A numerical method for computing the extremal Teichmüller map between multiply-connected domains is presented. Given two multiply-connected domains, there exists a unique Teichmüller map (T-Map) between them minimizing the conformality distortion. The extremal T-Map can be considered as the ‘most conformal’ map between multiply-connected domains. In this paper, we propose an iterative algorithm to compute the extremal T-Map using the Beltrami holomorphic flow (BHF). The BHF procedure iteratively adjusts the initial map based on a sequence of Beltrami coefficients, which are complex-valued functions defined on the source domain. It produces a sequence of quasi-conformal maps, which converges to the T-Map minimizing the conformality distortion. We test our method on synthetic data together with real human face data. Results show that our algorithm computes the extremal T-Map between two multiply-connected domains of the same topology accurately and efficiently.

This paper is motivated by the problem of subdividing a prismatic mesh to a tetrahedral mesh (without inserting Steiner points) so as to not only match arbitrarily prescribed boundary conditions but also allow arbitrary topologies in the base mesh. We explore all possible combinations of these two factors, and propose a complete solution to this 3D problem by converting it to an equivalent 2D graph problem, called cutting flow problem. For each case, we not only prove the sufficient and necessary condition for the existence of solutions, but also provide linear and provable algorithms to compute a solution whenever there is one.

In the research of computer vision and machine perception, 3D objects are usually represented by 2-manifold triangular meshes M. In this paper, we present practical and efficient algorithms to construct iso-contours, bisectors, and Voronoi diagrams of point sites onM, based on an exact geodesic metric. Compared to euclidean metric spaces, the Voronoi diagrams onMexhibit many special properties that fail all of the existing euclidean Voronoi algorithms. To provide practical algorithms for constructing geodesicmetric- based Voronoi diagrams onM, this paper studies the analytic structure of iso-contours, bisectors, and Voronoi diagrams onM. After a necessary preprocessing of model M, practical algorithms are proposed for quickly obtaining full information about iso-contours, bisectors, and Voronoi diagrams on M. The complexity of the construction algorithms is also analyzed. Finally, three interesting applications—surface sampling and reconstruction, 3D skeleton extraction, and point pattern analysis—are presented that show the potential power of the proposed algorithms in pattern analysis.

In the past decades, many methods for computing conformal mesh parameterizations have been developed in response to demand of numerous applications in the field of geometry processing. Spectral conformal parameterization (SCP) (Mullen et al. in Proceedings of the symposium on geometry processing, SGP ’08. Eurographics Association, Aire-la-Ville, Switzerland, pp 1487–1494, 2008) is one of these methods used to compute a quality conformal parameterization based on the spectral techniques. SCP focuses on a generalized eigenvalue problem (GEP) $L_{C} \bf{f} = \lambda B \bf{f}$ whose eigenvector(s) associated with the smallest positive eigenvalue(s) provide the conformal parameterization result. This paper is devoted to studying a novel eigensolver for this GEP. Based on structures of the matrix pair $(L_{C}, B)$, we show that this GEP can be transformed into a small-scale compressed and deflated standard eigenvalue problem with a symmetric positive definite skew-Hamiltonian operator. We then propose a symmetric skew-Hamiltonian isotropic Lanczos algorithm (SHILA) to solve the reduced problem. Numerical experiments show that our compressed deflating technique can exclude the impact of convergence from the kernel of $L_{C}$ and transform the original problem to a more robust system. The novel SHILA method can effectively avoid the disturbance of duplicate eigenvalues. As a result, based on the spectral model of SCP, our numerical eigensolver can compute the conformal parameterization accurately and efficiently.

Surface parameterizations have been widely applied to digital geometry processing. In this paper, we propose an efficient conformal energy minimization (CEM) algorithm for computing conformal parameterizations of simply-connected open surfaces with a very small angular distortion and a highly improved computational efficiency. In addition, we generalize the proposed CEM algorithm to computing conformal parameterizations of multiply-connected surfaces. Furthermore, we prove the existence of a nontrivial accumulation point of the proposed CEM algorithm under some mild conditions. Several numerical results show the efficiency and robustness of the CEM algorithm comparing to the existing state-of-the-art algorithms. An application of the CEM on the surface morphing between simply-connected open surfaces is demonstrated thereafter. Thanks to the CEM algorithm, the whole computations for the surface morphing can be performed efficiently and robustly.

