Identification of a transient electric dipole over a conducting half spaceusing a simulated annealing algorithm

Identification of a transient electric dipole over a conducting half-space by measuring fields at two ground points is considered. A simulated anneali ng algorithm (a global optimization method which mimics the slow cooling be havior of an atomic system with many degrees of freedom) is used to reconst ruct the location, the orientation, and the transient moment of the dipole in multiple steps. Numerical examples are studied for a dipole (tested at t hree different positions) over three typical conducting half-spaces, namely , seawater, dry earth, and fresh water. The identification results based on a "perfectly conducting half-space model" search and a "finitely conductin g half-space model" search are compared.