Analytical approximations for real values of the Lambert W-function

D. A. Barry, J. Y. Parlange, L. Li, H. Prommer, C. J. Cunningham, F. Stagnitti

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

221 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Lambert W is a transcendental function defined by solutions of the equation W exp(W) = x. For real values of the argument, x, the W-function has two branches, W0 (the principal branch) and W-1 (the negative branch). A survey of the literature reveals that, in the case of the principal branch (W0), the vast majority of W-function applications use, at any given time, only a portion of the branch viz. the parts defined by the ranges -1 ≤ W0 ≤ 0 and 0 ≤ W0. Approximations are presented for each portion of W0, and for W-1. It is shown that the present approximations are very accurate with relative errors down to around 0.02% or smaller. The approximations can be used directly, or as starting values for iterative improvement schemes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)95-103
Number of pages9
JournalMathematics and Computers in Simulation
Volume53
Issue number1-2
Publication statusPublished - 15 Aug 2000
Externally publishedYes

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