Homecs.NEarXiv:2605.29477

Runtime Analysis of a Compact Genetic Algorithm on a Truly Multi-valued OneMax Function

cs.NE2026-05v1license

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 ⁣:{0,,r1}nN\colon \{0,\dots,r-1\}^n \to \mathbf{N} defined by G-OneMax(x1,,xn)=i=1nxi(x_1,\dots,x_n)=\sum_{i=1}^n {x}_i and truly depending on all rr categories. We improve their runtime result from O(nr3log2(n)log(r))\textrm{O}\bigl(n r^3 \log^2( n)\log (r)\bigr) to O(nrlog3(n)log3(r))\textrm{O}\bigl(n r \log^3(n)\log^3(r)\bigr), both for an optimal choice of the update strength KK. Our result matches, up to polylogarithmic factors, the existing bound for the simpler rr-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 rr-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}
}