We present a parallel algorithm to calculate a numerical approximation of a single, isolated root ${\it\alpha}$ of a function $f:\mathbb{R}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ which is sufficiently regular at and around ${\it\alpha}$ . The algorithm is derivative free and performs one function evaluation on each processor per iteration. It requires at least three processors and can be scaled up to any number of these. The order with which the generated sequence of approximants converges to ${\it\alpha}$ is equal to $(n+\sqrt{n^{2}+4})/2$ for $n+1$ processors with $n\geqslant 2$ . This assumes that particular combinations of the derivatives of $f$ do not vanish at ${\it\alpha}$ .

This paper presents a parallel algorithm for finding the smallest eigenvalue of a family of Hankel matrices that are ill-conditioned. Such matrices arise in random matrix theory and require the use of extremely high precision arithmetic. Surprisingly, we find that a group of commonly-used approaches that are designed for high efficiency are actually less efficient than a direct approach for this class of matrices. We then develop a parallel implementation of the algorithm that takes into account the unusually high cost of individual arithmetic operations. Our approach combines message passing and shared memory, achieving near-perfect scalability and high tolerance for network latency. We are thus able to find solutions for much larger matrices than previously possible, with the potential for extending this work to systems with greater levels of parallelism. The contributions of this work are in three areas: determination that a direct algorithm based on the secant method is more effective when extreme fixed-point precision is required than are the algorithms more typically used in parallel floating-point computations; the particular mix of optimizations required for extreme precision large matrix operations on a modern multi-core cluster, and the numerical results themselves.

We construct a wavelet-based almost-sure uniform approximation of fractional Brownian motion (FBM) (B t (H))_t∈[0,1] of Hurst index H ∈ (0, 1). Our results show that, by Haar wavelets which merely have one vanishing moment, an almost-sure uniform expansion of FBM for H ∈ (0, 1) can be established. The convergence rate of our approximation is derived. We also describe a parallel algorithm that generates sample paths of an FBM efficiently.

A second-order in time finite-difference scheme using a modified predictor–corrector method is proposed for the numerical solution of the generalized Burgers–Fisher equation. The method introduced, which, in contrast to the classical predictor–corrector method is direct and uses updated values for the evaluation of the components of the unknown vector, is also analysed for stability. Its efficiency is tested for a single-kink wave by comparing experimental results with others selected from the available literature. Moreover, comparisons with the classical method and relevant analogous modified methods are given. Finally, the behaviour and physical meaning of the two-kink wave arising from the collision of two single-kink waves are examined.

Computing a zero of a continuous function is an old and extensively researched problem in numerical computation. In this paper, we present an efficient subdivision algorithm for finding all real roots of a function in multiple variables. This algorithm is based on a simple computationally verifiable necessity test for the existence of a root in any compact set. Both theoretical analysis and numerical simulations demonstrate that the algorithm is very efficient and reliable. Convergence is shown and numerical examples are presented.

The asymptotic behaviour of the recursion is investigated; Yk describes the number of comparisons which have to be carried out to merge two sorted subsequences of length 2k –1 and Mk can be interpreted as the number of comparisons of ‘Simultaneous Merge–Sort'. The challenging problem in the analysis of the above recursion lies in the fact that it contains a maximum as well as a sum. This demands different ideal properties for the metric in the contraction method. By use of the weighted Kolmogorov metric it is shown that an exponential normalization provides the recursion's convergence. Furthermore, one can show that any sequence of linear normalizations of Mk must converge towards a constant if it converges in distribution at all.