In mathematics, Lentz's algorithm is an algorithm to evaluate continued fractions and compute tables of spherical Bessel functions.[1][2]

The version usually employed now is due to Thompson and Barnett.[3]

History

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The idea was introduced in 1973 by William J. Lentz[1] and was simplified by him in 1982.[4] Lentz suggested that calculating ratios of spherical Bessel functions of complex arguments can be difficult. He developed a new continued fraction technique for calculating the ratios of spherical Bessel functions of consecutive order. This method was an improvement compared to other methods because it started from the beginning of the continued fraction rather than the tail, had a built-in check for convergence, and was numerically stable. The original algorithm uses algebra to bypass a zero in either the numerator or denominator.[5] Simpler Improvements to overcome unwanted zero terms include an altered recurrence relation[6] suggested by Jaaskelainen and Ruuskanen in 1981 or a simple shift of the denominator by a very small number as suggested by Thompson and Barnett in 1986.[3]

Initial work

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This theory was initially motivated by Lentz's need for accurate calculation of ratios of spherical Bessel function necessary for Mie scattering. He created a new continued fraction algorithm that starts from the beginning of the continued fraction and not at the tail-end. This eliminates guessing how many terms of the continued fraction are needed for convergence. In addition, continued fraction representations for both ratios of Bessel functions and spherical Bessel functions of consecutive order themselves can be computed with Lentz's algorithm.[5] The algorithm suggested that it is possible to terminate the evaluation of continued fractions when   is relatively small.[7]

Algorithm

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Lentz's algorithm is based on the Wallis-Euler relations. If

 
 
 
 

etc., or using the big-K notation, if

 

is the  th convergent to   then

 

where   and   are given by the Wallis-Euler recurrence relations

 
 
 
 
 
 

Lentz's method defines

 
 

so that the  th convergent is

 

and uses the recurrence relations

 
 
 
 
 

When the product   approaches unity with increasing  , it is hoped that   has converged to  .[8]

Applications

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Lentz's algorithm was used widely in the late twentieth century. It was suggested that it doesn't have any rigorous analysis of error propagation. However, a few empirical tests suggest that it's at least as good as the other methods.[9] As an example, it was applied to evaluate exponential integral functions. This application was then called modified Lentz algorithm.[10] It's also stated that the Lentz algorithm is not applicable for every calculation, and convergence can be quite rapid for some continued fractions and vice versa for others.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b Lentz, W. J. (September 1973). A Method of Computing Spherical Bessel Functions of Complex Argument with Tables (PDF) (Research and Development Technical Report ECOM-5509). White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico: Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory, US Army Electronics Command.
  2. ^ Numerical Recipes in C++. pp. 177–179. ISBN 0 521 75033 4.
  3. ^ a b Thompson, I.J.; Barnett, A.R. (1986). "Coulomb and Bessel functions of complex arguments and order". Journal of Computational Physics. 64 (2): 490–509. Bibcode:1986JCoPh..64..490T. doi:10.1016/0021-9991(86)90046-x. ISSN 0021-9991.
  4. ^ J., Lentz, W. (August 1982). A Simplification of Lentz's Algorithm. Defense Technical Information Center. OCLC 227549426.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b Lentz, William J. (1976-03-01). "Generating Bessel functions in Mie scattering calculations using continued fractions". Applied Optics. 15 (3): 668–671. Bibcode:1976ApOpt..15..668L. doi:10.1364/ao.15.000668. ISSN 0003-6935. PMID 20165036.
  6. ^ Jaaskelainen, T.; Ruuskanen, J. (1981-10-01). "Note on Lentz's algorithm". Applied Optics. 20 (19): 3289–3290. Bibcode:1981ApOpt..20.3289J. doi:10.1364/ao.20.003289. ISSN 0003-6935. PMID 20333144.
  7. ^ Masmoudi, Atef; Bouhlel, Med Salim; Puech, William (March 2012). "Image encryption using chaotic standard map and engle continued fractions map". 2012 6th International Conference on Sciences of Electronics, Technologies of Information and Telecommunications (SETIT). IEEE. pp. 474–480. doi:10.1109/setit.2012.6481959. ISBN 978-1-4673-1658-3. S2CID 15380706.
  8. ^ Press, W.H.; Teukolsky, S.A.; Vetterling, W.T.; Flannery, B. P. (2007). Numerical Recipes: The Art of Scientific Computing (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 207–208.
  9. ^ Press, W.H.; Teukolsky, S.A.; Vetterling, W.T.; Flannery, B. P. (1992). Numerical Recipes in Fortran, The Art of Scientific Computing (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 165.
  10. ^ Press, William H.; Teukolsky, Saul A. (1988). "Evaluating Continued Fractions and Computing Exponential Integrals". Computers in Physics. 2 (5): 88. Bibcode:1988ComPh...2...88P. doi:10.1063/1.4822777. ISSN 0894-1866.
  11. ^ Wand, Matt P.; Ormerod, John T. (2012-09-18). "Continued fraction enhancement of Bayesian computing". Stat. 1 (1): 31–41. doi:10.1002/sta4.4. ISSN 2049-1573. PMID 22533111. S2CID 119636237.