No abstract uploaded!

The medial axis transform (MAT) is an important shape representation for shape approximation, shape recognition, and shape retrieval. Despite years of research, there is still a lack of effective methods for efficient, robust and accurate computation of the MAT. We present an efficient method, called {\em Q-MAT}, that uses quadratic error minimization to compute a structurally simple, geometrically accurate, and compact representation of the MAT. We introduce a new error metric for approximation and a new quantitative characterization of unstable branches of the MAT, and integrate them in an extension of the well-known quadric error metric (QEM) framework for mesh decimation. Q-MAT is fast, removes insignificant unstable branches effectively, and produces a simple and accurate piecewise linear approximation of the MAT. The method is thoroughly validated and compared with existing methods for MAT computation.

Let $A$ be a complex, commutative unital Banach algebra. We introduce two notions of exponential reducibility of Banach algebra tuples and present an analogue to the Corach-Suárez result on the connection between reducibility in $A$ and in $C(M(A))$ . Our methods are of an analytical nature. Necessary and sufficient geometric/topological conditions are given for reducibility (respectively reducibility to the principal component of $U_{n}(A)$ ) whenever the spectrum of $A$ is homeomorphic to a subset of $\mathbb{C}^{n}$ .

In this paper, we propose a conjectural multiplicity formula for general spherical varieties. For all the cases where a multiplicity formula has been proved, including Whittaker model, Gan-Gross-Prasad model, Ginzburg-Rallis model, Galois model and Shalika model, we show that the multiplicity formula in our conjecture matches the multiplicity formula that has been proved. We also give a proof of this multiplicity formula in two new cases.

In this paper, we introduce a motivic version of To¨en’s derived Hall algebra. Then we point out that the two kinds of Hall algebras in the sense of To¨en and Kontsevich–Soibelman, respectively, are Drinfeld dual pairs, not only in the classical case (by counting over finite fields) but also in the motivic version. Consequently they are canonically isomorphic. All proofs, including that for the most important associative property, are deduced in a self-contained way by analyzing the symmetry properties around the octahedral axiom, a method we used previously