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Fitting Nature's Basic Functions Part III: Exponentials, Sinusoids and Nonlinear Least Squares
Published
Author(s)
Bert W. Rust
Abstract
This paper explains the Gauss - Newton iteration, and the Levenberg - Marquardt variant of it, for nonlinear least squares calculations. It also explains how to compute statistical diagnostics for the fits and to test hypotheses about them. It illustrates these techniques by fitting simple mathematical models to the time series records of annual fossil fuel CO2 emissions and annual global temperature variations.
fossil fuel CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, global temperature variations, nonlinear least squares
Citation
Rust, B.
(2002),
Fitting Nature's Basic Functions Part III: Exponentials, Sinusoids and Nonlinear Least Squares, Computing in Science & Engineering, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=150854
(Accessed October 20, 2025)