arXiv:2605. 25246v3 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly used for optimization modeling and solver-code generation, yet practical operations research and optimization problems often require a harder capability: designing scalable algorithms that exploit problem structure and outperform direct formulation-and-solve baselines.
By Minwei Kong, Chonghe Jiang, Ao Qu, Wenbin Ouyang, Zhaoming Zeng, Xiaotong Guo, Zhekai Li, Junyi Li, Yi Fan, Xinshou Zheng, Xi Jing, Yikai Zhang, Zhiwei Liang, Seonghoo Kim, Runqing Yang, Zijian Zhou, Sirui Li, Han Zheng, Wangyang Ying, Ou Zheng, Chonghuan Wang, Jinglong Zhao, Hanzhang Qin, Cathy Wu, Paul Pu Liang, Jinhua Zhao, Hai Wang
The paper introduces AgenticBBO-Bench, a cross‑domain benchmark for evaluating large language model agents on black‑box optimization tasks such as synthetic functions, hyperparameter tuning, database tuning, chip design, and molecular design. Experiments show that agentic BBO outperforms direct LLM‑based methods in all five domains and beats the best numerical optimizers in four. The study also analyzes the impact of optimization tools, task semantics, prior knowledge, and the LLM’s role, finding that numerical tools are not consistently helpful, task semantics are broadly useful, and numerical optimizers can capitalize on agent‑generated search trajectories.
By Ming Chen, Rong-Xi Tan, Ke Xue, Yu-Jie Zhou, Taiye Lu, Zhi-Xuan Gao, Peng Xie, Zijun Shen, Chen Lu, Haopu Shang, Chao Qian
The paper critiques the common practice of evaluating large‑language‑model (LLM) evolutionary search methods using a single seed and fixed iteration budget, arguing that this approach is insufficient. By testing three search strategies across five optimization tasks and varying both the number of seeds (width) and iterations (depth), the authors find that optimal budget allocation depends on the strategy, task, and total budget, and that strategy rankings shift with different budgets. They propose a measurement protocol that maps the seeds‑by‑iterations frontier and offers practical guidance for researchers.
By Tal Oved, Roi Pony, Oshri Naparstek, Udi Barzelay
arXiv:2607. 24647v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: AI-driven autonomous research (AR) systems are becoming increasingly effective across a broad range of tasks.
By Haiqian Yang, Yuan Cao
arXiv:2607. 08791v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Designing effective multi-objective Bayesian optimization (MOBO) algorithms requires balancing many interdependent design choices whose optimal configuration is problem-dependent and typically demands deep expertise.
By Georgios Laskaris, Reuben Brasher, Niki van Stein, Elena Raponi, Thomas B\"ack, Florian Neukart
The paper introduces Regularized Recursive Self-Improvement of Agent Harnesses (RRSI), a method that applies regularization principles to the iterative editing of an LLM agent’s harness—prompts, control flow, tooling, memory, and context management. RRSI limits the number of edits per candidate, encourages novel trajectories, and uses a critic and pruner to filter out benchmark‑specific or ineffective changes, thereby favoring reusable agent mechanisms. Experiments on eight benchmarks show RRSI improves performance by up to 14.1 points on the training split and 4.7 points on out‑of‑distribution tests, while reducing policy token usage by 30% compared to unregularized evolution.
By Peng Xia, Rujun Han, Zifeng Wang, Yanfei Chen, Yufan Zhang, Yoonho Lee, Chengsong Huang, Han Yu, Zhongying CuiZhu, Yifei Ming, Huaxiu Yao, Burak Gokturk, Tomas Pfister, Chen-Yu Lee