CONKUB: A conversational path-follower for systems of nonlinear equations (Q1073546)

We describe an interactive computer program to trace solutions of systems of nonlinear algebraic equations and illustrate its application to solve several difficult problems. Turning points and bifurcations are located and solution branches are identified and traced interactively. Of special interest is its application to study solutions of large, sparse systems of nonlinear equations that result from the discretization of boundary value problems. Such systems arise in the description of physical, biological, and chemical phenomena. As an example, we show a model of urine formation in the mammalian kidney, where path-following in a subspace makes tracing the solution surface possible.