Runtime Analysis of a Compact Genetic Algorithm on a Truly Multi-valued OneMax Function
Abstract
Recently, the runtime analysis of multi-valued estimation-of-distribution algorithms in the framework of Ben Jedidia et al. (TCS 2024) has made significant advancements. However, almost all existing analyses are limited to multi-valued objective functions that in each dimension only distinguish between two types, also called categories, of values and hence can be treated with similar methods as pseudo-Boolean problems. Only recently, Adak and Witt (GECCO 2025) have presented a first runtime analysis of a multi-valued compact genetic algorithm (cGA) on the multi-valued OneMax function G-OneMax defined by G-OneMax and truly depending on all categories. We improve their runtime result from to , both for an optimal choice of the update strength . Our result matches, up to polylogarithmic factors, the existing bound for the simpler -valued OneMax function depending essentially only on two values and analyzed in several previous works. To show the new bound, we use improved drift theorems for processes with high self-loop probabilities and specifically derived concentration inequalities to analyze how probability mass in the multi-valued cGA moves into successively smaller and smaller intervals of the -valued frequency matrix.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2605.29477,
title = {Runtime Analysis of a Compact Genetic Algorithm on a Truly Multi-valued OneMax Function},
author = {Martin S. Krejca and Carsten Witt},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2605.29477},
year = {2026}
}