Dichotomy. Dichotomy? Dichotomy! Basic provisions, problems of terminology and inspection analysis of the method of dichotomy

Abstract

When creating modern systems of automatic control of various processes and objects operating in real time, very often one has to face the problem of solving various kinds of nonlinear scalar equations. Currently, there are a number of computational methods and algorithms for its solution, one of which is the dichotomy method. This method has a number of advantages in comparison with other known methods for solving nonlinear equations, but at present it has not found wide practical use. The main reason for its low popularity is the low rate of convergence of the sequence of approximate solutions and a large amount of computation required to obtain sufficiently accurate solutions. The purpose of the study is to consider in detail distinctive features of the dichotomy method and show the preference of its use in comparison with other known methods. We propose a modified version of the dichotomy method that allows one to obtain more rapidly converging sequences of approximate solutions to nonlinear scalar equations and requires significantly fewer computations required to obtain solutions with the desired accuracy. By solving a number of specific nonlinear equations, it is possible to illustrate the higher convergence rate of the sequence of approximate solutions calculated using the modified dichotomy method and, thereby, to substantiate the advantage of the new method for its use in creating various automatic control and regulation systems. Based on the results obtained a modification of the method for segment bisection is proposed. It has all the main advantages of the modified method. The research results can be used in the development of modern automatic control systems for various technological processes and objects.