://di icom.lcc.uma.es), and he Spanish Minis y o Sci-ence and Inno a ion unde Con ac TIN2008-06491- C04-01, he M* P ojec (h p://ms a .lcc.uma.es). The wo k o J. J. Du illo and F. Luna is suppo ed by G an AP-2006-03349, G an ES-2006-13075, espec i ely, om he Spanish Go e nmen . The wo k o C. A. Coello Coello is suppo ed by CONACyT P ojec 103570 J. J. Du illo, A. J. Neb o, J. Ga cía-Nie o, F. Luna, and E. Alba a e wi h he Depa amen o de Lenguajes y Ciencias de la Compu aci´on, Uni e si y o M ´alaga, M´alaga 29071, Spain (e-mail: [email p o ec ed]; [email p o ec ed]; [email p o ec ed]; [email p o ec ed]; [email p o ec ed]). C. A. Coello Coello is wi h he Depa men o Compu e Sci- ence, Cen e o Resea ch and Ad anced S udies, Mexico DF 07360, Mexico, and also wi h he Uni é Mix e In e na ionale-Labo a oi e F anco-Mexicaine d’In o ma ique e Au oma ique 3175 CNRS, Cen- e o Resea ch and Ad anced S udies, Mexico DF 07360, Mexico (e-mail: [email p o ec ed]). op imiza ion p oblems (MOPs). In con as o single-objec i e op imiza ion p oblems, he solu ion o MOPs is no a single solu ion, bu a se o non-domina ed solu ions called he Pa e o op imal se . A solu ion ha belongs o his se is said o be a Pa e o op imum and, when he solu ions o his se a e plo ed in objec i e space, hey a e collec i ely known as he Pa e o on . Ob aining he Pa e o on is he main goal in mul iobjec i e op imiza ion. The ac ha eal-wo ld MOPs end o be nonlinea and wi h objec i e unc ions ha a e e y expensi e o e alua e has led o he use o me aheu is ics [1], [3], [13] o deal wi h hem. Me aheu is ics a e a amily o echniques comp ising e olu- iona y algo i hms (EAs), pa icle swa m op imiza ion (PSO), an colony op imiza ion, abu sea ch, di e en ial e olu ion, sca e sea ch, and many o he s. The mos popula algo i hms o mul iobjec i e op imiza ion based on me aheu is ics in cu en use (NSGA-II [8] and SPEA2 [35]) adop EAs as hei sea ch engine [5], [7]. The pe o mance o hese algo i hms has been ypically assessed using benchma k p oblems, such as he Zi zle –Deb– Thiele (ZDT) es p oblems [34], he Deb–Thiele–Laumanns– Zi zle (DTLZ) es p oblems [9], and he Walking-Fish-G oup (WFG) es p oblems [15], [16]. These h ee p oblem amilies a e scalable in he numbe o decision a iables, and he las wo a e also scalable in he numbe o objec i es. The me hodology commonly adop ed in he specialized li e a u e is o compa e se e al algo i hms using a ixed (p e-de ined) numbe o objec i e unc ion e alua ions and hen o e alua e he alues o di e en quali y indica o s (e.g., gene a ional dis ance [32] o hype olume [36], among o he s). The main mo i a ion o his pape is ha many eal-wo ld p oblems ha e hund eds o e en housands o decision a i- ables, which con as s wi h he cu en p ac ice o alida ing mul iobjec i e me aheu is ics using he a o emen ioned bench- ma ks, bu wi h a low numbe o decision a iables (no mally, no mo e han 30). Thus, he s udies cu en ly a ailable do no conside he capabili y o cu en mul iobjec i e e olu iona y algo i hms o p ope ly scale when dealing wi h a e y la ge numbe o decision a iables. Scalabili y is a key issue in op imiza ion algo i hms, bu i has been a ely add essed in he mul iobjec i e domain. An example is he s udy p esen ed in [14], in which he so-called in elligen mul iobjec i e e olu- iona y algo i hm (IMOEA) is compa ed o se e al eli is and non-eli is mul iobjec i e e olu iona y algo i hms (MOEAs) in se e al o he ZDT es p oblems, adop ing 63 decision a iables. This compa a i e s udy was unde aken o alida e he hypo hesis o he au ho s o IMOEA, who a gued he capabili y o such app oach o deal wi h la ge pa ame e MOPs. Ano he example can be ound in [33], whe e a s udy using only he ZDT1 p oblem wi h up o 100 a iables is included. This con as s wi h he in e es in s udying unc ion scalabili y, which is cu en ly an ac i e esea ch opic, leading o he a ea known as many-objec i e op imiza ion [2], [10], [17], [26], [27], [29]. Ano he in e es ing issue ha has been sca cely co e ed in he specialized li e a u e is he analysis o he beha io o a mul iobjec i e me aheu is ic eaching he Pa e o on o a p oblem. Typically, a ixed numbe o e alua ions (and, in consequence, o i e a ions) is de ined by he use , and he pe o mance o he di e en algo i hms s udied is compa ed. Howe e , his so o compa ison only measu es he on aspec , and i does no p o ide any indica ion ega ding he compu a ional e o ha a gi en algo i hm equi es o each he ue Pa e o on o a p oblem, i.e., he e iciency o he algo i hm. We belie e ha his is an impo an issue, because i we ake in o accoun ha e alua ing he objec i e unc ions o a MOP can be e y ime-consuming, i becomes o in e es o know how expensi e o a ce ain algo i hm i is o gene a e he Pa e o on . We ca ied a i s analysis o hese ideas in [11], whe e six s a e-o - he-a mul iobjec i e me aheu is ics we e com- pa ed when sol ing he ZDT benchma k, conside ing hei o mula ion anging om 8 up o 2048 a iables. The algo- i hms included in he s udy epo ed in [11] we e h ee gene ic algo i hms (GAs) (NSGA-II [8], SPEA2 [35], and PESA-II [6]), one e olu ion s a egy (PAES [18]), one PSO (OMOPSO [28]), and one cellula GA (MOCell [24]). In ha pape , he numbe o e alua ions equi ed o p o ide a sa is ac o y solu ion was also analyzed. Gi en ha he Pa e o on s o he ZDT p oblems a e known, an algo i hm was conside ed success ul when he hype olume o i s cu en popula ion (o a chi e, depending on he algo i hm) was highe han he 95% o he hype olume o he Pa e o on . The cu en pape conduc s u he esea ch along his line. Compa ed o ou p e ious pape in [11], he main con ibu ions o his pape a e he ollowing. 1) Two addi ional mode n mul iobjec i e me aheu is ics ha e been included: gene alized di e en ial e olu ion (GDE3) [20] (a di e en ial e olu ion algo i hm) and AbYSS [23] (a sca e sea ch algo i hm), leading o a o al o eigh mul iobjec i e me aheu is ics, ep esen a- i e o he s a e-o - he-a . 