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646
THE
MATRIX EIGENVALUE PROBLEM
An
ALGOL
program
is
given
in Wilkinson and Reinsch (1971, pp. 202-211).
The generalized eigenvalue problem,
Ax
=
A.Bx,
has also been omitted. This has
become an important problem in recent years. The most popular method for its
solution
is
due to Moler and Stewart (1973), and other descriptions of the
problem and its solution are given in Golub and Van Loan
0983,
sees. 7.7 and
8.6)
and
Parlett (1980, chap. 15). EISPACK programs for the generalized
eigenvalue problem are given in Garbow et
al.
(1977).
The problem of finding the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of large sparse
matrices
is
an active area of research. When the matrices have large order (e.g.,
n
~
300), most of the methods of this chapter are more difficult to apply because
of storage considerations. In addition, the methods often do not take special
account of the sparseness of most large matrices that occur
in
practice. One
common form of problem involves a symmetric banded matrix. Programs for this
problem are given
in
Wilkinson and Reinsch (1971, pp. 266-283) and Garbow et
al.
(1977).
For
more general discussions of the eigenvalue problem for sparse
matrices, see Jennings
(1985) and Pissanetzky (1984, chap. 6). For a discussion
of
software for the eigenvalue problem for sparse matrices, see
Duff
(1984, pp.
179-182)
and Heath (1982). An important method for the solution of the
eigenvalue problem for sparse symmetric matrices is the Lancws method. For a
discussion of it, see
Scott (1981) and the very extensive books and programs of
Cullum
and
Willoughby (1984, 1985).
The
least squares solution of overdetermined linear systems is a very im-
portant
tool, one that
is
very widely used in the physical, biological, and social
sciences. We have just introduced some aspects
of
the subject, showing the
crucial role of the singular value decomposition. A very comprehensive introduc-
tion to the least squares solution of linear systems is given in Lawson and
Hanson
(1974).
It
gives a complete treatment of the theory, the practical
implementation
of
methods, and ways for handling large data sets efficiently. In
addition, the book contains a complete set of programs for solving a variety of
least squares problems. For other references to the least squares solutions of
linear systems, see Golub and Van Loan
(1983, chap. 6) and Rice (1981, chap.
11
). Programs for some least squares problems are also given in LINP ACK.
In
discussing the least squares solution of overdetermined systems of linear
equations,
we
have avoided any discussion of the statistical aspect of the subject.
Partly this was for reasons of space, and partly
it
was a mistrust of using the
statistical justification, since it often depends on assumptions about the distribu-
tion
of
the error that are difficult to validate. We refer the reader to any of the
many statistics textbooks for a development of the statistical framework for the
least squares method for curve fitting of
data.·
Bibliography
Chatelin, F. (1987). Eigenvalues
of
Matrices. Wiley, London.
Conte,
S.,
and
C.
de Boor (1980). Elementary Numerical Analysis, 3rd ed.
McGraw-Hill, New
York.