Numerical solution of multivariate polynomial systems by homotopy continuation methods

Abstract

Let P(x) = 0 be a system of n polynomial equations in n unknowns. Denoting P = (p1,…, pn), we want to find all isolated solutions offor x = (x1,…,xn). This problem is very common in many fields of science and engineering, such as formula construction, geometric intersection problems, inverse kinematics, power flow problems with PQ-specified bases, computation of equilibrium states, etc. Elimination theory-based methods, most notably the Buchberger algorithm (Buchberger 1985) for constructing Gröbner bases, are the classical approach to solving (1.1), but their reliance on symbolic manipulation makes those methods seem somewhat unsuitable for all but small problems.