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Number partitioning as a random energy model

Heiko Bauke1, Silvio Franz2 and Stephan Mertens1

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Number partitioning is a classical problem from combinatorial optimization. In physical terms it corresponds to a long range anti-ferromagnetic Ising spin glass. It has been rigorously proven that the low lying energies of number partitioning behave like uncorrelated random variables. We claim that neighbouring energy levels are uncorrelated almost everywhere on the energy axis, and that energetically adjacent configurations are uncorrelated, too. Apparently there is no relation between geometry (configuration) and energy that could be exploited by an optimization algorithm. This 'local random energy' picture of number partitioning is corroborated by numerical simulations and heuristic arguments.


Keywords

heuristics

energy landscapes (theory)

disordered systems (theory)

PACS

75.10.Nr Spin-glass and other random models

02.60.Pn Numerical optimization

75.50.Ee Antiferromagnetics

02.10.Ox Combinatorics; graph theory

75.50.Lk Spin glasses and other random magnets

MSC

82D30 Random media, disordered materials (including liquid crystals and spin glasses)

82D40 Magnetic materials

90C27 Combinatorial optimization

Subjects

Mathematical physics

Computational physics

Condensed matter: electrical, magnetic and optical

Dates

Issue 04 (April 2004)

Received 27 January 2004, accepted for publication 31 March 2004

Published 19 April 2004



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