Simple and Nearly Optimal Polynomial Root-Finding by Means of Root Radii Approximation

Abstract

We propose a new simple but nearly optimal algorithm for the approximation of all sufficiently well isolated complex roots and root clusters of a univariate polynomial. Quite typically the known root-finders at first compute some crude but reasonably good approximations to well-conditioned roots (that is, those well isolated from the other roots) and then refine the approximations very fast, by using Boolean time which is nearly optimal, up to a polylogarithmic factor. By combining and extending some old root-finding techniques, the geometry of the complex plane, and randomized parametrization, we accelerate the initial stage of obtaining crude approximations to all well-conditioned simple and multiple roots as well as to all isolated root clusters. Our algorithm performs this stage at a Boolean cost dominated by the nearly optimal cost of the subsequent refinement of these approximations, which we can perform concurrently, with minimum processor communication and synchronization. Our techniques are quite simple and elementary; their power and application range may increase in their combination with the known efficient root-finding methods.