Towards existence of piecewise Chebyshevian B-spline bases

The paper addresses the problem of how to ensure existence of blossoms in the context of piecewise spaces built from joining different extended Chebyshev spaces by means of connection matrices. The interest of this issue lies in the fact that existence of blossoms is equivalent to existence of B-spline bases in all associated spline spaces. As is now classical, blossoms are defined in a geometric way by means of intersections of osculating flats. In such a piecewise context, intersecting a number of osculating flats is a tough proposition. In the present paper, we show that blossoms exist if an only if Bézier points exist, which significantly simplifies the problem. Existence of blossoms also proves to be equivalent to existence of Bernstein bases. In order to establish the latter results, we start by extending to the piecewise context some results which are classical for extended Chebyshev spaces. AMS subject classification 65D17, 65D07     

Chebyshev spaces with polynomial blossoms

The use of extended Chebyshev spaces in geometric design is motivated by the interesting shape parameters they provide. Unfortunately the algorithms such spaces lead to are generally complicated because the blossoms themselves are complicated. In order to make up for this inconvenience, we here investigate particular extended Chebyshev spaces, containing the constants and power functions whose exponents are consecutive positive integers. We show that these spaces lead to simple algorithms due to the fact that the blossoms are polynomial functions. Furthermore, we also describe an elegant dimension elevation algorithm which makes it possible to return to polynomial spaces and therefore to use all the classical algorithms for polynomials. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Pseudoaffinity, de Boor algorithm, and blossoms

In order to ensure existence of a de Boor algorithm (hence of a B-spline basis) in a given spline space with (n+1)-dimensional sections, it is important to be able to generate each spline by restriction to the diagonal of a symmetric function of n variables supposed to be pseudoaffine w.r. to each variable. We proved that a way to obtain these three properties (symmetry, n-pseudoaffinity, diagonal property) is to suppose the existence of blossoms on the set of admissible n-tuples, given that blossoms are defined in a geometric way by means of intersections of osculating flats. In the present paper, we examine the converse: do symmetry, n-pseudoaffinity, and diagonal property imply existence of blossoms?     

On the Equivalence Between Existence of B-Spline Bases and Existence of Blossoms

In spline spaces with sections in arbitrary extended Chebyshev spaces and with connections defined by arbitrary lower triangular matrices with positive diagonal elements, we prove that existence of B-spline bases is equivalent to existence of blossoms. As is now classical, we construct blossoms with the help of osculating flats. As for B-spline bases, this expression denotes normalized basis consisting of minimally supported functions which are positive on the interior of their supports and which satisfy an additional end point condition.     

Vandermonde type determinants and blossoming

For extended Chebyshev spaces spanned by power functions, the blossoms can be expressed by means of Vandermonde type determinants. When the exponents are nonnegative integers, it is possible to use the classical algorithms for polynomial functions after one or several dimension elevation processes. This provides interesting shape parameters. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Chebyshev splines beyond total positivity

For polynomial splines as well as for Chebyshev splines, it is known that total positivity of the connection matrices is sufficient to obtain B-spline bases. In this paper we give a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of B-bases (or, equivalently, of blossoms) for splines with connection matrices and with sections in different four-dimensional extended Chebyshev spaces.     

Blossoming stories

We review the main properties of blossoms along with their important repercussions in all aspects of geometric design. Not only are they an elegant and efficient tool to express all classical algorithms, but they are also a fundamental concept, as proven by the fact that their existence is equivalent to the existence of B-spline bases. AMS subject classification 65D17     

Four Properties to Characterize Chebyshev Blossoms

The blossom of a polynomial function of degree less than or equal to n is known as the unique function of n variables to be symmetric, affine with respect to each variable, and to coincide with the polynomial function itself when all the variables are equal. Chebyshev blossoms do satisfy similar properties, the affinity being now replaced by a pseudoaffinity property with respect to each variable. However, by themselves, these three properties may be insufficient to clearly identify the blossom of a given function. In this paper we show that this identification is made possible through an additional appropriate requirement of differentiability. June 15, 1999. Date revised: January 20, 2000. Date accepted: May 8, 2000.     

Bernstein-type operators in Chebyshev spaces

We prove that it is possible to construct Bernstein-type operators in any given Extended Chebyshev space and we show how they are connected with blossoms. This generalises and explains a recent result by Aldas/Kounchev/Render on exponential spaces. We also indicate why such operators automatically possess interesting shape preserving properties and why similar operators exist in still more general frameworks, e.g., in Extended Chebyshev Piecewise spaces. We address the problem of convergence of infinite sequences of such operators, and we do prove convergence for special instances of Müntz spaces.      

Bernstein bases in Müntz spaces

Extended Chebyshev spaces possess Bernstein type bases. In this paper, we determine the expressions of such bases in spaces spanned by the constants and power functions with consecutive integer exponents. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A few remarks on recurrence relations for geometrically continuous piecewise Chebyshevian B-splines

This works complements a recent article (Mazure, J. Comp. Appl. Math. 219(2):457–470, 2008) in which we showed that T. Lyche’s recurrence relations for Chebyshevian B-splines (Lyche, Constr. Approx. 1:155–178, 1985) naturally emerged from blossoms and their properties via de Boor type algorithms. Based on Chebyshevian divided differences, T. Lyche’s approach concerned splines with all sections in the same Chebyshev space and with ordinary connections at the knots. Here, we consider geometrically continuous piecewise Chebyshevian splines, namely, splines with sections in different Chebyshev spaces, and with geometric connections at the knots. In this general framework, we proved in (Mazure, Constr. Approx. 20:603–624, 2004) that existence of B-spline bases could not be separated from existence of blossoms. Actually, the present paper enhances the powerfulness of blossoms in which not only B-splines are inherent, but also their recurrence relations. We compare this fact with the work by G. Mühlbach and Y. Tang (Mühlbach and Tang, Num. Alg. 41:35–78, 2006) who obtained the same recurrence relations via generalised Chebyshevian divided differences, but only under some total positivity assumption on the connexion matrices. We illustrate this comparison with splines with four-dimensional sections. The general situation addressed here also enhances the differences of behaviour between B-splines and the functions of smaller and smaller supports involved in the recurrence relations.     

