Numerical Matrix Analysis: Linear Systems and Least Squares

The purpose of this book is to promote understanding of two phenomena: sensitivity of linear systems and least squares problems, and numerical stability of algorithms. Sensitivity and stability are analyzed as mathematical properties, without reference to finite precision arithmetic. The material is presented at a basic level, emphasizing ideas and intuition, but in a mathematically rigorous fashion. The derivations are simple and elegant, and the results are easy to understand and interpret. The book is self-contained. It was written for students in all areas of mathematics, engineering, and the computational sciences, but can easily be used for self-study. This text differs from other numerical linear algebra texts by offering the following: a systematic development of numerical conditioning; a simplified concept of numerical stability in exact arithmetic; simple derivations; a high-level view of algorithms; and results for complex matrices.