NAG CL Interface
f11gdc (real_​symm_​basic_​setup)

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1 Purpose

f11gdc is a setup function, the first in a suite of three functions for the iterative solution of a symmetric system of simultaneous linear equations. f11gdc must be called before the iterative solver, f11gec. The third function in the suite, f11gfc, can be used to return additional information about the computation.
These three functions are suitable for the solution of large sparse symmetric systems of equations.

2 Specification

#include <nag.h>
void  f11gdc (Nag_SparseSym_Method method, Nag_SparseSym_PrecType precon, Nag_SparseSym_Bisection sigcmp, Nag_NormType norm, Nag_SparseSym_Weight weight, Integer iterm, Integer n, double tol, Integer maxitn, double anorm, double sigmax, double sigtol, Integer maxits, Integer monit, Integer *lwreq, double work[], Integer lwork, NagError *fail)
The function may be called by the names: f11gdc, nag_sparse_real_symm_basic_setup or nag_sparse_sym_basic_setup.

3 Description

The suite consisting of the functions f11gdc, f11gec and f11gfc is designed to solve the symmetric system of simultaneous linear equations Ax=b of order n, where n is large and the matrix of the coefficients A is sparse.
f11gdc is a setup function which must be called before f11gec, the iterative solver. The third function in the suite, f11gfc can be used to return additional information about the computation. One of the following methods can be used:
  1. 1.Conjugate Gradient Method (CG)
    For this method (see Hestenes and Stiefel (1952), Golub and Van Loan (1996), Barrett et al. (1994) and Dias da Cunha and Hopkins (1994)), the matrix A should ideally be positive definite. The application of the Conjugate Gradient method to indefinite matrices may lead to failure or to lack of convergence.
  2. 2.Lanczos Method (SYMMLQ)
    This method, based upon the algorithm SYMMLQ (see Paige and Saunders (1975) and Barrett et al. (1994)), is suitable for both positive definite and indefinite matrices. It is more robust than the Conjugate Gradient method but less efficient when A is positive definite.
  3. 3.Minimum Residual Method (MINRES)
    This method may be used when the matrix is indefinite. It seeks to reduce the norm of the residual at each iteration and often takes fewer iterations than the other methods. It does however require slightly more memory.
The CG and SYMMLQ methods start from the residual r0=b-Ax0, where x0 is an initial estimate for the solution (often x0=0), and generate an orthogonal basis for the Krylov subspace span{Akr0}, for k=0,1,, by means of three-term recurrence relations (see Golub and Van Loan (1996)). A sequence of symmetric tridiagonal matrices {Tk} is also generated. Here and in the following, the index k denotes the iteration count. The resulting symmetric tridiagonal systems of equations are usually more easily solved than the original problem. A sequence of solution iterates {xk} is thus generated such that the sequence of the norms of the residuals {rk} converges to a required tolerance. Note that, in general, the convergence is not monotonic.
In exact arithmetic, after n iterations, this process is equivalent to an orthogonal reduction of A to symmetric tridiagonal form, Tn=QTAQ; the solution xn would thus achieve exact convergence. In finite-precision arithmetic, cancellation and round-off errors accumulate causing loss of orthogonality. These methods must, therefore, be viewed as genuinely iterative methods, able to converge to a solution within a prescribed tolerance.
The orthogonal basis is not formed explicitly in either method. The basic difference between the Conjugate Gradient and Lanczos methods lies in the method of solution of the resulting symmetric tridiagonal systems of equations: the conjugate gradient method is equivalent to carrying out an LDLT (Cholesky) factorization whereas the Lanczos method (SYMMLQ) uses an LQ factorization.
Faster convergence for all the methods can be achieved using a preconditioner (see Golub and Van Loan (1996) and Barrett et al. (1994)). A preconditioner maps the original system of equations onto a different system, say
A¯x¯=b¯, (1)
