On the efficient computation of high-order derivatives for implicitly defined functions

Scientific studies often require the precise calculation of derivatives. In many cases an analytical calculation is not feasible and one resorts to evaluating derivatives numerically. These are error-prone, especially for higher-order derivatives. A technique based on algorithmic differentiation is presented which allows for a precise calculation of higher-order derivatives. The method can be widely applied even for the case of only numerically solvable, implicit dependencies which totally hamper a semi-analytical calculation of the derivatives. As a demonstration the method is applied to a quantum field theoretical physical model. The results are compared with standard numerical derivative methods. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.