2) We analyze he sea ch capabili ies o he algo i hms when sol ing he scalable ZDT p oblems using a s onge s opping condi ion, by which he algo i hms s op ei he when hey ind a solu ion se ha ing a hype olume highe han he 98% o he hype olume o he ue Pa e o on o when hey ha e pe o med 10 000 000 unc ion e alua ions (500 000 in [11]). 3) A mo e comple e s a is ical analysis is pe o med, in- cluding pai -wise compa isons among he echniques in o de o de e mine he signi icance o he esul s. 4) We s udy he beha io o he mos p omising echniques in o de o p opose mechanisms ha enhance hei sea ch capabili ies. The emainde o his pape is o ganized as ollows. Sec ion II includes basic backg ound on mul iobjec i e op- imiza ion. Sec ions III and IV desc ibe, espec i ely, he p oblems and he me aheu is ics we ha e used. Sec ion V is de o ed o he p esen a ion and analysis o he expe imen s ca ied ou . In Sec ion VI, we include a discussion abou he ob ained esul s. Finally, Sec ion VII summa izes he pape and discusses possible lines o u u e wo k. II. Mul iobjec i e Op imiza ion In his sec ion, we include some backg ound on mul iobjec- i e op imiza ion. Mo e speci ically, we de ine he concep s o MOP, Pa e o op imali y, Pa e o dominance, Pa e o op imal se , and Pa e o on . In hese de ini ions we a e assuming, wi hou loss o gene ali y, he minimiza ion o all he objec i es. A gene al mul iobjec i e op imiza ion p oblem (MOP) can be o mally de ined as ollows. De ini ion 1 (MOP): Find a ec o x∗=x∗ 1,x ∗ 2,...,x ∗ n which sa is ies he minequali y cons ain s gi(x)≥0,i = 1,2,...,m, he pequali y cons ain s hi(x)=0,i = 1,2,...,p, and minimizes he ec o unc ion  (x)=  1(x), 2(x),..., k(x)T, whe e x=[x1,x 2,...,x n]Tis he ec o o decision a iables. The se o all alues sa is ying he cons ain s de ines he easible egion and any poin x∈is a easible solu ion. As men ioned be o e, we seek o he Pa e o op ima. I s o mal de ini ion is p o ided nex . De ini ion 2 (Pa e o Op imali y): A poin x∗∈is Pa e o op imal i o e e y x∈and I={1,2,...,k }ei he ∀i∈I( i(x)= i(x∗))o he e is a leas one i∈Isuch ha i(x)> i(x∗). This de ini ion s a es ha x∗is Pa e o op imal i no easible ec o xexis s which would imp o e some c i e ion wi h- ou causing a simul aneous wo sening in a leas one o he c i e ion. O he impo an de ini ions associa ed wi h Pa e o op imali y a e he ollowing. De ini ion 3 (Pa e o Dominance): A ec o u=(u1,...,u k)is said o domina e  =( 1,..., k)(deno ed by u ) i and only i uis pa ially smalle han  , i.e., ∀i∈{1,...,k },u i≤ i∧∃i∈{1,...,k }:ui< i. De ini ion 4 (Pa e o Op imal Se ): Fo a gi en MOP  (x), he Pa e o op imal se is de ined as P∗={x∈|¬∃x∈ ,  (x) (x)}. De ini ion 5 (Pa e o F on ): Fo a gi en MOP  (x) and i s Pa e o op imal se P∗, he Pa e o on is de ined as PF∗= { (x),x∈P∗}. Ob aining he Pa e o on o a MOP is he main goal o mul iobjec i e op imiza ion. Howe e , gi en ha a Pa e o on can con ain a la ge numbe o poin s, a good solu ion mus con ain a limi ed numbe o hem, which should be as close as possible o he ue Pa e o on , as well as being uni o mly sp ead; o he wise, hey would no be e y use ul o he decision make . Closeness o he Pa e o on ensu es ha we a e dealing wi h op imal solu ions, and a uni o m sp ead TABLE I ZDT Tes Func ions P oblem Objec i e Func ions Va iable Bounds Commen s ZDT1 1(x)=x1 2(x)=g(x)[1 −x1/g(x)] g(x) = 1+9n i=2 xi/(n−1) 0≤xi≤1Con ex ZDT2 1(x)=x1 2(x)=g(x)1−(x1/g(x))2 g(x) = 1+9n i=2 xi/(n−1) 0≤xi≤1Non-con ex ZDT3 1(x)=x1 2(x)=g(x)1−x1 g(x)−x1 g(x)sin (10πx1) g(x) = 1+9n i=2 xi/(n−1) 0≤xi≤1Con ex Disconnec ed ZDT4 1(x)= x1 2(x)= g(x)[1 −(x1/g(x))2] g(x) = 1 + 10(n−1)+ n i=2[x2 i−10 cos (4πxi)] 0≤x1≤1 −5≤xi≤5 i=2, ..., n Non-con ex Mul i on al ZDT6 1(x)=1−e−4x1sin6(6πx1) 2(x)=g(x)[1 −( 1(x)/g(x))2] g(x) = 1 + 9[(n i=2 xi)/(n−1)]0.25 0≤xi≤1 Non-con ex Many- o-one Non-uni o mly spaced o he solu ions means ha we ha e made a good explo a ion o he sea ch space and no egions a e le unexplo ed. III. Scalable Pa ame e -Wise Mul iobjec i e Op imiza ion P oblems To ca y ou ou pape , i would be help ul o use p ob- lems which a e scalable in e ms o he numbe o decision a iables while keeping an in a iable Pa e o on . The ZDT es unc ion amily [34] ul ills his equi emen . I o e s, u he mo e, a g oup o p oblems wi h di e en p ope ies: con ex, non-con ex, disconnec ed, mul i on al, many- o-one p oblems (see Table I). These p oblems ha e been widely used in many s udies in he ield since hey we e i s o mula ed. Table I shows he o mula ion o he ZDT es p oblem amily. We omi ed p oblem ZDT5 because i is bina y encoded. The Pa e o on o each p oblem is plo ed in Fig. 1. Since we a e in e es ed in s udying he beha io o he algo i hms when sol ing scalable pa ame e -wise p oblems, we ha e e alua ed each ZDT p oblem wi h 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, and 2048 a iables. This way, we can s udy no only wha echniques beha e mo e e icien ly when sol ing p oblems ha ing many a iables, bu also i hei sea ch capabili ies emain cons an o no when he numbe o decision a iables inc eases. IV. Mul iobjec i e Op imiza ion Algo i hms In his sec ion, we b ie ly desc ibe he eigh me aheu is ics ha we ha e conside ed in his pape . We ha e used he implemen a ion o hese algo i hms p o ided by jMe al [12], a Ja a-based amewo k aimed a mul i-objec i e op imiza ion wi h me aheu is ics.1 1jMe al is eely a ailable o download a he ollowing URL: h p://jme al.sou ce o ge.ne . The NSGA-II algo i hm was p oposed by Deb e al. [8]. I is a gene ic algo i hm based on ob aining a new popula ion om he o iginal one by applying he ypical gene ic ope a o s (selec ion, c osso e , and mu a ion); hen, he indi iduals in he wo popula ions a e so ed acco ding o hei ank, and he bes solu ions a e chosen o c ea e a new popula ion. In case o ha ing o selec some indi iduals wi h he same ank, a densi y es ima ion based on measu ing he c owding dis ance o he su ounding indi iduals belonging