How does simulated annealing work?

Can you explain how simulated annealing works?

Sure! Simulated annealing is an optimization technique inspired by the annealing process in metallurgy. It helps find a good approximation to the global optimum of a given function.

What are the main steps involved in the simulated annealing process?

The main steps include initializing a solution, setting an initial temperature, iteratively generating new solutions, and accepting or rejecting them based on a probability that decreases over time.

How does the temperature affect the algorithm's performance?

The temperature controls the likelihood of accepting worse solutions. A high temperature allows for more exploration, while a low temperature focuses on exploitation of the current best solutions.

Can you give me an example of where simulated annealing is used?

Certainly! It's commonly used in fields like operations research, for example, in scheduling problems or in optimizing the layout of circuits.