A Longitudinal Analysis of the CEC Single-Objective Competitions (2010-2024) and Implications for Variational Quantum Optimization

Quantum Physics [Submitted on 25 Mar 2026] A Longitudinal Analysis of the CEC Single-Objective Competitions (2010-2024) and Implications for Variational Quantum Optimization Vojtěch Novák, Tomáš Bezděk, Ivan Zelinka, Swagatam Das, Martin Beseda This paper provides a historical analysis of the IEEE CEC Single Objective Optimization competition results (2010-2024). We analyze how benchmark functions shaped winning algorithms, identifying the 2014 introduction of dense rotation matrices as a key performance filter. This design choice introduced parameter non-separability, reduced effectiveness of coordinate-dependent methods (PSO, GA), and established the dominance of Differential Evolution variants capable of preserving the rotational invariance of their difference vectors, specifically L-SHADE. Post-2020 analysis reveals a shift towards high complexity hybrid optimizers that combine different mechanisms (e.g., Eigenvector Crossover, Societal Sharing, Reinforcement Learning) to maximize ranking stability. We conclude by identifying structural similarities between these modern benchmarks and Variational Quantum Algorithm landscapes, suggesting that evolved CEC solvers possess the specific adaptive capabilities required for quantum control. Subjects: Quantum Physics (quant-ph); Neural and Evolutionary Computing (cs.NE) MSC classes: 81P68, 68T20 Cite as: arXiv:2603.24140 [quant-ph]   (or arXiv:2603.24140v1 [quant-ph] for this version)   https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2603.24140 Focus to learn more Submission history From: Vojtěch Novák [view email] [v1] Wed, 25 Mar 2026 10:04:46 UTC (4,804 KB) Access Paper: HTML (experimental) view license Current browse context: quant-ph < prev   |   next > new | recent | 2026-03 Change to browse by: cs cs.NE References & Citations INSPIRE HEP NASA ADS Google Scholar Semantic Scholar Export BibTeX Citation Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer (What is the Explorer?) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers (What is Connected Papers?) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps (What is Litmaps?) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations (What are Smart Citations?) Code, Data, Media Demos Related Papers About arXivLabs Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax (What is MathJax?)