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In numerical linear algebra, the tridiagonal matrix algorithm, also known as the Thomas algorithm (named after Llewellyn Thomas), is a simplified form of Gaussian elimination that can be used to solve tridiagonal systems of equations. A tridiagonal system for n unknowns may be written as
For example, to solve a system of n equations for n unknowns by performing row operations on the matrix until it is in echelon form, and then solving for each unknown in reverse order, requires n(n + 1)/2 divisions, (2n 3 + 3n 2 − 5n)/6 multiplications, and (2n 3 + 3n 2 − 5n)/6 subtractions, [10] for a total of approximately 2n 3 /3 operations.
The conjugate gradient method with a trivial modification is extendable to solving, given complex-valued matrix A and vector b, the system of linear equations = for the complex-valued vector x, where A is Hermitian (i.e., A' = A) and positive-definite matrix, and the symbol ' denotes the conjugate transpose.
Second, we solve the equation = for x. In both cases we are dealing with triangular matrices (L and U), which can be solved directly by forward and backward substitution without using the Gaussian elimination process (however we do need this process or equivalent to compute the LU decomposition itself).
Storing an LU decomposition of () and using forward and back substitution to solve the system of equations at each iteration is also of complexity O(n 3) + k O(n 2). Inverting the matrix will typically have a greater initial cost, but lower cost at each iteration.
An alternative way to eliminate taking square roots in the decomposition is to compute the LDL decomposition =, then solving = for y, and finally solving =. For linear systems that can be put into symmetric form, the Cholesky decomposition (or its LDL variant) is the method of choice, for superior efficiency and numerical stability.
Separation of variables may be possible in some coordinate systems but not others, [2] and which coordinate systems allow for separation depends on the symmetry properties of the equation. [3] Below is an outline of an argument demonstrating the applicability of the method to certain linear equations, although the precise method may differ in ...
For example, the second-order equation y′′ = −y can be rewritten as two first-order equations: y′ = z and z′ = −y. In this section, we describe numerical methods for IVPs, and remark that boundary value problems (BVPs) require a different set of tools.