The method of alternating projections and the method of subspace corrections in Hilbert space

A new identity is given in this paper for estimating the norm of the product of nonexpansive operators in Hilbert space. This identity can be applied for the design and analysis of the method of alternating projections and the method of subspace corrections. The method of alternating projections is an iterative algorithm for determining the best approximation to any given point in a Hilbert space from the intersection of a finite number of subspaces by alternatively computing the best approximations from the individual subspaces which make up the intersection. The method of subspace corrections is an iterative algorithm for finding the solution of a linear equation in a Hilbert space by approximately solving equations restricted on a number of closed subspaces which make up the entire space. The new identity given in the paper provides a sharpest possible estimate for the rate of convergence of these algorithms. It is also proved in the paper that the method of alternating projections is essentially equivalent to the method of subspace corrections. Some simple examples of multigrid and domain decomposition methods are given to illustrate the application of the new identity.