There is an unmet medical need to identify neuroimaging biomarkers that is able to accurately diagnose and monitor Alzheimer's disease (AD) at very early stages and assess the response to AD-modifying therapies. To a certain extent, volumetric and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies can detect changes in structure, cerebral blood flow and blood oxygenation that are able to distinguish AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects from normal controls. However, it has been challenging to use fully automated MRI analytic methods to identify potential AD neuroimaging biomarkers. We have thus proposed a method based on independent component analysis (ICA), for studying potential AD-related MR image features, coupled with the use of support vector machine (SVM) for classifying scans into categories of AD, MCI, and normal control (NC) subjects. The MRI data were selected from Open Access Series of Imaging Studies (OASIS) and the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) databases. The experimental results showed that our ICA-based method can differentiate AD and MCI subjects from normal controls, although further methodological improvement in the analytic method and inclusion of additional variables may be required for optimal classification.

Surface conformal maps between genus-0 surfaces play important roles in applied mathematics and engineering, with applications in medical image analysis and computer graphics. Previous work (Gu and Yau in Commun Inf Syst 2(2):121–146, 2002) introduces a variational approach, where global conformal parameterization of genus-0 surfaces was addressed through minimizing the harmonic energy, with two weaknesses: its gradient descent iteration is slow, and its solutions contain undesired parameterization foldings when the underlying surface has long sharp features. In this paper, we propose an algorithm that significantly accelerates the harmonic energy minimization and a method that iteratively removes foldings by taking advantages of the weighted Laplace–Beltrami eigen-projection. Experimental results show that the proposed approaches compute genus-0 surface harmonic maps much faster than the existing algorithm in Gu and Yau (Commun Inf Syst 2(2):121–146, 2002) and the new results contain no foldings.

Surface registration between cortical surfaces is crucial in medical imaging for performing systematic comparisons between brains. Landmark-matching registration that matches anatomical features, called the sulcal landmarks, is often required to obtain a meaningful 1-1 correspondence between brain surfaces. This is commonly done by parameterizing the surface onto a simple parameter domain, such as the unit sphere, in which the sulcal landmarks are consistently aligned. Landmark matching surface registration can then be obtained from the landmark aligned parameterizations. For genus-0 closed brain surfaces, the optimized spherical harmonic parameterization, which aligns landmarks to consistent locations on the sphere, has been widely used. This approach is limited by the loss of bijectivity under large deformations and the slow computation. In this paper, we propose FLASH, a fast algorithm to compute the optimized spherical harmonic parameterization with consistent landmark alignment. This is achieved by formulating the optimization problem to ℂ and thereby linearizing the problem. Errors introduced near the pole are corrected using quasiconformal theories. Also, by adjusting the Beltrami differential of the mapping, a diffeomorphic (1-1, onto) spherical parameterization can be effectively obtained. The proposed algorithm has been tested on 38 human brain surfaces. Experimental results demonstrate that the computation of the landmark aligned spherical harmonic parameterization is significantly accelerated using the proposed algorithm.

Let $K/k$ be a finite Galois extension and $\pi = \fn{Gal}(K/k)$. An algebraic torus $T$ defined over $k$ is called a $\pi$-torus if $T\times_{\fn{Spec}(k)} \fn{Spec}(K)\simeq \bm{G}_{m,K}^n$ for some integer $n$. The set of all algebraic $\pi$-tori defined over $k$ under the stably birational equivalence forms a semigroup, denoted by $T(\pi)$. We will give a complete proof of the following theorem due to Endo and Miyata \cite{EM4}. Theorem. Let $\pi$ be a finite group. Then $T(\pi)\simeq C(\Omega_{\bm{Z}\pi})$ where $\Omega_{\bm{Z}\pi}$ is a maximal $\bm{Z}$-order in $\bm{Q}\pi$ containing $\bm{Z}\pi$ and $C(\Omega_{\bm{Z}\pi})$ is the locally free class group of $\Omega_{\bm{Z}\pi}$, provided that $\pi$ is isomorphic to one of the following four types of groups : $C_n$ ($n$ is any positive integer), $D_m$ ($m$ is any odd integer $\ge 3$), $C_{q^f}\times D_m$ ($m$ is any odd integer $\ge 3$, $q$ is an odd prime number not dividing $m$, $f\ge 1$, and $(\bm{Z}/q^f\bm{Z})^{\times}=\langle \bar{p}\rangle$ for any prime divisor $p$ of $m$), $Q_{4m}$ ($m$ is any odd integer $\ge 3$, $p\equiv 3 \pmod{4}$ for any prime divisor $p$ of $m$).

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