Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In calculus, Newton's method (also called Newton–Raphson) is an iterative method for finding the roots of a differentiable function, which are solutions to the equation =. However, to optimize a twice-differentiable f {\displaystyle f} , our goal is to find the roots of f ′ {\displaystyle f'} .
In mathematics, the method of steepest descent or saddle-point method is an extension of Laplace's method for approximating an integral, where one deforms a contour integral in the complex plane to pass near a stationary point (saddle point), in roughly the direction of steepest descent or stationary phase. The saddle-point approximation is ...
A saddle point (in red) on the graph of z = x 2 − y 2 (hyperbolic paraboloid). In mathematics, a saddle point or minimax point [1] is a point on the surface of the graph of a function where the slopes (derivatives) in orthogonal directions are all zero (a critical point), but which is not a local extremum of the function. [2]
In calculus, a derivative test uses the derivatives of a function to locate the critical points of a function and determine whether each point is a local maximum, a local minimum, or a saddle point. Derivative tests can also give information about the concavity of a function.
If D(a, b) < 0 then (a, b) is a saddle point of f. If D(a, b) = 0 then the point (a, b) could be any of a minimum, maximum, or saddle point (that is, the test is inconclusive). Sometimes other equivalent versions of the test are used. In cases 1 and 2, the requirement that f xx f yy − f xy 2 is positive at (x, y) implies that f xx and f yy ...
Refining this property allows us to test whether a critical point is a local maximum, local minimum, or a saddle point, as follows: If the Hessian is positive-definite at x , {\displaystyle x,} then f {\displaystyle f} attains an isolated local minimum at x . {\displaystyle x.}
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
Further, critical points can be classified using the definiteness of the Hessian matrix: If the Hessian is positive definite at a critical point, then the point is a local minimum; if the Hessian matrix is negative definite, then the point is a local maximum; finally, if indefinite, then the point is some kind of saddle point.