How do I find all the zeros of a function?
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MathWorks Support Team
on 13 Nov 2009
Commented: Walter Roberson
on 10 Apr 2022
The FZERO function only finds a single zero near a specified point. How can I get different zeros over a wider range?
Accepted Answer
MathWorks Support Team
on 18 Oct 2013
The example below describes one way to find zeros between 0 and 2*pi.
lb = 0; % Set a lower bound for the function.
ub = 2*pi; % Set an upper bound for the function.
x = NaN*ones(100,1); % Initializes x.
starting_points=linspace(0,2*pi,100);
for i=1:100
% Look for the zeros in the function's current window.
x(i)=fzero(@(x)sin(10*x), starting_points(i));
end
x_unique=x(diff(x)>1e-12)
%compare to theory values
transpose(((0:19)*pi)/10)-x_unique
Changing the step value of the loop (0.01) to a larger value will result in faster execution, but less accuracy, and vice versa when the specified step value is smaller.
The tolerance for duplicates, in this example 1e-12, should be specified depending on the problem at hand, an inappropriate setting for a certain problem might result in some of the zeros not being found.
Alternately, you can use the SOLVE function from the Symbolic Math Toolbox.
2 Comments
Walter Roberson
on 9 Aug 2015
Note: solve() from the Symbolic Math Toolbox will only return all zeros for polynomial functions, not for nonlinear functions.
Walter Roberson
on 10 Apr 2022
Time = 2:.1:4;
Dirac3 = zeros(size(Time));
Dirac3(Time==3) = 1;
stem(Time, Dirac3)
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