David Grumm (SAO)
As part of the SAO AXAF Science Center (ASC) Data Analysis Environment, ASCFIT was designed as a generalized fitting engine to enable users to fit models to the data that will be returned by AXAF. This paper describes the use of ASCFIT as a function optimizer, in which the eleven optimization methods available within ASCFIT are applied to seven benchmark functions of varying complexity. These functions are the 2-dimensional Gaussian function previously investigated by ASC, and six functions commonly used in optimization testing. The optimization methods combining the Powell technique with a second technique successfully converged for all but one function.