with, hopefully, better characteristics with respect to its speed of convergence: for example, the condition number of the matrix of the coefficients can be improved or eigenvalues in its spectrum can be made to coalesce. An orthogonal basis for the Krylov subspace span{A¯kr¯0}, for k=0,1,, is generated and the solution proceeds as outlined above. The algorithms used are such that the solution and residual iterates of the original system are produced, not their preconditioned counterparts. Note that an unsuitable preconditioner or no preconditioning at all may result in a very slow rate, or lack, of convergence. However, preconditioning involves a trade-off between the reduction in the number of iterations required for convergence and the additional computational costs per iteration. Also, setting up a preconditioner may involve non-negligible overheads.
A preconditioner must be symmetric and positive definite, i.e., representable by M=EET, where M is nonsingular, and such that A¯=E-1AE-TIn in (1), where In is the identity matrix of order n. Also, we can define r¯=E-1r and x¯=ETx. These are formal definitions, used only in the design of the algorithms; in practice, only the means to compute the matrix-vector products v=Au and to solve the preconditioning equations Mv=u are required, that is, explicit information about M, E or their inverses is not required at any stage.
The first termination criterion
rkp τ ( bp + Ap ×xkp) (2)
is available for both conjugate gradient and Lanczos (SYMMLQ) methods. In (2), p=1, or 2 and τ denotes a user-specified tolerance subject to max(10,n)ετ<1, where ε is the machine precision. Facilities are provided for the estimation of the norm of the matrix of the coefficients A1=A, when this is not known in advance, used in (2), by applying Higham's method (see Higham (1988)). Note that A2 cannot be estimated internally. This criterion uses an error bound derived from backward error analysis to ensure that the computed solution is the exact solution of a problem as close to the original as the termination tolerance requires. Termination criteria employing bounds derived from forward error analysis could be used, but any such criteria would require information about the condition number κ(A) which is not easily obtainable.
The second termination criterion
r¯k2 τ max(1.0, b2 / r02 ) ( r¯02 + σ1 (A¯) ×Δx¯k2) (3)
is available only for the Lanczos method (SYMMLQ). In (3), σ1(A¯)=A¯2 is the largest singular value of the (preconditioned) iteration matrix A¯. This termination criterion monitors the progress of the solution of the preconditioned system of equations and is less expensive to apply than criterion (2). When σ1(A¯) is not supplied, facilities are provided for its estimation by σ1(A¯)maxkσ1(Tk). The interlacing property σ1(Tk-1)σ1(Tk) and Gerschgorin's theorem provide lower and upper bounds from which σ1(Tk) can be easily computed by bisection. Alternatively, the less expensive estimate σ1(A¯)maxkTk1 can be used, where σ1(A¯)Tk1 by Gerschgorin's theorem. Note that only order of magnitude estimates are required by the termination criterion.
Termination criterion (2) is the recommended choice, despite its (small) additional costs per iteration when using the Lanczos method (SYMMLQ). Also, if the norm of the initial estimate is much larger than the norm of the solution, that is, if x0x, a dramatic loss of significant digits could result in complete lack of convergence. The use of criterion (2) will enable the detection of such a situation, and the iteration will be restarted at a suitable point. No such restart facilities are provided for criterion (3).
Optionally, a vector w of user-specified weights can be used in the computation of the vector norms in termination criterion (2), i.e., vp(w)=v (w) p, where (v (w) )i=wi vi, for i=1,2,,n. Note that the use of weights increases the computational costs.
The MINRES algorithm terminates when the norm of the residual of the preconditioned system F, F2τ× A¯2× xk2 , where A¯ is the preconditioned matrix.
The termination criteria discussed are not robust in the presence of a non-trivial nullspace of A, i.e., when A is singular. It is then possible for xkp to grow without limit, spuriously satisfying the termination criterion. If singularity is suspected, more robust functions can be found in Chapter E04.
The sequence of calls to the functions comprising the suite is enforced: first, the setup function f11gdc must be called, followed by the solver f11gec. The diagnostic function f11gfc can be called either when f11gec is carrying out a monitoring step or after f11gec has completed its tasks. Incorrect sequencing will raise an error condition.

