An Optimal Fourth Order Derivative-Free Numerical Algorithm for Multiple Roots.

A plethora of higher order iterative methods, involving derivatives in algorithms, are available in the literature for finding multiple roots. Contrary to this fact, the higher order methods without derivatives in the iteration are difficult to construct, and hence, such methods are almost non-existent. This motivated us to explore a derivative-free iterative scheme with optimal fourth order convergence. The applicability of the new scheme is shown by testing on different functions, which illustrates the excellent convergence. Moreover, the comparison of the performance shows that the new technique is a good competitor to existing optimal fourth order Newton-like techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]