Continuation predictor-corrector step

ID: continuation-predictor-corrector-step

For the cubic polynomial, an oriented, normalized tangent vector is
Its Euclidean norm is one and . The sign here follows increasing ; for a general solution branch, choose the sign of each new tangent vector so its dot product with the previous one is positive. First predict , then apply Newton method starting at to
The second equation keeps the correction on the transverse line in this two-dimensional example; in higher dimensions it is a hyperplane. Solving the linear system and updating corrects both coordinates together.
Figure 1.
A tangent predictor and transverse correction step across the upper fold
. From with , the predictor lies above the largest attainable nearby . Correction along the transverse line returns to the solution branch on the far side of the continuation fold. Both axes use the same scale, so perpendicularity is visible. Details.
This step gives and . Check both equations: the solution must satisfy and . Checking only the first could accept any point on the solution branch. The new exceeds , so the step crosses the continuation fold, even though the predictor's exceeds .
At the seed, set . The determinant of the correction Jacobian matrix with the exact unit vector above is
At either continuation fold, , and : the correction remains invertible. More generally, if has full rank and a one-dimensional kernel spanned by , adding gives an invertible matrix, since a vector annihilated by both rows must be zero. This is a local argument; the old transverse hyperplane need not work arbitrarily far along the curve. Reduce and retry when correction fails, and check the equations and orientation after successful steps. Scaling state and parameter coordinates also matters, because it changes the Euclidean norm used to normalize the tangent vector.
// Target: analysis.bigb

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