By the diagonal reduction in a two-variable Newton iteration, for . Put . Direct factorization gives the exact Newton map in optimization error identity
The assumed convergence makes the final factor tend to , so it is bounded for all sufficiently large . Hence . For the Euclidean norm error , this becomes , proving quadratic convergence. Unless the exact limit is reached in finitely many steps, .
For a twice continuously differentiable real function, define the Newton map in optimization wherever its Hessian matrix is invertible. Every stationary point in this domain is a fixed point, because its gradient is zero. This includes a local maximum and a saddle point of a scalar function, as well as a local minimum. Thus Newton's method in optimization needs a separate minimum classification or a method for ensuring descent when it is used for minimization problem.
For example, has a stationary point at , with Hessian matrix
Its eigenvalues are and , so it is a saddle point of a scalar function, but starting Newton's method in optimization there gives a constant sequence. Its value is , whereas the global minimum zero is attained at and .