[R-pkgs] QGA 1.0 is released

[Giulio Barcaroli]

Dear R users,

I am pleased to announce that QGA 1.0 is now available on CRAN.

QGA implements the Quantum Genetic Algorithm, as proposed by Han and Kim 
in 2000, and is an R implementation derived from the Python one by 
Lahoz-Beltra in 2016.

Under this approach, each solution is represented as a sequence of 
(qu)bits. Simulating the quantum paradigm, these qubits are in a 
superposition state: when measuring them, they collapse in a 0 or 1 
state. After measurement, the solution's fitness is calculated as in 
usual genetic algorithms.

The evolution at each iteration is oriented by the application of two 
quantum gates to the amplitudes of the qubits: (1) a rotation gate 
(always); (2) a Pauli-X gate (optionally). The rotation is based on the 
theta angle values: higher values allow a quicker evolution, and lower 
values avoid local maxima. The Pauli-X gate is equivalent to the 
classical mutation operator and determines the swap between alfa and 
beta amplitudes of a given qubit.

The package has been developed in such a way as to permit a complete 
separation between the 'engine', and the particular problem subject to 
combinatorial optimization. This is evident in the available examples, 
that come with the package, illustrating the application of QGA to 
different problems: knapsack, traveler salesman, and clustering.

Thank you, kind regards,

Giulio Barcaroli

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