Rayleigh quotient iteration - Definition and Overview

Rayleigh quotient iteration is an eigenvalue algorithm which extends the idea of the inverse iteration by using the Rayleigh quotient to obtain increasingly accurate eigenvalue estimates.

Rayleigh quotient iteration is an iterative method, that is, it must be repeated until it converges to an answer (this is true of all eigenvalue algorithms). Fortunately, very rapid convergence is guaranteed; in practice, no more than a few iterations are ever needed.