  This work addresses the problem of estimating the region of attraction (RA)
of equilibrium points of nonlinear dynamical systems. The estimates we provide
are given by positively invariant sets which are not necessarily defined by
level sets of a Lyapunov function. Moreover, we present conditions for the
existence of Lyapunov functions linked to the positively invariant set
formulation we propose. Connections to fundamental results on estimates of the
RA are presented and support the search of Lyapunov functions of a rational
nature. We then restrict our attention to systems governed by polynomial vector
fields and provide an algorithm that is guaranteed to enlarge the estimate of
the RA at each iteration.
