Numerical methods based on rational Krylov spaces have become an indispensable tool of scientific computing. In this thesis we study rational Krylov spaces by considering rational Krylov decompositions; matrix relations which, under certain conditions, are associated with these spaces. We investigate the algebraic properties of such decompositions and present an implicit Q theorem for rational Krylov spaces. We derive standard and harmonic Ritz extraction strategies for approximating the eigenpairs of a matrix and for approximating the action of a matrix function onto a vector. While these topics have been considered previously, our approach does not require the last pole to be infinite, which makes the extraction procedure computationally more efficient. Typically, the computationally most expensive component of the rational Arnoldi algorithm for computing a rational Krylov basis is the solution of a large linear system of equations at each iteration. We explore the option of solving several linear systems simultaneously, thus constructing the rational Krylov basis in parallel. If this is not done carefully, the basis being orthogonalized may become poorly conditioned, leading to numerical instabilities in the orthogonalization process. We introduce the new concept of continuation pairs which gives rise to a near-optimal parallelization strategy that allows to control the growth of the condition number of this non orthogonal basis. As a consequence we obtain a more accurate and reliable parallel rational Arnoldi algorithm. The computational benefits are illustrated using our high performance C++ implementation. We develop an iterative algorithm for solving nonlinear rational least squares problems. The difficulty is in finding the poles of a rational function. For this purpose, at each iteration a rational Krylov decomposition is constructed and a modified linear problem is solved in order to relocate the poles to new ones. Our numerical results indicate that the algorithm, called RKFIT, is well suited for model order reduction of linear time invariant dynamical systems and for optimisation problems related to exponential integration. Furthermore, we derive a strategy for the degree reduction of the approximant obtained by RKFIT. The rational function obtained by RKFIT is represented with the aid of a scalar rational Krylov decomposition and an additional coefficient vector. A function represented in this form is called an RKFUN. We develop efficient methods for the evaluation, pole and root finding, and for performing basic arithmetic operations with RKFUNs. Lastly, we discuss RKToolbox, a rational Krylov toolbox for MATLAB, which implements all our algorithms and is freely available from http://rktoolbox.org. RKToolbox also features an extensive guide and a growing number of examples. In particular, most of our numerical experiments are easily reproducible by downloading the toolbox and running the corresponding example files in MATLAB.

This thesis develops ways of localizing the Ritz values of non-Hermitian matrices. The restarted Arnoldi method with exact shifts, useful for determining a few desired eigenvalues of a matrix, employs Ritz values to refine eigenvalue estimates. In the Hermitian case, using selected Ritz values produces convergence due to interlacing. No generalization of interlacing exists for non-Hermitian matrices, and as a consequence no satisfactory general convergence theory exists. To study Ritz values, I propose the inverse field of values problem for k Ritz values, which asks if a set of k complex numbers can be Ritz values of a matrix. This problem is always solvable for k = 1 for any complex number in the field of values; I provide an improved algorithm for finding a Ritz vector in this case. I show that majorization can be used to characterize, as well as localize, Ritz values. To illustrate the difficulties of characterizing Ritz values, this work provides a complete analysis of the Ritz values of two 3 × 3 matrices: a Jordan block and a normal matrix. By constructing conditions for localizing the Ritz values of a matrix with one simple, normal, sought-after eigenvalue, this work develops sufficient conditions that guarantee convergence of the restarted Arnoldi method with exact shifts. For general matrices, the conditions provide insight into the subspace dimensions that ensure that shifts do not cluster near the wanted eigenvalue. As Ritz values form the basis for many iterative methods for determining eigenvalues and solving linear systems, an understanding of Ritz value behavior for non-Hermitian matrices has the potential to inform a broad range of analysis.