Well-posed problem
Encyclopedia
The mathematical
term well-posed problem stems from a definition given by Jacques Hadamard
. He believed that mathematical models of physical phenomena should have the properties that
Examples of archetypal well-posed problems include the Dirichlet problem for Laplace's equation, and the heat equation
with specified initial conditions. These might be regarded as 'natural' problems in that there are physical processes that solve these problems. By contrast the inverse heat equation, deducing a previous distribution of temperature from final data is not well-posed in that the solution is highly sensitive to changes in the final data. Problems that are not well-posed in the sense of Hadamard are termed ill-posed. Inverse problem
s are often ill-posed.
Such continuum problems must often be discretized in order to obtain a numerical solution. While in terms of functional analysis
such problems are typically continuous, they may suffer from numerical instability when solved with finite precision, or with errors in the data. Even if a problem is well-posed, it may still be ill-conditioned, meaning that a small error in the initial data can result in much larger errors in the answers. An ill-conditioned problem is indicated by a large condition number
.
If the problem is well-posed, then it stands a good chance of solution on
a computer using a stable algorithm
. If it is not well-posed, it needs to be re-formulated for numerical treatment. Typically this involves including additional assumptions, such as smoothness of solution. This process is known as regularization
and Tikhonov regularization
is one of the most commonly used for regularization of linear ill-posed problems.
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
term well-posed problem stems from a definition given by Jacques Hadamard
Jacques Hadamard
Jacques Salomon Hadamard FRS was a French mathematician who made major contributions in number theory, complex function theory, differential geometry and partial differential equations.-Biography:...
. He believed that mathematical models of physical phenomena should have the properties that
- A solution exists
- The solution is unique
- The solution depends continuously on the data, in some reasonable topologyTopologyTopology is a major area of mathematics concerned with properties that are preserved under continuous deformations of objects, such as deformations that involve stretching, but no tearing or gluing...
.
Examples of archetypal well-posed problems include the Dirichlet problem for Laplace's equation, and the heat equation
Heat equation
The heat equation is an important partial differential equation which describes the distribution of heat in a given region over time...
with specified initial conditions. These might be regarded as 'natural' problems in that there are physical processes that solve these problems. By contrast the inverse heat equation, deducing a previous distribution of temperature from final data is not well-posed in that the solution is highly sensitive to changes in the final data. Problems that are not well-posed in the sense of Hadamard are termed ill-posed. Inverse problem
Inverse problem
An inverse problem is a general framework that is used to convert observed measurements into information about a physical object or system that we are interested in...
s are often ill-posed.
Such continuum problems must often be discretized in order to obtain a numerical solution. While in terms of functional analysis
Functional analysis
Functional analysis is a branch of mathematical analysis, the core of which is formed by the study of vector spaces endowed with some kind of limit-related structure and the linear operators acting upon these spaces and respecting these structures in a suitable sense...
such problems are typically continuous, they may suffer from numerical instability when solved with finite precision, or with errors in the data. Even if a problem is well-posed, it may still be ill-conditioned, meaning that a small error in the initial data can result in much larger errors in the answers. An ill-conditioned problem is indicated by a large condition number
Condition number
In the field of numerical analysis, the condition number of a function with respect to an argument measures the asymptotically worst case of how much the function can change in proportion to small changes in the argument...
.
If the problem is well-posed, then it stands a good chance of solution on
a computer using a stable algorithm
Numerical stability
In the mathematical subfield of numerical analysis, numerical stability is a desirable property of numerical algorithms. The precise definition of stability depends on the context, but it is related to the accuracy of the algorithm....
. If it is not well-posed, it needs to be re-formulated for numerical treatment. Typically this involves including additional assumptions, such as smoothness of solution. This process is known as regularization
Regularization (mathematics)
In mathematics and statistics, particularly in the fields of machine learning and inverse problems, regularization involves introducing additional information in order to solve an ill-posed problem or to prevent overfitting...
and Tikhonov regularization
Tikhonov regularization
Tikhonov regularization, named for Andrey Tikhonov, is the most commonly used method of regularization of ill-posed problems. In statistics, the method is known as ridge regression, and, with multiple independent discoveries, it is also variously known as the Tikhonov-Miller method, the...
is one of the most commonly used for regularization of linear ill-posed problems.