Using scipy's genetic algorithm for initial parameter estimation in gradient descent

[zunzun]

I see you are writing Python code for gradient descent on GitHub. A general problem for gradient descent and other non-linear algorithms - particularly for more complex equations - is the choice of initial parameters to start the "descent" in error space. Without good starting parameters, the algorithm will stop in a local error minimum. For this reason the authors of scipy have added a genetic algorithm for initial parameter estimation to use in gradient descent. The module is named scipy.optimize.differential_evolution.

I have used scipy's Differential Evolution genetic algorithm to determine initial parameters for fitting a double Lorentzian peak equation to Raman spectroscopy of carbon nanotubes and found that the results were excellent. The GitHub project, with a test spectroscopy data file, is:

https://github.com/zunzun/RamanSpectroscopyFit

If you have any questions, please let me know. My background is in nuclear engineering and industrial radiation physics, and I love Python, so I will be glad to help.

James Phillips