Solving a Class of Nonlinear Eigenvalue Problems by Newton's Method

Abstract

We examine the possibility of using the standard Newton's method for solving a class of nonlinear eigenvalue problems arising from electronic structure calculation. We show that the Jacobian matrix associated with this nonlinear system has a special structure that can be exploited to reduce the computational complexity of the Newton's method. Preliminary numerical experiments indicate that the Newton's method can be more efficient for small problems in which a few smallest eigenpairs are needed.