Fixed Point Method

The number pp is a fixed point of the function ff iff f(p)=pf(p) = p.

Existence and Uniqueness

If g∈C[a,b]g \in C[a,b] and g(x)∈[a,b]  ∀x∈[a,b]g(x) \in [a,b]\;\forall x \in [a,b], then gg has at least one fixed point in [a,b][a,b].

If in addition, g′(x)g'(x) exists on (a,b)(a,b) and ∃k ∈(0,1)\exists k\ \in (0,1) such that:

∣g′(x)∣≤k    ∀x∈(a,b)\Big\rvert g'(x)\Big\rvert \leq k \;\; \forall x \in (a,b)

Then gg has a unique fixed point in (a,b)(a,b).

Iteration Algorithm

Start with p0p_0 (arbitrary point). Iterate using pn+1=g(pn)p_{n+1} = g(p_n) until convergence. Convergence is guaranteed if the fixed point exists and is unique.

Implementation

def fixed_point(g, p0, tolerance=1e-6, max_iteration_count=100):
    p = p0
    for _ in range(max_iteration_count):
        p_new = g(p)
        if abs(p_new - p) < tolerance:
            return p_new
        p = p_new
    raise ValueError("Fixed point not found")

Fixed Point Theorem

If:

  • g∈C[a,b]g \in C[a,b]
  • ∀x∈[a,b],  g(x)∈[a,b]\forall x \in [a,b],\; g(x) \in [a,b]
  • g′g' exists on (a,b)(a,b)
  • ∃k∈(0,1)\exists k \in (0,1) and ∣g′(x)∣≤k  ∀x∈(a,b)\big\lvert g'(x) \big\rvert \le k\; \forall x \in (a,b)

Then both equations mentioned below hold:

∣pn−p∣≤knmax⁡{p0−a,b−p0}\Big\lvert p_n - p \Big\rvert \le k^n \max\Big\{p_0 - a, b - p_0\Big\} ∣pn−p∣≤kn1−k∣p1−p0∣\lvert p_n - p \rvert \le \frac{k^n}{1-k} \lvert p_1 - p_0 \rvert

Wolfram Mathematica notebook

The summary notebook defines every function used in this module, with documentation and no examples, as a starting point for your own problems.

Written by September 29, 2026 1 min read
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