A criterion for the convergence of the Gauss-Seidel method

摘要

The solution of linear equations by iterative methods requires for convergence that the absolute magnitudes of all the eigenvalues of the iteration matrix should be less than unity. The test for convergence however is often difficult to apply because of the computation required. In this paper a method for determining the convergence of the Gauss-Seidel iteration is proposed. The method involves the numerical integration of initial value differential equations in the complex plane around the unit circle. The Gauss-Seidel method converges if the number of roots inside the unit circle is equal to the order of the iteration matrix.