We designed a new meta-heuristic algorithm named Photon Search Algorithm (PSA) in this paper, which is motivated by photon properties in the field of physics. The physical knowledge involved in this paper includes three main concepts: Principle of Constancy of Light Velocity, Uncertainty Principle and Pauli Exclusion Principle. Based on these physical knowledges, we developed mathematical formulations and models of the proposed algorithm. Moreover, in order to confirm the convergence capability

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... of the algorithm proposed, we compared it with 7 unimodal benchmark functions and 23 multimodal benchmark functions. Experimental results indicate that PSA has better global convergence and higher searching efficiency. Although the performance of the algorithm in solving the optimal solution of certain functions is slightly inferior to that of the existing heuristic algorithm, it is better than the existing algorithm in solving most functions. On balance, PSA has relatively better convergence performance than the existing metaheuristic algorithms.