English

On the maximum relative error when computing x^n in floating-point arithmetic

Numerical Analysis 2014-02-14 v1 Numerical Analysis

Abstract

In this paper, we improve the usual relative error bound for the computation of x^n through iterated multiplications by x in binary floating-point arithmetic. The obtained error bound is only slightly better than the usual one, but it is simpler. We also discuss the more general problem of computing the product of n terms.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1402.2991,
  title  = {On the maximum relative error when computing x^n in floating-point arithmetic},
  author = {Stef Graillat and Vincent Lefèvre and Jean-Michel Muller},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1402.2991},
  year   = {2014}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-22T03:07:15.425Z