Random Walks, Faber Polynomials and Accelerated Power Methods

Abstract: In this paper, we construct families of polynomials defined by recurrence relations related to mean-zero random walks. We show these families of polynomials can be used to approximate $z^n$ by a polynomial of degree $\sim \sqrt{n}$ in associated radially convex domains in the complex plane. Moreover, we show that the constructed families of polynomials have a useful rapid growth property and a connection to Faber polynomials. Applications to iterative linear algebra are presented, including the development of arbitrary-order dynamic momentum power iteration methods suitable for classes of non-symmetric matrices.