o he same ank is used o ge he mos p omising solu ions. SPEA2 was p oposed by Zi le e al. in [35]. In his algo i hm, each indi idual has a i ness alue ha is he sum o i s s eng h aw i ness plus a densi y es ima ion. The algo i hm applies he selec ion, c osso e , and mu a ion ope a o s o ill an a chi e o indi iduals; hen, he non-domina ed indi iduals o bo h he o iginal popula ion and he a chi e a e copied in o a new popula ion. I he numbe o non-domina ed indi iduals is g ea e han he popula ion size, a unca ion ope a o based on calcula ing he dis ances o he k h nea es neighbo is used. This way, he indi iduals ha ing he minimum dis ance o any o he indi idual a e chosen. PESA-II [6] uses an in e nal popula ion om which pa en s a e selec ed o c ea e new solu ions, and an ex e nal popula ion in which he non-domina ed solu ions ound a e s o ed. This ex e nal popula ion uses he same hype -g id di ision o phe- no ype (i.e., objec i e unc ion) space adop ed by PAES [19] o main ain di e si y in which egion-based selec ion is adop ed. In egion-based selec ion, he uni o selec ion is a hype box a he han an indi idual. The p ocedu e lies in selec ing (using any o he adi ional selec ion echniques) a hype - box and hen andomly choosing an indi idual wi hin ha hype box. PAES is a me aheu is ic p oposed by Knowles and Co ne [19]. The algo i hm is based on a simple (1 + 1) e o- lu ion s a egy. To ind di e se solu ions in he Pa e o op imal Fig. 1. Pa e o on s o he ZDT es unc ions. se , PAES uses an ex e nal a chi e o nondomina ed solu ions, which is also used o decide abou he new candida e solu ions. An adap i e g id is used as a densi y es ima o in he a chi e. We ha e used a eal coded e sion o PAES, applying a polynomial mu a ion ope a o . OMOPSO is a pa icle swa m op imiza ion algo i hm o sol ing MOPs [28]. I s main ea u es include he use o he c owding dis ance om NSGA-II o il e ou leade solu ions and he use o mu a ion ope a o s o accele a e he con e gence o he swa m. The o iginal OMOPSO algo i hm makes use o he concep o -dominance o limi he numbe o solu ions p oduced by he algo i hm. We conside he e a a ian disca ding he use o -dominance, and conside ing he leade popula ion as he esul yielded by he algo i hm. GDE3 [20] is an imp o ed e sion o he GDE algo i hm [21]. I s a s wi h a popula ion o andom solu ions, which be- comes he cu en popula ion. A each gene a ion, an o sp ing popula ion is c ea ed using he di e en ial e olu ion ope a o s; hen, he cu en popula ion o he nex gene a ion is upda ed using he solu ions o bo h, he o sp ing and he cu en popula ion. Be o e p oceeding o he nex gene a ion, he size o he popula ion is educed using non-domina ed so ing and a p uning echnique aimed a di e si y p ese a ion, in a simila way as NSGA-II, al hough he p uning used in GDE3 modi ies he c owding dis ance o NSGA-II in o de o sol e some o i s d awbacks when dealing wi h p oblems ha ing mo e han wo objec i es. MOCell [24] is a cellula gene ic algo i hm (cGA). Like many mul iobjec i e me aheu is ics, i includes an ex e nal a chi e o s o e he non-domina ed solu ions ound so a . This a chi e is bounded and uses he c owding dis ance o NSGA-II o keep di e si y in he Pa e o on . We ha e used he e an asynch onous e sion o MOCell, called aMOCell4 in [25], in which he cells a e explo ed sequen ially (asynch onously). The selec ion is based on aking an indi idual om he neighbo hood o he cu en solu ion (called cell in cGAs) and ano he one andomly chosen om he a chi e. A e applying he gene ic c osso e and mu a ion ope a o s, he new o sp ing is compa ed wi h he cu en one, eplacing i i be e ; i bo h solu ions a e non-domina ed, he wo s indi idual in he neighbo hood is eplaced by he cu en one. In hese wo cases, he new indi idual is inse ed in o he a chi e. AbYSS is an adap a ion o he sca e sea ch me aheu is ic o he mul iobjec i e domain [23]. I uses an ex e nal a chi e simila o he one employed by MOCell. The algo i hm in- co po a es ope a o s om he e olu iona y algo i hms domain, including polynomial mu a ion and simula ed bina y c osso e in he imp o emen and solu ion combina ion me hods, espec i ely. V. Expe imen a ion In his sec ion, we desc ibe he pa ame e se ings used in he expe imen s, as well as he me hodology we ha e ollowed in he es s, and he esul s we ha e ob ained. A. Pa ame e iza ion We ha e chosen a se o pa ame e alues such ha we allow a ai compa ison among all he algo i hms compa ed. All he GAs (NSGA-II, SPEA2, PESA-II, and MOCell) as well as GDE3 use an in e nal popula ion size equal o 100; he size o he a chi e is also 100 in PAES, OMOPSO, GDE3, MOCell, and AbYSS. OMOPSO has been con igu ed wi h 100 pa icles. Fo AbYSS, he popula ion and he e e ence se ha e a size o 20 solu ions. TABLE II Pa ame e iza ion (L= Indi idual Leng h) Pa ame e iza ion Used in NSGA-II [8] Popula ion size 100 Indi iduals Selec ion o pa en s Bina y ou namen + bina y ou namen Recombina ion Simula ed bina y, pc=0.9 Mu a ion Polynomial, pm=1.0/L Pa ame e iza ion Used in SPEA2 [35] Popula ion size 100 indi iduals Selec ion o pa en s Bina y ou namen + bina y ou namen Recombina ion Simula ed bina y, pc=0.9 Mu a ion Polynomial, pm=1.0/L Pa ame e iza ion Used in PESA-II [6] Popula ion size 100 indi iduals Selec ion o pa en s Region based selec ion + egion based selec ion Recombina ion Simula ed bina y, pc=0.9 Mu a ion Polynomial, pm=1.0/L A chi e size 100 indi iduals Pa ame e iza ion Used in PAES [18] Mu a ion Polynomial, pm=1.0/L A chi e size 100 indi iduals Pa ame e iza ion Used in OMOPSO [28] Pa icles 100 pa icles Mu a ion Uni o m + non-uni o m Leade s size 100 indi iduals Pa ame e iza ion Used in GDE3 [20] Popula ion size 100 indi iduals Recombina ion Di e en ial e olu ion, CR =0.1, F=0.5 Pa ame e iza ion Used in MOCell [25] Popula ion size 100 indi iduals (10 ×10) Neighbo hood 1-hop neighbo s (8 su ounding solu ions) Selec ion o pa en s Bina y ou namen + bina y ou