Are Near Earth Objects the Key to Optimization Theory?

Abstract

This note suggests that near earth objects and Central Force Optimization have something in common, that NEO theory may hold the key to solving some vexing problems in deterministic optimization: local trapping and proof of convergence. CFO analogizes Newton's laws to locate the global maxima of a function. The NEO-CFO nexus is the striking similarity between CFO's Davg and an NEO's Delta-V curves. Both exhibit oscillatory plateau-like regions connected by jumps, suggesting that CFO's metaphorical "gravity" indeed behaves like real gravity, thereby connecting NEOs and CFO and being the basis for speculating that NEO theory may address difficult issues in optimization.