Abstract

A powerful iterative descent method for finding a local minimum of a function of several variables is described. A number of theorems are proved to show that it always converges and that it converges rapidly. Numerical tests on a variety of functions confirm these theorems. The method has been used to solve a system of one hundred non-linear simultaneous equations.

Keywords

Descent (aeronautics)MinificationApplied mathematicsMathematicsVariety (cybernetics)Gradient descentMathematical optimizationFunction (biology)Iterative methodConvergence (economics)Descent directionLocal convergenceComputer scienceStatisticsArtificial intelligence

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Publication Info

Year
1963
Type
article
Volume
6
Issue
2
Pages
163-168
Citations
4561
Access
Closed

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Cite This

R. Fletcher, M. J. D. Powell (1963). A Rapidly Convergent Descent Method for Minimization. The Computer Journal , 6 (2) , 163-168. https://doi.org/10.1093/comjnl/6.2.163

Identifiers

DOI
10.1093/comjnl/6.2.163