On Location and Approximation of Clusters of Zeros of Analytic Functions

In the beginning of the eighties, M. Shub and S. Smale developed a quantitative analysis of Newton’s method for multivariate analytic maps. In particular, their α-theory gives an effective criterion that ensures safe convergence to a simple isolated zero. This criterion requires only information concerning the map at the initial point of the iteration. Generalizing this theory to multiple zeros and clusters of zeros is still a challenging problem. In this article we focus on one complex variable functions. We study general criteria for detecting clusters and analyze the convergence of Schröder’s iteration to a cluster. In the case of a multiple root, it is well-known that this convergence is quadratic. In the case of a cluster with positive diameter, the convergence is still quadratic provided the iteration is stopped sufficiently early. We propose a criterion for stopping this iteration at a distance from the cluster which is of the order of its diameter.