Efficient path tracking methods

  • Authors:
  • Daniel J. Bates;Jonathan D. Hauenstein;Andrew J. Sommese

  • Affiliations:
  • Department of Mathematics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA 80523;Department of Mathematics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA 77843;Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, USA 46556

  • Venue:
  • Numerical Algorithms
  • Year:
  • 2011

Quantified Score

Hi-index 0.00

Visualization

Abstract

Path tracking is the fundamental computational tool in homotopy continuation and is therefore key in most algorithms in the emerging field of numerical algebraic geometry. Though the basic notions of predictor-corrector methods have been known for years, there is still much to be considered, particularly in the specialized algebraic setting of solving polynomial systems. In this article, the effects of the choice of predictor method on the performance of a tracker is analyzed, and details for using Runge-Kutta methods in conjunction with adaptive precision are provided. These methods have been implemented in the Bertini software package, and several examples are described.