4 References

Barrett R, Berry M, Chan T F, Demmel J, Donato J, Dongarra J, Eijkhout V, Pozo R, Romine C and Van der Vorst H (1994) Templates for the Solution of Linear Systems: Building Blocks for Iterative Methods SIAM, Philadelphia
Dias da Cunha R and Hopkins T (1994) PIM 1.1 — the parallel iterative method package for systems of linear equations user's guide — Fortran 77 version Technical Report Computing Laboratory, University of Kent at Canterbury, Kent, UK
Golub G H and Van Loan C F (1996) Matrix Computations (3rd Edition) Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore
Hestenes M and Stiefel E (1952) Methods of conjugate gradients for solving linear systems J. Res. Nat. Bur. Stand. 49 409–436
Higham N J (1988) FORTRAN codes for estimating the one-norm of a real or complex matrix, with applications to condition estimation ACM Trans. Math. Software 14 381–396
Paige C C and Saunders M A (1975) Solution of sparse indefinite systems of linear equations SIAM J. Numer. Anal. 12 617–629

5 Arguments

1: method Nag_SparseSym_Method Input
On entry: the iterative method to be used.
method=Nag_SparseSym_CG
Conjugate gradient method (CG).
method=Nag_SparseSym_SYMMLQ
Lanczos method (SYMMLQ).
method=Nag_SparseSym_MINRES
Minimum residual method (MINRES).
Constraint: method=Nag_SparseSym_CG, Nag_SparseSym_SYMMLQ or Nag_SparseSym_MINRES.
2: precon Nag_SparseSym_PrecType Input
On entry: determines whether preconditioning is used.
precon=Nag_SparseSym_NoPrec
No preconditioning.
precon=Nag_SparseSym_Prec
Preconditioning.
Constraint: precon=Nag_SparseSym_NoPrec or Nag_SparseSym_Prec.
3: sigcmp Nag_SparseSym_Bisection Input
On entry: determines whether an estimate of σ1(A¯)=E-1AE-T2, the largest singular value of the preconditioned matrix of the coefficients, is to be computed using the bisection method on the sequence of tridiagonal matrices {Tk} generated during the iteration. Note that A¯=A when a preconditioner is not used.
If sigmax>0.0 (see sigmax), i.e., when σ1(A¯) is supplied, the value of sigcmp is ignored.
sigcmp=Nag_SparseSym_Bisect
σ1(A¯) is to be computed using the bisection method.
sigcmp=Nag_SparseSym_NoBisect
The bisection method is not used.
If the termination criterion (3) is used, requiring σ1(A¯), an inexpensive estimate is computed and used (see Section 3).
It is not used if method=Nag_SparseSym_MINRES.
Suggested value: sigcmp=Nag_SparseSym_NoBisect.
Constraint: sigcmp=Nag_SparseSym_Bisect or Nag_SparseSym_NoBisect.
4: norm Nag_NormType Input
On entry: if method=Nag_SparseSym_CG or Nag_SparseSym_SYMMLQ, norm defines the matrix and vector norm to be used in the termination criteria.
norm=Nag_OneNorm
Use the l1 norm.
norm=Nag_InfNorm
Use the l norm.
norm=Nag_TwoNorm
Use the l2 norm.
It has no effect if method=Nag_SparseSym_MINRES.
Suggested values:
  • if iterm=1, norm=Nag_InfNorm;
  • if iterm=2, norm=Nag_TwoNorm.
Constraints:
  • if iterm=1, norm=Nag_OneNorm, Nag_InfNorm or Nag_TwoNorm;
  • if iterm=2, norm=Nag_TwoNorm.
5: weight Nag_SparseSym_Weight Input
On entry: specifies whether a vector w of user-supplied weights is to be used in the vector norms used in the computation of termination criterion (2) (iterm=1): vp(w)=v (w) p, where vi (w) =wi vi, for i=1,2,,n. The suffix p=1,2, denotes the vector norm used, as specified by the argument norm. Note that weights cannot be used when iterm=2, i.e., when criterion (3) is used.
weight=Nag_SparseSym_Weighted
User-supplied weights are to be used and must be supplied on initial entry to f11gec.
weight=Nag_SparseSym_UnWeighted
All weights are implicitly set equal to one. Weights do not need to be supplied on initial entry to f11gec.
It has no effect if method=Nag_SparseSym_MINRES.
Suggested value: weight=Nag_SparseSym_UnWeighted.
Constraints:
  • if iterm=1, weight=Nag_SparseSym_Weighted or Nag_SparseSym_UnWeighted;
