Polyarc bounded complex interval arithmetic

Abstract: Complex interval arithmetic is a powerful tool for the analysis of computational errors. The naturally arising rectangular, polar, and circular (together called primitive) interval types are not closed under simple arithmetic operations, and their use yields overly relaxed bounds. The later introduced polygonal type, on the other hand, allows for arbitrarily precise representation of the above operations for a higher computational cost. We propose the polyarcular interval type as an effective extension of the previous types. The polyarcular interval can represent all primitive intervals and most of their arithmetic combinations precisely and has an approximation capability competing with that of the polygonal interval. In particular, in antenna tolerance analysis it can achieve perfect accuracy for lower computational cost then the polygonal type, which we show in a relevant case study. In this paper, we present a rigorous analysis of the arithmetic properties of all five interval types, involving a new algebro-geometric method of boundary analysis.