Diamond-based models for scientific visualization

Hierarchical spatial decompositions are a basic modeling tool in a variety of application domains including scientific visualization, finite element analysis and shape modeling and analysis. A popular class of such approaches is based on the regular simplex bisection operator, which bisects simplices (e.g. line segments, triangles, tetrahedra) along the midpoint of a predetermined edge. Regular simplex bisection produces adaptive simplicial meshes of high geometric quality, while simplifying the extraction of crack-free, or conforming, approximations to the original dataset. Efficient multiresolution representations for such models have been achieved in 2D and 3D by clustering sets of simplices sharing the same bisection edge into structures called diamonds. In this thesis, we introduce several diamond-based approaches for scientific visualization. We first formalize the notion of diamonds in arbitrary dimensions in terms of two related simplicial decompositions of hypercubes. This enables us to enumerate the vertices, simplices, parents and children of a diamond. In particular, we identify the number of simplices involved in conforming updates to be factorial in the dimension and group these into a linear number of subclusters of simplices that are generated simultaneously. The latter form the basis for a compact pointerless representation for conforming meshes generated by regular simplex bisection and for efficiently navigating the topological connectivity of these meshes. Secondly, we introduce the supercube as a high-level primitive on such nested meshes based on the atomic units within the underlying triangulation grid. We propose the use of supercubes to associate information with coherent subsets of the full hierarchy and demonstrate the effectiveness of such a representation for modeling multiresolution terrain and volumetric datasets. Next, we introduce Isodiamond Hierarchies, a general framework for spatial access structures on a hierarchy of diamonds that exploits the implicit hierarchical and geometric relationships of the diamond model. We use an isodiamond hierarchy to encode irregular updates to a multiresolution isosurface or interval volume in terms of regular updates to diamonds. Finally, we consider nested hypercubic meshes, such as quadtrees, octrees and their higher dimensional analogues, through the lens of diamond hierarchies. This allows us to determine the relationships involved in generating balanced hypercubic meshes and to propose a compact pointerless representation of such meshes. We also provide a local diamond-based triangulation algorithm to generate high-quality conforming simplicial meshes

Operatori za multi-rezolucione komplekse Morza i ćelijske komplekse

The topic of the thesis is analysis of the topological structure of scalar fields and shapes represented through Morse and cell complexes, respectively. This is achieved by defining simplification and refinement operators on these complexes. It is shown that the defined operators form a basis for the set of operators that modify Morse and cell complexes. Based on the defined operators, a multi-resolution model for Morse and cell complexes is constructed, which contains a large number of representations at uniform and variable resolution.Тема дисертације је анализа тополошке структуре скаларних поља и облика представљених у облику комплекса Морза и ћелијских комплекса, редом. То се постиже дефинисањем оператора за симплификацију и рафинацију тих комплекса. Показано је да дефинисани оператори чине базу за скуп оператора на комплексима Морза и ћелијским комплексима. На основу дефинисаних оператора конструисан је мулти-резолуциони модел за комплексе Морза и ћелијске комплексе, који садржи велики број репрезентација униформне и варијабилне резолуције.Tema disertacije je analiza topološke strukture skalarnih polja i oblika predstavljenih u obliku kompleksa Morza i ćelijskih kompleksa, redom. To se postiže definisanjem operatora za simplifikaciju i rafinaciju tih kompleksa. Pokazano je da definisani operatori čine bazu za skup operatora na kompleksima Morza i ćelijskim kompleksima. Na osnovu definisanih operatora konstruisan je multi-rezolucioni model za komplekse Morza i ćelijske komplekse, koji sadrži veliki broj reprezentacija uniformne i varijabilne rezolucije

A 3d geoscience information system framework

Two-dimensional geographical information systems are extensively used in the geosciences to create and analyse maps. However, these systems are unable to represent the Earth's subsurface in three spatial dimensions. The objective of this thesis is to overcome this deficiency, to provide a general framework for a 3d geoscience information system (GIS), and to contribute to the public discussion about the development of an infrastructure for geological observation data, geomodels, and geoservices. Following the objective, the requirements for a 3d GIS are analysed. According to the requirements, new geologically sensible query functionality for geometrical, topological and geological properties has been developed and the integration of 3d geological modeling and data management system components in a generic framework has been accomplished. The 3d geoscience information system framework presented here is characterized by the following features: - Storage of geological observation data and geomodels in a XML-database server. According to a new data model, geological observation data can be referenced by a set of geomodels. - Functionality for querying observation data and 3d geomodels based on their 3d geometrical, topological, material, and geological properties were developed and implemented as plug-in for a 3d geomodeling user application. - For database queries, the standard XML query language has been extended with 3d spatial operators. The spatial database query operations are computed using a XML application server which has been developed for this specific purpose. This technology allows sophisticated 3d spatial and geological database queries. Using the developed methods, queries can be answered like: "Select all sandstone horizons which are intersected by the set of faults F". This request contains a topological and a geological material parameter. The combination of queries with other GIS methods, like visual and statistical analysis, allows geoscience investigations in a novel 3d GIS environment. More generally, a 3d GIS enables geologists to read and understand a 3d digital geomodel analogously as they read a conventional 2d geological map

Pattern-Equivariant Homology of Finite Local Complexity Patterns

This thesis establishes a generalised setting with which to unify the study of finite local complexity (FLC) patterns. The abstract notion of a "pattern" is introduced, which may be seen as an analogue of the space group of isometries preserving a tiling but where, instead, one considers partial isometries preserving portions of it. These inverse semigroups of partial transformations are the suitable analogue of the space group for patterns with FLC but few global symmetries. In a similar vein we introduce the notion of a \emph{collage}, a system of equivalence relations on the ambient space of a pattern, which we show is capable of generalising many constructions applicable to the study of FLC tilings and Delone sets, such as the expression of the tiling space as an inverse limit of approximants. An invariant is constructed for our abstract patterns, the so called pattern-equivariant (PE) homology. These homology groups are defined using infinite singular chains on the ambient space of the pattern, although we show that one may define cellular versions which are isomorphic under suitable conditions. For FLC tilings these cellular PE chains are analogous to the PE cellular cochains \cite{Sadun1}. The PE homology and cohomology groups are shown to be related through Poincar\'{e} duality. An efficient and highly geometric method for the computation of the PE homology groups for hierarchical tilings is presented. The rotationally invariant PE homology groups are shown not to be a topological invariant for the associated tiling space and seem to retain extra information about global symmetries of tilings in the tiling space. We show how the PE homology groups may be incorporated into a spectral sequence converging to the \v{C}ech cohomology of the rigid hull of a tiling. These methods allow for a simple computation of the \v{C}ech cohomology of the rigid hull of the Penrose tilings.Comment: 159 pages, 8 figures, PhD thesi