  • if iterm=2, weight=Nag_SparseSym_UnWeighted.
6: iterm Integer Input
On entry: defines the termination criterion to be used.
iterm=1
Use the termination criterion defined in (2) (both conjugate gradient and Lanczos (SYMMLQ) methods).
iterm=2
Use the termination criterion defined in (3) (Lanczos method (SYMMLQ) only).
It has no effect if method=Nag_SparseSym_MINRES.
Suggested value: iterm=1.
Constraints:
  • if method=Nag_SparseSym_CG, iterm=1;
  • if method=Nag_SparseSym_SYMMLQ, iterm=1 or 2.
7: n Integer Input
On entry: n, the order of the matrix A.
Constraint: n>0.
8: tol double Input
On entry: the tolerance τ for the termination criterion.
If tol0.0, τ=max(ε,nε) is used, where ε is the machine precision.
Otherwise τ=max(tol,10ε,nε) is used.
Constraint: tol<1.0.
9: maxitn Integer Input
On entry: the maximum number of iterations.
Constraint: maxitn>0.
10: anorm double Input
On entry: if anorm>0.0, the value of Ap to be used in the termination criterion (2) (iterm=1).
If anorm0.0, iterm=1 and norm=Nag_OneNorm or Nag_InfNorm, A1=A is estimated internally by f11gec.
If iterm=2, anorm is not referenced.
It has no effect if method=Nag_SparseSym_MINRES.
Constraint: if iterm=1 and norm=Nag_TwoNorm, anorm>0.0.
11: sigmax double Input
On entry: if sigmax>0.0, the value of σ1(A¯)=E-1AE-T2.
If sigmax0.0, σ1(A¯) is estimated by f11gec when either sigcmp=Nag_SparseSym_Bisect or termination criterion (3) (iterm=2) is employed, though it will be used only in the latter case.
Otherwise, or if method=Nag_SparseSym_MINRES, sigmax is not referenced.
12: sigtol double Input
On entry: the tolerance used in assessing the convergence of the estimate of σ1(A¯)=A¯2 when the bisection method is used.
If sigtol0.0, the default value sigtol=0.01 is used. The actual value used is max(sigtol,ε).
If sigcmp=Nag_SparseSym_NoBisect or sigmax>0.0, sigtol is not referenced.
It has no effect if method=Nag_SparseSym_MINRES.
Suggested value: sigtol=0.01 should be sufficient in most cases.
Constraint: if sigcmp=Nag_SparseSym_Bisect and sigmax0.0, sigtol<1.0.
13: maxits Integer Input
On entry: the maximum iteration number k=maxits for which σ1(Tk) is computed by bisection (see also Section 3). If sigcmp=Nag_SparseSym_NoBisect or sigmax>0.0, or if method=Nag_SparseSym_MINRES, maxits is not referenced.
Suggested value: maxits=min(10,n) when sigtol is of the order of its default value (0.01).
Constraint: if sigcmp=Nag_SparseSym_Bisect and sigmax0.0, 1maxitsmaxitn.
14: monit Integer Input
On entry: if monit>0, the frequency at which a monitoring step is executed by f11gec: the current solution and residual iterates will be returned by f11gec and a call to f11gfc made possible every monit iterations, starting from the (monit)th. Otherwise, no monitoring takes place.
There are some additional computational costs involved in monitoring the solution and residual vectors when the Lanczos method (SYMMLQ) is used.
Constraint: monitmaxitn.
15: lwreq Integer * Output
On exit: the minimum amount of workspace required by f11gec. (See also Section 5 in f11gec.)
16: work[lwork] double Communication Array
On exit: the array work is initialized by f11gdc. It must not be modified before calling the next function in the suite, namely f11gec.
17: lwork Integer Input
On entry: the dimension of the array work.
Constraint: lwork120.
Note:  although the minimum value of lwork ensures the correct functioning of f11gdc, a larger value is required by the other functions in the suite, namely f11gec and f11gfc. The required value is as follows:
Method Requirements
CG lwork=120+5n+p.
SYMMLQ lwork=120+6n+p,
MINRES lwork=120+9n,
where
  • p=2*(maxits+1), when an estimate of σ1(A) (sigmax) is computed;
  • p=0, otherwise.
18: fail NagError * Input/Output
The NAG error argument (see Section 7 in the Introduction to the NAG Library CL Interface).