namen Recombina ion Simula ed bina y, pc=0.9 Mu a ion Polynomial, pm=1.0/L A chi e size 100 indi iduals Pa ame e iza ion Used in AbYSS [23] Popula ion size 20 indi iduals Re e ence se size 10 + 10 Recombina ion Simula ed bina y, pc=1.0 Mu a ion (local sea ch) Polynomial, pm=1.0/L A chi e size 100 indi iduals In he GAs, we ha e used simula ed bina y c osso e (SBX) and polynomial mu a ion [7]. The dis ibu ion indices o bo h ope a o s a e ηc= 20 and ηm= 20, espec i ely. The c osso e p obabili y is pc=0.9 and he mu a ion p obabili y is pm=1/L, whe e Lis he numbe o decision a iables. In PAES we ha e also adop ed a polynomial mu a ion ope a o , wi h he same dis ibu ion index as indica ed be o e. AbYSS uses polynomial mu a ion in he imp o emen me hod and SBX in he solu ion combina ion me hod. GDE3 uses 0.1 and 0.5 o he wo pa ame e s CR and F, espec i ely [20]. OMOPSO applies a combina ion o uni o m and non-uni o m mu a ion o he pa icle swa m [28]. A de ailed desc ip ion o he pa ame e alues adop ed o ou expe imen s is p o ided in Table II. B. Me hodology We a e in e es ed in wo main goals: analyzing he beha io o he algo i hms when sol ing he scalable ZDT benchma k and hei speed (e iciency) in eaching he Pa e o on . Gi en ha he Pa e o on s o he ZDT p oblems a e known be o ehand, a s a egy could be o un he algo i hms un il hey a e able o p oduce hem. Howe e , i is possible ha some o hem ne e p oduce he ue Pa e o on , o simply ake oo Fig. 2. Pa e o on s wi h di e en HV alues ob ained o p oblem ZDT1. long o do i . Thus, we adop ins ead a s opping condi ion o all he algo i hms compa ed, based on he high quali y o he Pa e o on p oduced. Fo ha pu pose, he hype olume [36] quali y indica o is adop ed. The hype olume compu es he olume (in objec i e unc- ion space) co e ed by membe s o a non-domina ed se o solu ions Q o p oblems in which all objec i es a e o be minimized. Ma hema ically, o each solu ion i∈Q,a hype cube iis cons uc ed wi h a e e ence poin Wand he solu ion ias he diagonal co ne s o he hype cube. The e e ence poin can simply be ound by cons uc ing a ec o o wo s objec i e unc ion alues. The ea e , he union o all hype cubes is ound and i s hype olume (HV ) is calcula ed HV = olume |Q|  i=1 i.(1) Highe alues o he HV pe o mance measu e imply mo e desi able solu ions. A p ope y o his quali y indica o is ha i measu es bo h con e gence o he Pa e o on and di e si y o he ob ained on s. Once he quali y indica o we a e going o use has been desc ibed, we need o es ablish a s opping condi ion o be used in he execu ion o he algo i hms. The idea is ha he me aheu is ics s op when hey each a ce ain pe cen age o he HV o he Pa e o on , which ensu es ha he ob ained on ep esen s an accu a e app oxima ion o i . To decide abou ha pe cen age, we show di e en app oxima ions o he Pa e o on o he p oblem ZDT1 wi h di e en pe cen ages o HV in Fig. 2. We can obse e ha a on wi h a hype - olume o 98.26% ep esen s a easonable app oxima ion o he ue Pa e o on s in e ms o con e gence and di e si y o solu ions. This same alue has been co obo a ed using he o he es p oblems om he ZDT sui e. So, we ha e aken 98% o he HV o he Pa e o on as a c i e ion o conside ha a MOP has been success ully sol ed. Fu he mo e, hose algo i hms equi ing ewe unc ion e alua ions o achie e his e mina ion condi ion can be conside ed o be mo e e icien o as e . In hose si ua ions in which an algo i hm is unable o ob ain a on ul illing his condi ion a e he maximum numbe o unc ion e alua ions, we conside ha i has ailed in sol ing he p oblem; his way, we can ob ain a hi a e o he algo i hms, i.e., hei pe cen age o success ul execu ions. We se he maximum numbe o e alua ions o en million. Fig. 3. S a is ical analysis pe o med in his pape . In ou expe imen s, we check he s opping condi ion e e y 100 e alua ions ( ha is, each i e a ion in he popula ion-based me aheu is ics), whe e we measu e he hype olume o he non-domina ed solu ions ound so a . The e o e, in NSGA-II, SPEA2, and GDE3 we ha e conside ed he non-domina ed solu ions a each gene a ion: in PESA-II, PAES, AbYSS, and MOCell, he ex e nal popula ion and, in MOPSO, he leade s a chi e. We ha e execu ed 100 independen uns o each algo i hm and each p oblem ins ance. Since we a e dealing wi h s ochas- ic algo i hms, we need o pe o m a s a is ical analysis o he ob ained esul s o compa e hem wi h a ce ain le el o con idence. Nex , we desc ibe he s a is ical es ha we ha e ca ied ou o assu ing his [30]. Fi s , a Kolmogo o – Smi no es is pe o med in o de o check whe he he alues o he esul s ollow a no mal (Gaussian) dis ibu ion o no . I so, he Le ene es checks o he homogenei y o he a iances. I samples ha e equal a iance (posi i e Le ene es ), an ANOVA es is done; o he wise we pe o m a Welch es . Fo non-Gaussian dis ibu ions, he non-pa ame ic K uskal–Wallis es is used o compa e he medians o he algo i hms. We always conside in his pape a con idence le el o 95% (i.e., signi icance le el o 5% o p- alue unde 0.05) in he s a is ical es s, which means ha he di e ences a e unlikely o ha e occu ed by chance wi h a p obabili y o 95%. Success ul es s a e ma ked wi h “+” symbols in he las ow in he ables con aining he esul s (see Tables III–VII); con e sely, “−” means ha no s a is ical con idence was ound (p- alue >0.05). Fo he sake o homogenei y in he p esen a ion o he esul s, all he ables include he median, ˜x, and he in e qua ile ange, IQR, as measu es o loca ion (o cen al endency) and s a is ical dispe sion, espec i ely. We ha e pe o med a pos -hoc es ing phase using he mul compa e unc ion p o ided by MATLAB, which al- lows o a mul iple compa ison o samples. This way, we can make pai wise compa ison be ween algo i hms o know abou he signi icance o hei esul s. C. Analysis o Resul s Tables III–VII show he median and he in e qua ile ange o he numbe o e alua ions needed by he di e en op i- mize s o ZDT1, ZDT2, ZDT3, ZDT4, ZDT6, espec i ely. This indica