Perturbations/Damping

For many of the numeric optimizations within SA, the partials matrix is computed using numerical differentiation. A value is changed by a delta (referred to as a perturbation), and the result is computed. The deltas used to offset the values in an optimization are set here. At each step, one portion of the partials matrix is populated. If these values are too small, you can experience sensitivity problems. The perturbation may be so small that the change in the objective is negligible and therefore the optimization proceeds without accurate direction. If the values are too large, it is possible to miss nuances in the solution space by moving over the ideal solutions.

Adjusting the Perturbation/Damping Values