How to build all Chebyshevian spline spaces good for geometric design?

In the present work we determine all Chebyshevian spline spaces good for geometric design. By Chebyshevian spline space we mean a space of splines with sections in different Extended Chebyshev spaces and with connection matrices at the knots. We say that such a spline space is good for design when it possesses blossoms. To justify the terminology, let us recall that, in this general framework, existence of blossoms (defined on a restricted set of tuples) makes it possible to develop all the classical geometric design algorithms for splines. Furthermore, existence of blossoms is equivalent to existence of a B-spline bases both in the spline space itself and in all other spline spaces derived from it by insertion of knots. We show that Chebyshevian spline spaces good for design can be described by linear piecewise differential operators associated with systems of piecewise weight functions, with respect to which the connection matrices are identity matrices. Many interesting consequences can be drawn from the latter characterisation: as an example, all Chebsyhevian spline spaces good for design can be built by means of integral recurrence relations.     

Which spaces for design?

We determine the largest class of spaces of sufficient regularity which are suitable for design in the sense that they do possess blossoms. It is the class of all spaces containing constants of which the spaces derived under differentiation are Quasi Extended Chebyshev spaces, i.e., they permit Hermite interpolation, Taylor interpolation excepted. It is also the class of all spaces which possess Bernstein bases, or of all spaces for which any associated spline space does possess a B-spline basis. Note that blossoms guarantee that such bases are normalised totally positive bases. They even are the optimal ones.     

On a general new class of quasi Chebyshevian splines

We prove that a general class of splines with sections in different Extended Chebyshev spaces or in different quasi Extended Chebyshev spaces can be viewed as quasi Chebyshevian splines, that is, as splines with all sections in a single convenient quasi Extended Chebyshev space. As a result, we can affirm the presence of blossoms in the corresponding spline spaces, with all the important consequences inherent in blossoms, namely, the possibility of developing all design algorithms for splines, the existence of B-splines bases, along with their optimality.     

Extended Chebyshev spaces in rationality

On a closed bounded interval, a given Extended Chebyshev space can be defined by means of generalised derivatives associated with systems of weight functions. Only recently we could identify all such systems, describing an iterative process to build them. In the present work, we interpret the first step of this process as the construction of rational spaces based on Extended Chebyshev spaces. This construction establishes an interesting symmetry between all Extended Chebyshev spaces “good for design” (i.e., all those which contain constants and which possess blossoms) and the rational spaces based on them (Extended Chebyshev spaces in rationality). In particular, this symmetry results in a very simple relation between the corresponding blossoms. A special case is obtained when considering polynomial spaces as examples of Extended Chebyshev spaces. The classical rational spaces then appear as examples of Extended Chebyshev spaces good for design, that is, possessing blossoms. This offers interesting new insights on the famous so-called rational Bézier curves.     

Total positivity and the existence of piecewise exponential B-splines

We give necessary and sufficient conditions for the total positivity of certain connection matrices arising in piecewise exponential spline spaces. These total positivity conditions are sufficient for existence of B-splines in such spaces, but they are far from being necessary. We give a necessary and sufficient condition for existence of B-splines in the case of piecewise exponential spline spaces with only two differential operators, which eventually leads to a necessary condition for any piecewise exponential spline spaces. Dedicated to Professor Charles A. Micchelli for his 60th birthday Mathematics subject classifications (2000) 65D17, 65D07, 41A15, 41A50.     

Evolution semigroups and time operators on Banach spaces

We present new general methods to obtain shift representation of evolution semigroups defined on Banach spaces. We introduce the notion of time operator associated with a generalized shift on a Banach space and give some conditions under which time operators can be defined on an arbitrary Banach space. We also tackle the problem of scaling of time operators and obtain a general result about the existence of time operators on Banach spaces satisfying some geometric conditions. The last part of the paper contains some examples of explicit constructions of time operators on function spaces.     

B-Splines with Arbitrary Connection Matrices

We consider a space of Chebyshev splines whose left and right derivatives satisfy linear constraints that are given by arbitrary nonsingular connection matrices. We show that for almost all knot sequences such spline spaces have basis functions whose support is equal to the support of the ordinary B-splines with the same knots. Consequently, there are knot insertion and evaluation algorithms analogous to de Boors algorithm for ordinary splines.     

Blossoming: from Polynomials to Power Series

This paper gives an alternative proof of existence and unicity of the analytic blossom introduced by Goldman and Morin, along with some of its properties.     

Various characterisations of Extended Chebyshev spaces via blossoms

Among all W-spaces (i.e. spaces with nonvanishing Wronskians), extended Cheyshev spaces can be characterised by the existence of either Bernstein bases, or B-spline bases, or Bézier points, or blossoms in the spaces obtained by integration. To cite this article: M.-L. Mazure, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 339 (2004).