es ha all he 100 independen uns ha e been success ul, which means a hi a e o 1.0. When an op imize Fig. 4. Numbe o e alua ions when sol ing ZDT1. is no able o each an accep able on upon pe o ming 10 000 000 unc ion e alua ions in all he 100 independen uns, i s cell in he ables includes he “−” symbol, and i is no aken in o accoun in he s a is ical es s. In o he wo ds, he “−” symbol means ha , in o de o sol e success ully he p oblem in all he independen uns, he op imize may need mo e han 10 000 000 o unc ion e alua ions. In hese cases, he hi a e would be less han 1.0. To ease he analysis o he esul s in hese ables, he cells con aining he lowes numbe o unc ion e alua ions ha e a g ey colo ed backg ound. The e a e wo g ey le els: he da ke g ey indica es he bes (lowes ) alue, while ligh e g ey is used o poin ou he second bes alue. We can obse e ha he esul s in hese ables a e signi ican , as can be seen in he las ow o each o hem, whe e each cell con ains a “+” symbol, excep o ZDT4 wi h 1024 and 2048 a iables (whe e he e a e no esul s o compa e). Nex , we analyze he esul s ob ained o each o he p oblems. To make he esul s clea e , we include a igu e summa izing he alues, using a loga i hmic scale, in addi ion o he co esponding able. The discussion is o ganized in he ollowing o de : i s , we analyze he success o he algo i hms when sol ing he di e en ins ances o he p oblem; second, we analyze he speed o he echniques o ob ain he Pa e o on when sol ing he p oblems; and, inally, we make a pai wise compa ison o he algo i hms, conside ing hose p oblems in which he e a e no s a is ical di e ences be ween each pai o echniques (i we included he p oblems wi h s a is ical signi icance, his would lead o la ge ables). 1) ZDT1: This p oblem p esen s a uni o m densi y o solu ions in he sea ch space and a con ex Pa e o on . Table III and Fig. 4 show he numbe o e alua ions needed o ob ain a Pa e o on wi h 98% o he HV o he Pa e o on o his p oblem. Table VIII p esen s he hi a e indica o , whe e we ha e used he symbol √ o indica e a alue o 1.0 (a 100% success a e). Table IX con ains he p oblems o which no s a is ical di e ences ha e been ound be ween each pai o algo i hms. We begin by analyzing which algo i hms a e able o sol e he p oblems in all he independen uns ca ied ou . The esul s in Table III show ha all he algo i hms ha e success in all he ins ances, excep o PAES in he ins ance wi h 2048 TABLE III E alua ions o ZDT1 Algo i hm 8 16 32 64 128 256 512 1024 2048 a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables NSGA-II 4.40e+3 4.0e+2 8.10e+3 5.0e+2 1.52e+4 9.0e+2 2.88e+4 1.4e+3 5.72e+4 3.0e+3 1.21e+5 5.2e+3 2.71e+5 9.3e+3 6.31e+5 1.6e+4 1.45e+6 3.3e+4 SPEA2 5.00e+3 3.0e+2 9.30e+3 8.0e+2 1.69e+4 1.1e+3 3.14e+4 1.4e+3 6.03e+4 2.7e+3 1.25e+5 5.0e+3 2.69e+5 9.4e+3 6.01e+5 1.6e+4 1.34e+6 2.8e+4 PESA-II 4.15e+3 1.2e+3 8.40e+3 9.5e+2 1.73e+4 1.6e+3 3.74e+4 2.8e+3 8.36e+4 5.0e+3 1.96e+5 9.3e+3 4.78e+5 1.8e+4 1.18e+6 4.0e+4 2.93e+6 8.9e+4 PAES 3.40e+3 2.5e+3 7.25e+3 4.4e+3 1.34e+4 8.0e+3 2.57e+4 1.6e+4 4.70e+4 3.5e+4 9.07e+4 3.9e+4 1.73e+5 1.3e+5 3.68e+5 4.7e+5 – OMOPSO 1.40e+3 4.0e+2 3.40e+3 9.0e+2 7.40e+3 1.8e+3 1.38e+4 2.8e+3 2.80e+4 4.4e+3 6.31e+4 7.4e+3 1.58e+5 1.8e+4 4.55e+5 3.4e+4 1.41e+6 1.0e+5 GDE3 2.80e+3 2.0e+2 5.30e+3 3.0e+2 1.00e+4 4.0e+2 1.81e+4 4.5e+2 3.30e+4 9.0e+2 6.10e+4 1.2e+3 1.16e+5 1.8e+3 2.40e+5 3.0e+3 5.64e+5 7.0e+3 MOCell 1.80e+3 3.0e+2 3.80e+3 6.0e+2 9.20e+3 8.0e+2 2.18e+4 1.8e+3 4.92e+4 4.0e+3 1.13e+5 6.4e+3 2.56e+5 8.6e+3 5.62e+5 1.6e+4 1.20e+6 2.7e+4 AbYSS 3.40e+3 7.0e+2 6.80e+3 9.0e+2 1.49e+4 1.8e+3 3.30e+4 2.7e+3 7.29e+4 6.1e+3 1.58e+5 7.8e+3 3.50e+5 1.2e+4 7.06e+5 2.1e+4 1.39e+6 2.6e+4 + + + + + + + + – TABLE IV E alua ions o ZDT2 Algo i hm 8 16 32 64 128 256 512 1024 2048 a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables NSGA-II 7.50e+3 6.0e+2 1.37e+4 8.0e+2 2.60e+4 1.6e+3 4.98e+4 3.2e+3 1.01e+5 4.8e+3 2.08e+5 1.0e+4 4.54e+5 1.8e+4 1.01e+6 2.6e+4 2.28e+6 4.5e+4 SPEA2 7.80e+3 1.0e+3 1.46e+4 1.3e+3 2.60e+4 1.7e+3 4.86e+4 3.2e+3 9.50e+4 4.4e+3 1.90e+5 6.0e+3 3.95e+5 9.0e+3 8.51e+5 1.7e+4 1.89e+6 2.6e+4 PESA-II 1.50e+4 7.8e+3 3.51e+4 2.5e+4 9.38e+4 6.0e+4 3.98e+5 4.2e+5 −− − − − PAES 3.14e+4 4.5e+4 6.94e+4 7.1e+4 1.29e+5 1.2e+5 2.93e+5 4.2e+5 − − − − − OMOPSO 1.75e+3 4.0e+2 3.90e+3 1.6e+3 9.70e+3 3.8e+3 1.68e+4 5.0e+3 3.06e+4 5.3e+3 5.44e+4 8.4e+3 1.11e+5 1.1e+4 2.83e+5 2.7e+4 7.71e+5 7.9e+4 GDE3 3.20e+3 2.0e+2 6.10e+3 4.5e+2 1.18e+4 6.5e+2 2.26e+4 1.2e+3 4.33e+4 1.8e+3 8.18e+4 1.3e+3 1.58e+5 2.1e+3 3.27e+5 4.2e+3 7.66e+5 9.8e+3 MOCell 2.90e+3 1.0e+3 4.90e+3 1.4e+3 8.25e+3 2.2e+3 1.74e+4 1.1e+4 4.42e+4 2.5e+4 1.26e+5 4.3e+4 2.91e+5 1.1e+4 6.60e+5 1.1e+4 1.46e+6 2.0e+4 AbYSS 4.50e+3 7.5e+2 9.10e+3 1.7e+3 1.86e+4 2.5e+3 3.96e+4 3.5e+3 8.26e+4 7.2e+3 1.75e+5 8.6e+3 3.68e+5 9.6e+3 7.74e+5 1.9e+4 1.60e+6 2.4e+4 + + + + + + + + + TABLE V E alua ions o ZDT3 Algo i hm 8 16 32 64 128 256 512 1024 2048 a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables NSGA-II 4.20e+3 5.0e+2 7.40e+3 6.0e+2 1.36e+4 9.5e+2 2.53e+4 1.4e+3 5.06e+4 3.1e+3 1.08e+5 4.8e+3 2.38e+5 9.0e+3 5.37e+5 1.6e+4 1.20e+6 2.5e+4 SPEA2 4.90e+3 6.0e+2 9.10e+3 7.0e+2 1.62e+4 1.0e+3 3.00e+4 2.0e+3 5.89e+4 4.0e+3 1.21e+5 5.8e+3 2.56e+5 9.4e+3 5.58e+5 1.6e+4 1.22e+6 2.5e+4 PESA-II 3.75e+3 9.0e+2 7.60e+3 1.0e+3 1.59e+4 2.0e+3 3.43e+4 3.8e+3 7.76e+4 7.8e+3 1.77e+5 8.0e+3 4.14e+5 1.5e+4 9.83e+5 3.3e+4 2.28e+6 4.5e+4 PAES 6.90e+3 8.8e+3 1.21e+4 1.2e+4 2.56e+4 3.2e+4 5.68e+4 6.1e+4 9.92e+4 1.2e+5 2.03e+5 2.0e+5 3.65e+5 6.3e+5 8.17e+5 8.4e+5 – OMOPSO 2.60e+3 1.0e+3 5.40e+3 2.4e+3 1.01e+4 3.3e+3 2.20e+4 4.0e+3 5.06e+4 8.1e+3 1.26e+5 2.3e+4 3.53e+5 3.9e+4 1.03e+6 8.3e+4 3.17e+6 1.9e+5 GDE3 2.90e+3 2.5e+2 5.60e+3 3.0e+2 1.08e+4 4.0e+2 1.96e+4 8.0e+2 3.46e+4 9.5e+2 6.29e+4 1.3e+3 1.20e+5 1.8e+3 2.50e+5 2.8e+3 6.07e+5 7.2e+3 MOCell 1.90e+3 6.0e+2 4.20e+3 8.0e+2 9.90e+3 1.4e+3 2.30e+4 2.2e+3 5.24e+4 3.4e+3 1.16e+5 9.3e+3 2.57e+5 1.7e+4 5.44e+5 1.6e+4 