Minimum relative error approximations for 1/t

Summary We give explicit solutions to the problem of minimizing the relative error for polynomial approximations to 1/t on arbitrary finite subintervals of (0, ). We give a simple algorithm, using synthetic division, for computing practical representations of the best approximating polynomials. The resulting polynomials also minimize the absolute error in a related functional equation. We show that, for any continuous function with no zeros on the interval of interest, the geometric convergence rates for best absolute error and best relative error approximants must be equal. The approximation polynomials for 1/t are useful for finding suitably precise initial approximations in iterative methods for computing reciprocals on computers.