The local optima network model has proved useful in the past in connection with combinatorial optimization problems. Here we examine its extension to the real continuous function domain. Through a sampling process, the model builds a weighted directed graph which captures the function's minima basin structure and its interconnection and which can be easily manipulated with the help of complex networks metrics. We show that the model provides a complementary view of function spaces that is easier to analyze and visualize, especially at higher dimensions. In particular, we show that function hardness as represented by algorithm performance is strongly related to several graph properties of the corresponding local optima network, opening the way for a classification of problem difficulty according to the corresponding graph structure and with possible extensions in the design of better metaheuristic approaches.
Keywords: complex networks; global optimization; local optima networks; metaheuristics.