1.15e+6 3.6e+4 AbYSS 3.35e+3 1.6e+3 6.75e+3 1.8e+3 1.40e+4 2.1e+3 2.87e+4 3.8e+3 6.02e+4 6.1e+3 1.23e+5 1.6e+4 2.57e+5 2.0e+4 5.47e+5 4.4e+4 1.12e+6 4.5e+4 + + + + + + + + + TABLE VI E alua ions o ZDT4 Algo i hm 8 16 32 64 128 256 512 1024 2048 a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables NSGA-II 1.62e+4 3.4e+3 4.38e+4 1.2e+4 1.37e+5 3.3e+4 4.25e+5 9.1e+4 1.20e+6 1.8e+5 3.29e+6 3.5e+5 8.85e+6 6.7e+5 − − SPEA2 2.11e+4 4.2e+3 4.54e+4 8.7e+3 1.34e+5 3.1e+4 3.69e+5 6.4e+4 1.07e+6 1.3e+5 2.98e+6 2.4e+5 8.24e+6 5.9e+5 −− PESA-II 1.84e+4 5.2e+3 5.00e+4 1.4e+4 1.51e+5 3.2e+4 4.12e+5 7.3e+4 1.06e+6 1.3e+5 2.72e+6 2.5e+5 6.69e+6 3.8e+5 − − PAES 3.08e+4 1.1e+4 8.53e+4 4.1e+4 2.17e+5 6.4e+4 5.41e+5 1.9e+5 1.28e+6 3.0e+5 3.18e+6 7.2e+5 − − − OMOPSO − − − − − − − − − GDE3 1.18e+4 8.0e+2 − − − − − − − − MOCell 8.80e+3 2.2e+3 2.04e+4 5.4e+3 5.86e+4 1.0e+4 1.65e+5 2.7e+4 4.67e+5 5.8e+4 1.23e+6 1.0e+5 3.25e+6 1.6e+5 8.14e+6 2.8e+5 − AbYSS 1.46e+4 5.4e+3 5.46e+4 2.1e+4 1.61e+5 4.3e+4 4.82e+5 1.0e+5 1.39e+6 1.5e+5 3.81e+6 4.2e+5 − − − + + +−+ + + − − TABLE VII E alua ions o ZDT6 Algo i hm 8 16 32 64 128 256 512 1024 2048 a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables NSGA-II 2.31e+4 1.3e+3 4.60e+4 1.4e+3 8.84e+4 2.8e+3 1.68e+5 3.5e+3 3.24e+5 6.4e+3 6.47e+5 1.1e+4 1.33e+6 1.6e+4 2.77e+6 2.7e+4 5.80e+6 4.6e+4 SPEA2 2.64e+4 1.2e+3 5.26e+4 2.0e+3 9.94e+4 2.2e+3 1.87e+5 4.2e+3 3.53e+5 7.0e+3 6.84e+5 1.1e+4 1.37e+6 1.4e+4 2.81e+6 2.3e+4 5.82e+6 3.8e+4 PESA-II 2.16e+4 1.8e+3 4.78e+4 2.4e+3 9.85e+4 4.7e+3 2.01e+5 7.2e+3 4.10e+5 1.1e+4 8.57e+5 2.1e+4 1.83e+6 2.9e+4 3.89e+6 4.4e+4 8.32e+6 8.9e+4 PAES 6.80e+3 6.8e+3 1.62e+4 1.6e+4 3.21e+4 2.8e+4 − − − − − − OMOPSO 2.90e+3 1.6e+3 4.20e+3 1.9e+3 7.70e+3 2.7e+3 1.38e+4 3.5e+3 2.88e+4 5.2e+3 6.10e+4 1.0e+4 1.26e+5 1.6e+4 2.76e+5 3.0e+4 6.12e+5 6.6e+4 GDE3 3.70e+3 5.0e+2 6.60e+3 5.0e+2 1.32e+4 1.1e+3 3.14e+4 2.6e+3 1.53e+5 6.7e+3 3.21e+5 3.8e+3 6.36e+5 4.0e+3 1.35e+6 7.5e+3 3.27e+6 1.8e+4 MOCell 1.07e+4 1.0e+3 2.58e+4 1.4e+3 5.65e+4 2.6e+3 1.19e+5 3.0e+3 2.47e+5 4.7e+3 5.18e+5 7.8e+3 1.10e+6 9.4e+3 2.35e+6 1.9e+4 5.00e+6 3.4e+4 AbYSS 1.23e+4 1.1e+3 2.57e+4 1.8e+3 5.26e+4 3.0e+3 1.08e+5 3.8e+3 2.26e+5 7.2e+3 4.67e+5 9.2e+3 9.60e+5 1.4e+4 1.96e+6 2.1e+4 4.00e+6 4.1e+4 + + + + + + + + + TABLE VIII Hi Ra e o ZDT1 Algo i hm/Va iables 8 16 32 64 128 256 512 1024 2048 NSGA-II √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ SPEA2 √√√√ √ √ √ √ √ PESA-II √√√√√ √ √ √ √ PAES √√ √ √ √ √ √ √0.95 OMOPSO √ √ √ √ √√ √ √ √ GDE3 √√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ MOCell √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ AbYSS √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ Fig. 5. Numbe o e alua ions when sol ing ZDT2. a iables. This is co obo a ed conside ing he hi a e (see Table VIII), whe e all he algo i hms ha e a hi a e o 1.0 excep o PAES in he 2048 ins ance, which has 0.95. This means ha in i e ou o he 100 execu ions ca ied ou o his ins ance, PAES eached he maximum numbe o e alua ions be o e ob aining a Pa e o on wi h he desi ed HV alue. We pay a en ion now o he speed, i.e., he numbe o unc ion e alua ions needed by he me aheu is ics o ind a Pa e o on acco ding o ou success condi ion. In Fig. 4, we plo he esul s using a loga i hmic scale. We ha e connec ed by a line he symbols o he wo algo i hms yielding he bes alues. Thus, we can obse e ha OMOPSO (do ed line) is he as es algo i hm up o 128 a iables, while GDE3 scales be e om 256 o 2048 a iables. The lines clea ly depic ha he e is a endency change in hese wo algo i hms a 256 a iables, indica ing ha GDE3 ends o be as e han he o he echniques as he numbe o decision a iables Fig. 6. Numbe o e alua ions when sol ing ZDT3. inc eases, while OMOPSO exhibi s he opposi e beha io . This sugges s ha GDE3 could be he mos app op ia e algo i hm o sol e ZDT1 wi h mo e han 2048 a iables. Acco dingly, we de e mine ha GDE3 is he algo i hm ha scales he bes in p oblem ZDT1. Conside ing he es o echniques, MOCell is he second as es algo i hm up o 32 a iables and in he case o 2048 a iables. NSGA-II, SPEA2, and AbYSS end o need a simila numbe o e alua ions when he ins ances a e la ge . Finally, we make an analysis conside ing he ou come o he s a is ical es s included in Table IX. I we ocus on OMOPSO and GDE3, he es s a e non-success ul only in he ins ances o 128 and 256 a iables, which does no a ec he p e ious analysis. I is in e es ing o no e ha PAES, he simples o he e alua ed echniques, p esen s no di e ences in many ins ances compa ed o NSGA-II and MOCell. We can also obse e ha NSGA-II TABLE IX Non-Success ul S a is ical Tes s o he Numbe o E alua ions o ZDT1 NSGA-II 128, 256, 512, 1024 8, 16 16, 32, 64, 128 2048 – 256 32 SPEA2 16, 32 2048 − − −64 PESA-II 8 − − − 128 PAES 512, 1024 −128, 256, 512, 1024 8, 16, 32 OMOPSO 128, 256 8, 16, 32 2048 GDE3 32 − MOCell − SPEA2 PESA-II PAES OMOPSO GDE3 MOCell AbYSS TABLE X Hi Ra e o ZDT2 Algo i hm/Va iables 8 16 32 64 128 256 512 1024 2048 NSGA-II √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ SPEA2 √√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ PESA-II √√ √ √ 0.43 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 PAES √ √ √ √ 0.99 0.98 0.99 0.96 0.79 OMOPSO √√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ GDE3 √√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ MOCell √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ AbYSS √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ and SPEA2 do no p esen s a is ical con idence in ou cases. 