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A continuation method follows a solution branch of a parameter-dependent equation from a known solution, using nearby solutions to guide the next solve. This is useful when one wants to understand how solutions change, rather than obtain just one isolated answer. A continuation predictor-corrector step follows a tangent vector and then uses a Newton method correction on a transverse section. The same geometry supports both pseudo-arclength continuation through a continuation fold and transversal surface intersection tracing.

Consider the original scalar polynomial exampleIts solution branch bends back twice in $\lambda$. Increasing $\lambda$ alone eventually stops following the same nearby solutions; following the curve in the $(x,\lambda )$ plane can continue around both bends. The continuation folds areFor $|\lambda |<2/(3\sqrt{3})$ there are three distinct real zeros of a function at that fixed $\lambda$, all lying on this one connected curve. A continuation method keeps their geometric relationship visible.

Every continuation method needs a seed, supplied by an independent solve, an explicitly known solution, or another search. Following one solution branch does not guarantee finding every connected component of the solution set. A large step can miss detail or make the correction converge to a distant solution. At branch intersections or a loss of rank of the full Jacobian matrix, the regular-curve argument needs separate analysis. The seed and component limitations also matter in transversal surface intersection tracing.

Work first in the parameter rectangle of the parametric surface. Set $g(u,v)=f(F(u,v))$. With $F_u,F_v$ linearly independent, the chain rule givesThe intersection is transversal precisely when the implicit normal vector $\nabla f(F)$ and the parametric normal vector $F_u\times F_v$ are not parallel. Consequently $(g_u,g_v)\ne (0,0)$, and the implicit function theorem makes $g=0$ a locally regular parameter curve. This is the setting for transversal surface intersection tracing by a predictor-corrector continuation method.

Find one seed on the required component. Subdivide parameter patches, enclosing their images by bounding volumes and testing whether a certified range of $f$ excludes zero. For a positive-weight NURBS, the active control-point convex hull supplies a convenient enclosure; interval arithmetic can tighten the range of the composed function. Search the surviving patches for a bracketed root or a local corrected seed. Merely checking signs at four corners is inadequate: a small closed intersection can lie wholly inside a patch with the same corner signs. An adaptive or certified patch search, or a supplied seed, avoids this failure. For a sphere centered at $C$, use $f(P)=\Vert P-C{\Vert }^2-r^2$ and $\nabla f=2(P-C)$; for a torus, use its implicit polynomial and its differentiated polynomial in the same algorithm.

At a corrected seed ${\eta }_k=(u_k,v_k)$, an unnormalized parameter tangent vector and a unit spatial tangent vector areChoose the sign consistently with the previous tangent vector. Normalize $q=q_0/\Vert DF{q}_0\Vert$ and predict ${\eta }_p={\eta }_k+hq$, so $h$ is approximately a physical arc length step. Correct the predictor by Newton method applied toThe Jacobian has rows $(g_u,g_v)$ and $(T_k\cdot F_u,T_k\cdot F_v)$. At the starting point its first row vanishes along $q$, whereas its second row applied to $q$ is one. The two rows are therefore independent. The transverse-plane condition prevents the corrector from sliding arbitrarily along the intersection. Restrict correction to a neighborhood of the predictor, use damping, and reduce $h$ when correction fails or its displacement becomes excessive; this prevents jumps to another nearby branch.

To obtain a sufficiently dense sequence, impose a physical point-spacing bound, a bound on tangent turning, and a chord-error estimate. For local curvature $\kappa$, the small-step sagitta is approximately $\kappa h^2/8$; estimate curvature from successive tangent vectors and reduce $h$ until this and the desired spacing are acceptable. The correction residual should be small relative to the drawing tolerance. Uniform steps in $u$ or $v$ alone do not ensure spatial density because the surface metric can vary considerably.

For an open component, trace in both tangent directions from the seed. On reaching a parameter boundary, locate the endpoint by solving $g=0$ together with that boundary's parameter equation, rather than accepting an overshoot. For a closed component, stop only after nontrivial travel and return to the initial parameter location with compatible tangent orientation; near-coincidence in three-dimensional space alone can mistake a self-intersection or neighboring branch for closure. Cross periodic seams using the appropriate chart identification. Adaptive physical stepping, local correction, and component-aware termination give the required point sequence. A vanishing parameter gradient signals a tangency or singularity outside the transversal hypothesis and must be reported rather than passed through by this regular algorithm.