A Brief Overview of Physics-inspired Metaheuristic Optimization Techniques

Metaheuristic algorithms are methods devised to efficiently solve computationally challenging optimization problems. Researchers have taken inspiration from various natural and physical processes alike to formulate meta-heuristics that have successfully provided near-optimal or optimal solutions to several engineering tasks. This chapter focuses on meta-heuristic algorithms modelled upon non-linear physical phenomena having a concrete optimization paradigm, having shown formidable exploration and exploitation abilities for such optimization problems. Specifically, this chapter focuses on several popular physics-based metaheuristics as well as describing the underlying unique physical processes associated with each algorithm.