In mathematical analysis, asymptotic analysis is a method of describing limiting behavior. The methodology has applications across science. Examples are
- in computer science in the analysis of algorithms, considering the performance of algorithms when applied to very large input datasets.
- the behavior of physical systems when they are very large.
- in accident analysis when identifying the causation of crash through count modeling with large number of crash counts in a given time and space.
The simplest example is, when considering a function f(n), there is a need to describe its properties when n becomes very large. Thus, if f(n) = n2+3n, the term 3n becomes insignificant compared to n2 when n is very large. The function "f(n) is said to be asymptotically equivalent to n2 as n → ∞", and this is written symbolically as f(n) ~ n2.
Read more about Asymptotic Analysis: Definition, Asymptotic Expansion, Use in Applied Mathematics, Method of Dominant Balance
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—Octavio Paz (b. 1914)