6 Error Indicators and Warnings

NE_ALLOC_FAIL
Dynamic memory allocation failed.
See Section 3.1.2 in the Introduction to the NAG Library CL Interface for further information.
NE_BAD_PARAM
On entry, argument value had an illegal value.
NE_CONSTRAINT
On entry, iterm=1, norm=Nag_TwoNorm and anorm=value.
Constraint: if iterm=1 and norm=Nag_TwoNorm, anorm>0.0.
On entry, sigcmp=Nag_SparseSym_Bisect, sigmax0.0 and maxits=value.
Constraint: if sigcmp=Nag_SparseSym_Bisect and sigmax0.0, maxits1.
On entry, sigcmp=Nag_SparseSym_Bisect, sigmax0.0, maxits=value and maxitn=value.
Constraint: if sigcmp=Nag_SparseSym_Bisect and sigmax0.0, maxitsmaxitn.
NE_ENUM_INT
On entry, method=value, weight=value, norm=value and iterm=value.
Constraint: if method=Nag_SparseSym_CG or weight=Nag_SparseSym_Weighted or normNag_TwoNorm, iterm=1. Otherwise, iterm=1 or 2.
NE_ENUM_REAL_2
On entry, sigcmp=Nag_SparseSym_Bisect, sigmax0.0 and sigtol=value.
Constraint: if sigcmp=Nag_SparseSym_Bisect and sigmax0.0, sigtol<1.0.
NE_INT
On entry, lwork=value.
Constraint: lwork120.
On entry, maxitn=value.
Constraint: maxitn>0.
On entry, n=value.
Constraint: n>0.
NE_INT_2
On entry, monit=value and maxitn=value.
Constraint: monitmaxitn.
NE_INTERNAL_ERROR
An internal error has occurred in this function. Check the function call and any array sizes. If the call is correct then please contact NAG for assistance.
See Section 7.5 in the Introduction to the NAG Library CL Interface for further information.
NE_NO_LICENCE
Your licence key may have expired or may not have been installed correctly.
See Section 8 in the Introduction to the NAG Library CL Interface for further information.
NE_OUT_OF_SEQUENCE
f11gdc has been called out of sequence: either f11gdc has been called twice or f11gec has not terminated its current task.
NE_REAL
On entry, tol=value.
Constraint: tol<1.0.

7 Accuracy

Not applicable.

8 Parallelism and Performance

Background information to multithreading can be found in the Multithreading documentation.
f11gdc is not threaded in any implementation.

9 Further Comments

When σ1(A¯) is not supplied (sigmax0.0) but it is required, it is estimated by f11gec using either of the two methods described in Section 3, as specified by the argument sigcmp. In particular, if sigcmp=Nag_SparseSym_Bisect, then the computation of σ1(A¯) is deemed to have converged when the differences between three successive values of σ1(Tk) differ, in a relative sense, by less than the tolerance sigtol, i.e., when
max( |σ1(k)-σ1(k-1)| σ1(k) , ​ |σ1(k)-σ1(k-2)| σ1(k) ) sigtol.  
The computation of σ1(A¯) is also terminated when the iteration count exceeds the maximum value allowed, i.e., kmaxits.
Bisection is increasingly expensive with increasing iteration count. A reasonably large value of sigtol, of the order of the suggested value, is recommended and an excessive value of maxits should be avoided. Under these conditions, σ1(A¯) usually converges within very few iterations.

10 Example

This example solves a symmetric system of simultaneous linear equations using the conjugate gradient method, where the matrix of the coefficients A, has a random sparsity pattern. An incomplete Cholesky preconditioner is used (f11jac and f11jbc).

10.1 Program Text

Program Text (f11gdce.c)

10.2 Program Data

Program Data (f11gdce.d)

10.3 Program Results

Program Results (f11gdce.r)