7.23 Lambert W Functions

Lambert’s W functions, W(x), are defined to be solutions of the equation W(x) \exp(W(x)) = x. This function has multiple branches for x < 0; however, it has only two real-valued branches. We define W_0(x) to be the principal branch, where W > -1 for x < 0, and W_{-1}(x) to be the other real branch, where W < -1 for x < 0. The Lambert functions are declared in the header file gsl_sf_lambert.h.

Function: double gsl_sf_lambert_W0 (double x)

Function: int gsl_sf_lambert_W0_e (double x, gsl_sf_result * result)

These compute the principal branch of the Lambert W function, W_0(x).

Function: double gsl_sf_lambert_Wm1 (double x)

Function: int gsl_sf_lambert_Wm1_e (double x, gsl_sf_result * result)

These compute the secondary real-valued branch of the Lambert W function, W_{-1}(x).