A parallel simulated annealing algorithm for the design of magnetic structures

A new parallel global optimization algorithm is presented and evaluated. It is based on simulated annealing and on speculative computation. It is particularly suited for parallel architectures from some units to some tens of processors and for problems characterized by a cost function whose evaluation takes a long time, features that fit well with the design of magnetic structures. Comparative tests with respect to traditional sequential SA is presented on the design of a magnet for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. >