2) ZDT2: This p oblem also p esen s a uni o m densi y o solu ions in he sea ch space, bu i has a non-con ex Pa e o on . The numbe s o e alua ions needed o sol e he ZDT2 p oblem a e included in Table IV and Fig. 5. Table X shows he hi a e o each algo i hm. The p oblems in which each pai o algo i hms a e s a is ically independen appea in Table XI. We s a by commen ing ha some op imize s ha e di i- cul ies when sol ing his p oblem, as can be seen in Table IV and Fig. 5. In pa icula , nei he PAES no PESA-II a e able o each a hi a e o 1.0 in ins ances wi h mo e han 64 a iables. These esul s indica e ha p oblems ha ing a non- con ex Pa e o on can cause di icul ies o some algo i hms. Consequen ly, he hi a e indica o shows ha six algo- i hms ha e a 100% success a e in all he ins ances. Among he algo i hms wi h a hi a e smalle han 1.0, PESA-II is he algo i hm ha ing he wo s alue, 0.49 in he p oblem wi h 128 a iables, and 0.0 in he nex ones. PAES does no achie e a 100% o success a e 128 a iables bu , in con as o PESA-II, he alues a e nea 100% in he ins ances anging om 128 o 1024 a iables. Le us examine now he speed o he algo i hms. A look a Fig. 5 e eals ha OMOPSO and GDE3 a e he as es algo i hms. The lines connec ing he alues o hese sol e s indica e ha OMOPSO equi es a lowe numbe o unc ion e alua ions han GDE3 o ge he desi ed Pa e o on s in all bu in he la ges ins ance. In ac , when obse ing he lines we can see ha he one o GDE3 sugges s again ha i could scale be e han he o he echniques in o de o sol e ins ances o mo e han 2048 a iables. MOCell, AbYSS, SPEA2, and NSGA-II, in his o de , a e he ollowing me aheu is ics in e ms o speed, al hough hey end o ge close o each Fig. 7. Numbe o e alua ions when sol ing ZDT4. o he when he numbe o decision a iables o he p oblem inc eases. The pai wise es s in Table XI e eal some in e es ing ac s. On he one hand, he esul s o GDE3 and OMOPSO in he wo la ges ins ances a e non-signi ican ; on he o he hand, he es s show he di e ences be ween MOCell and OMOPSO up o 64 a iables and be ween MOCell and GDE3 up o 512 a iables a e also non-signi ican . 3) ZDT3: This p oblem p esen s a uni o m densi y o so- lu ions in he sea ch space and i s Pa e o on is composed o se e al discon inuous egions; he e o e, he main complexi y is o ind all hese discon inuous egions. The e alua ions e- qui ed o sol ing he di e en ins ances a e shown in Table V and Fig. 6. Table XII p esen s he hi a e o he algo i hms. The p oblems in which he e a e no s a is ical di e ences be ween each pai o algo i hms a e shown in Table XIII. P oceeding as be o e, we s a by analyzing which algo- i hms a e able o sol e success ully all he ins ances o he p oblem. The e o e, in Table V we see ha all he algo i hms Fig. 14. Resul s o GDE3 wi h polynomial mu a ion on he ZDT p oblem amily. TABLE XXII GDE3 wi h Polynomial Mu a ion: E alua ions P oblem 8 16 32 64 128 256 512 1024 2048 a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables a iables ZDT1 3.30e+3 3.0e+2 6.50e+3 4.0e+2 1.18e+4 5.0e+2 2.12e+4 8.0e+2 3.80e+4 9.0e+2 6.98e+4 1.4e+3 1.33e+5 2.4e+3 2.74e+5 3.5e+3 6.45e+5 8.4e+3 ZDT2 4.10e+3 3.0e+2 8.00e+3 5.0e+2 1.54e+4 7.5e+2 2.88e+4 9.0e+2 5.41e+4 1.6e+3 1.02e+5 1.8e+3 1.98e+5 3.4e+3 4.14e+5 4.4e+3 9.91e+5 1.4e+4 ZDT3 2.60e+3 1.0e+3 5.40e+3 2.4e+3 1.01e+4 3.3e+3 2.20e+4 4.0e+3 5.06e+4 8.1e+3 1.26e+5 2.3e+4 3.53e+5 3.9e+4 1.03e+6 8.3e+4 3.17e+6 1.9e+5 ZDT4 2.11e+4 1.4e+3 5.98e+4 4.8e+3 1.88e+5 1.4e+4 7.78e+5 6.9e+4 3.41e+6 4.6e+5 ––– – ZDT6 4.50e+3 4.0e+2 9.10e+3 7.5e+2 1.90e+4 2.0e+3 5.02e+4 5.2e+3 2.24e+5 8.0e+3 4.67e+5 5.0e+3 9.39e+5 7.4e+3 2.02e+6 1.4e+4 4.97e+6 3.3e+4 changes in he beha io o he echnique. This, howe e , does no mean ha he e is no oom o imp o emen ; he use o di e en mu a ion and c osso e ope a o s may change he sea ch capabili ies o a GA. E. Compa ison wi h P e ious Pape In his sec ion, we compa e he esul s o his pape wi h hose ob ained in some o ou p e ious pape [11]. In ha pape , he main conclusions we e ha , conside ing scalabil- i y, PAES was he mos compe i i e algo i hm ollowed by OMOPSO, while he la e appea ed as he as es algo i hm. In his pape , howe e , PAES appea s in he las posi ions in he scalabily anking. This is explained by he ac ha we ha e no conside ed he e he impac o no ha ing a 100% hi a e in he ables con aining he compu ed e alua ions, which undoub edly has penalized PAES in p ac ically all he p oblems conside ed. I we conside OMOPSO, i s esul s in [11] emain ba- sically he same. The inclusion in his pape o GDE3 and AbYSS has a ec ed OMOPSO only in he scalabi y anking, and OMOPSO is s ill among he as es algo i hms assessed (excluding he ZDT4 es p oblem). Finally, we would like o men ion he e o ha has been equi ed o ca y ou his pape . I we conside ha we ha e s udied eigh algo i hms o sol e nine ins ances o i e p oblems, he numbe o expe imen s is 360. As we ha e execu ed one hund ed independen uns pe expe imen , his means a o al o 36 000 uns. Fu he mo e, he expe imen s wi h SMPSO and GDE3 wi h mu a ion ha e equi ed 9000 addi ional uns. Taking in o accoun also he pilo es s wi h he o he algo i hms o s udy he in luence o he dis ibu ion indices in he mu a ion and c osso e ope a o s, he o al numbe o uns ha e been in he o de o 50 000. The ac ha we ha e used a s onge e mina ion condi ion (98% ins ead o 95% o he hype olume o he Pa e o on ) and ha he maximum numbe o e alua ions ha e been aised om 500 000 in [11] o 10 000 000 in his pape , has had as a consequence he ac ha he compu a ional ime o he algo i hms unable o sol e he p oblems wi h 1024 and 2048 a iables was highe han one hou . To execu e his la ge numbe o expe imen s, we ha e used he compu e s o he labo a o ies o he Depa men o Compu e Science o he Uni e si y o M´ alaga, in Spain. Mos o hem a e equipped wi h mode n dual co e p ocesso s so, aking in o accoun ha he e a e mo e han 180 compu e s, ha means ha up o 360 co es ha e been a ailable. To un all he p og ams, we ha e used Condo [31], a middlewa e ha ac s as a dis ibu ed schedule , which has p o en o be an ideal ool o cope wi h he la ge amoun o asks we ha e deal wi h. VII. Conclusion and Fu u e Wo k We ha e e alua ed eigh s a e-o - he-a me aheu is ics o e a se o pa ame e scalable p oblems in o de o s udy he beha io o he algo i hms conce ning hei capabili ies o sol e p oblems ha ing a la