Fixed point iteration is a method for finding a fixed point of a function, which is a value that remains unchanged when the function is applied to it (i.e., f(x) = x). The method works by repeatedly applying the function to an initial guess:
- Start with an initial approximation x₀
- Compute successive iterations: xₙ₊₁ = f(xₙ)
- Continue until convergence (|xₙ₊₁ - xₙ| < ε) or maximum iterations
The method converges if the function is a contraction mapping in the neighborhood of the fixed point (|f’(x)| < 1).