The Scatter Search Methodology

Scatter search (SS) is an evolutionary approach for optimization. It has been applied to problems with continuous and discrete variables and with a single or multiple objectives. The success of scatter search as an optimization technique is well documented in a constantly growing number of journal articles and book chapters. This chapter first focuses on the basic scatter search framework, which is responsible for most of the outcomes reported in the literature, and then covers advanced elements that have been introduced in a few selected papers, such as the hybridization with tabu search, a well-known memory-based metaheuristic. We consider the maximum diversity problem to illustrate the search elements, methods and strategies described here. The scatter search methodology — 2