In this paper we consider the object oriented implementation of numerical algorithms where arithmetic operators (add, mult, exp) operate on objects with more complex structure (compared to floating point numbers). Examples are objects representing vectors instead of scalars, random variables,...

Keane's bump function is considered as a standard benchmark for nonlinear constrained optimization. It is highly multi-modal and its optimum is located at the non-linear constrained boundary. The true minimum of this function is, perhaps, unknown. We intend in this paper to optimize Keane's...

The objective of this paper is to introduce a new population-based (stochastic) heuristic to search the global optimum of a (continuous) multi-modal function and to assess its performance (on a fairly large number of benchmark functions) vis-a-vis that of two other well-established and very...

The Repulsive Particle Swarm (RPS) method of global optimization is perhaps the simplest to understand and implement. Due to its simplicity, it can be easily modified to suit the purpose and therefore, it has better prospects as well. The method has been frequently used in the field of...

Programs that work very well in optimizing convex functions very often perform poorly when the problem has multiple local minima or maxima. They are often caught or trapped in the local minima/maxima. Several methods have been developed to escape from being caught in such local optima. The...

In this paper an attempt has been made to fit the Gielis curves (modified by various functions) to simulated data. The estimation has been done by two methods - the Classical Simulated Annealing (CSA) and the Particle Swarm (PS) methods - of global optimization. The Repulsive Particle Swarm...

Options with embedded early exercise features are of fundamental importance in finance. A simple example is the hedge of a multi-callable bond. This instrument is hedged using a Bermudan swaption.Bermudan swaptions also play a key role when pricing callable constant maturity swaps or flexible...

Two of the most important areas in computational finance: Greeks and, respectively, calibration, are based on efficient and accurate computation of a large number of sensitivities. This paper gives an overview of adjoint and automatic differentiation (AD), also known as algorithmic...

Robust optimization (RO) is a young and active research field that has been mainly developed in the last 15 years. RO techniques are very useful for practice and not difficult to understand for practitioners. It is therefore remarkable that real-life applications of RO are still lagging behind;...

The nearest correlation matrix problem is to find a valid (positive semidefinite) correlation matrix, R(m,m), that is nearest to a given invalid (non-positive semidefinite) or pseudo-correlation matrix, Q(m,m); m larger than 2. In the literature on this problem, 'nearest' is invariably defined...