On the geometry of paths generated by PL homotopy methods

PL homotopy methods are effective numerical methods for highly nonlinear problems. It is widely believed that the feasibility of a PL homotopy method depends on the nondegeneracy condition that the zero set (or the fixed point set in the case of finding fixed points instead of zeroes) of the PL approximation of the homotopy does not intersect the triangulation's skeletons of co-dimensions two and above. This paper shows that, although the sections of the PL approximation's zero set tracked by the PL homotopy method are of dimension one (while other sections may have higher dimensions), the paths generated by the pivoting method are potentially and essentially of dimension two. It makes pathcrossing a safe thing. Thus, this paper first sets up the without exception feasibility of PL homotopy methods geometrically.This work is supported in part by the Foundation of Zhongshan University Advanced Research Centre.