ge numbe o decision a iables. The benchma k has been composed o i e p oblems om he ZDT amily, using ins ance sizes anging om 8 o 2048 a iables. We ha e also s udied he speed o he echniques when sol ing he p oblems. The s opping condi ion has been o each a on wi h a hype olume highe han he 98% o he hype olume o he ue Pa e o on , o o compu e 10 000 000 unc ion e alua ions. Ou s udy has e ealed ha di e en ial e olu ion and pa - icle swa m op imiza ion a e he mos p omising app oaches o deal wi h he scalable p oblems used in his pape . GDE3 and OMOPSO do no only scale well, bu hey a e among he as es algo i hms. Fu he mo e, we ha e shown ha hei sea ch capabili ies can be imp o ed o sol e ZDT4, he p ob- lem which has appea ed as he mos di icul one o sol e. Two mode n op imize s, MOCell and AbYSS, ha e shown a high deg ee o egula i y in he es s. Wi h he excep ion o MOCell in ZDT4 (whe e i is he o e all bes echnique), hey a e no in he i s posi ion in he scalabily and he speed ankings, bu also hey a e always a ound he hi d and i h posi ions. Bo h me aheu is ics a e in he g oup o algo i hms ha ing sol ed a highe numbe o ins ances. In his g oup we ind NSGA-II and SPEA2, which a e, in gene al, e y close in he ankings, bu hey usually appea a e MOCell. PESA-II has di icul ies in ZDT2 and i no mally appea s among he algo i hms equi ing highe numbe s o unc ion e alua ions o each a on wi h he a ge HV alue. Finally, PAES, he simples o he op imize s in he pape , is he algo i hm scaling he wo s , due o he low hi a es i ob ains in many ins ances. We ha e p esen ed a pape abou he beha io o eigh mul iobjec i e me aheu is ics conce ning hei scalabili y and speed when sol ing a scalable benchma k. 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Du illo (S’08) ecei ed he Enginee ing deg ee in compu e science om he Uni e si y o Málaga, Málaga, Spain, in 2006. He is cu en ly pu suing he Ph.D. deg ee om he Depa amen o de Lenguajes y Ciencias de la Compu aci´ on, Uni e si y o M´ alaga. His esea ch in e es s include mul iobjec i e op i- miza ion and he design o new models o pa allel mul iobjec i e me aheu is ics. An onio J. Neb o ecei ed he M.S. and Ph.D. deg ees in compu e science om he Uni e si y o M´ alaga, M´ alaga, Spain, in 1992 and 1999, espec- i ely. He is cu en ly an Associa e P o esso o Com- pu e Science wi h he Depa amen o de Lenguajes y Ciencias de la Compu aci´ on, Uni e si y o M´ alaga. Since 1999, he has published mo e han en scien- i ic pape s in in e na ional indexed jou nals, mo e han 20 pape s in in e na ional con e ences, and co- au ho ed 12 book chap e s. His cu en esea ch in e es s include he design and implemen a ion o pa allel e olu iona y algo i hms, mul iobjec i e op imiza ion wi h me aheu is ics, g id compu ing applied o me aheu is ic echniques, and he applica ion o hese echniques o eal-wo ld p oblems. Ca los A. Coello Coello (SM’04) ecei ed he B.S. deg ee in ci il enginee ing om he Uni e sidad Au ónoma de Chiapas, Chiapas, Mexico, in 1991, and he M.S. and Ph.D. deg ees in compu e science om Tulane Uni e si y, New O leans, LA, in 1993 and 1996, espec i ely. He is cu en ly a P o esso wi h he Depa men o Compu e Science, Cen e o Resea ch and Ad- anced S udies, Mexico Ci y, Mexico. He has au- ho ed and coau ho ed o e 200 echnical pape s and se e al book chap e s, which epo o e 3600 ci a- ions (hal o hem in he Ins i u e o Scien i ic In o ma ion Web o Science). He coau ho ed he book E olu iona y Algo i hms o Sol ing Mul iobjec i e P oblems (2nd ed., New Yo k: Sp inge , 2007). D . Coello is cu en ly an Associa e Edi o o he IEEE T ansac ions on E olu iona y Compu a ion and se es in he Edi o ial Boa d o 11 o he in e na ional jou nals. He also chai s he IEEE Compu a ionally In elligen Socie y Task Fo ce on Mul iobjec i e E olu iona y Algo i hms. He ecei ed he 2007 Na ional Resea ch Awa d om he Mexican Academy o Sciences in he a ea o Exac Sciences. He is a membe o he Associa ion o Compu ing Machine y, Sigma Xi, and he Mexican Academy o Sciences. José Ga cía-Nie o ecei ed he Enginee ing deg ee in compu e science and he Mas e deg ee in a - i icial in elligence om he Uni e si y o Málaga, Málaga, Spain, in 2006 and 2008, espec i ely. He is cu en ly wo king owa d he Ph.D. deg ee in op imiza ion algo i hms a he Depa amen o de Lenguajes y Ciencias de la Compu aci´ on, Uni e si y o M´ alaga. His esea ch in e es s include swa m in elligence and gene al me aheu is ics, and hei applica ion o complex eal-wo ld p oblems in he domains o elecommunica ions, bioin o ma ics, eal-pa ame e , and mul iobjec i e op imiza ion. F ancisco Luna ecei ed he Ph.D. deg ee in compu e science om he Uni e si y o M´ alaga, M´ alaga, Spain, in 2008. He is cu en ly an Assis an Resea che o com- pu e science wi h he Depa amen o de Lenguajes y Ciencias de la Compu aci´ on, Uni e si y o M´ alaga. He has published mo e han en scien i ic pape s in in e na ional indexed jou nals and mo e han 20 pape s in in e na ional con e ences. His cu en esea ch in e es s include he design and implemen- a ion o pa allel and mul iobjec i e me aheu is ics, and hei applica ion o sol e complex p oblems in he domain o elecom- munica ions and combina o ial op imiza ion. En ique Alba ecei ed he Ph.D. deg ee in com- pu e science on pa allel and dis ibu ed gene ic algo i hms, in 1999. He is cu en ly a Full P o esso o Compu e Science wi h Depa amen o de Lenguajes y Ciencias de la Compu aci´ on, Uni e si y o M´ alaga, M´ alaga, Spain. Since 1999, he has published mo e han 30 scien i ic pape s in in e na ional indexed jou nals and mo e han 150 pape s in in e na ional con- e ences. His esea ch in e es s include he design and applica ion o e olu iona y algo i hms and o he me aheu is ic p ocedu es o eal p oblems, including elecommunica ions, combina o ial op imiza ion, and bioin o ma ics. The main ocus o all his wo k is on pa allelism. D . Alba has won se e al awa ds o his esea ch quali y.