A Construction of Biorthogonal Functions to B-Splines with Multiple Knots

We present a construction of a refinable compactly supported vector of functions which is biorthogonal to the vector of B-splines of a given degree with multiple knots at the integers with prescribed multiplicity. The construction is based on Hermite interpolatory subdivision schemes, and on the relation between B-splines and divided differences. The biorthogonal vector of functions is shown to be refinable, with a mask related to that of the Hermite scheme. For simplicity of presentation the special (scalar) case, corresponding to B-splines with simple knots, is treated separately.     

Moments and Fourier transforms of B-splines

The problem of determining the moments and the Fourier transforms of B-splines with arbitrary knots is considered. There exists a simple connection between the moments of such splines and the so-called extended Stirling numbers of the second kind which are defined in section 2. Some recurrence relations for the moments of B-splines with arbitrary knots are given in section 3. In the case of equidistant knots we have also further recurrences. For the forward, central and perfect B-splines the explicit formulas for the moments are given in section 3. The Fourier transforms of B-splines is treated in section 4. The final section is devoted to so-called Stieltjes series connected with the nonnegative weight function w(x) and such that $\text{∫}\text{a}\text{b}\text{w(x) dx}\text{> 0}$ in some closed interval [a, b]. It is proved that such series for the particular values of the independent variable may be expressed by the finite sums which contain the nodes and coefficients of the optimal (in the Davies sense) quadrature formulas.     

Two-scale symbol and autocorrelation symbol for B-splines with multiple knots

The Fourier transforms of B-splines with multiple integer knots are shown to satisfy a simple recursion relation. This recursion formula is applied to derive a generalized two-scale relation for B-splines with multiple knots. Furthermore, the structure of the corresponding autocorrelation symbol is investigated. In particular, it can be observed that the solvability of the cardinal Hermite spline interpolation problem for spline functions of degree 2m+1 and defectr, first considered by Lipow and Schoenberg [9], is equivalent to the Riesz basis property of our B-splines with degreem and defectr. In this way we obtain a new, simple proof for the assertion that the cardinal Hermite spline interpolation problem in [9] has a unique solution.     

Two-scale symbol and autocorrelation symbol for B-splines with multiple knots

The Fourier transforms of B-splines with multiple integer knots are shown to satisfy a simple recursion relation. This recursion formula is applied to derive a generalized two-scale relation for B-splines with multiple knots. Furthermore, the structure of the corresponding autocorrelation symbol is investigated. In particular, it can be observed that the solvability of the cardinal Hermite spline interpolation problem for spline functions of degree 2m+1 and defectr, first considered by Lipow and Schoenberg [9], is equivalent to the Riesz basis property of our B-splines with degreem and defectr. In this way we obtain a new, simple proof for the assertion that the cardinal Hermite spline interpolation problem in [9] has a unique solution.     

Locally tensor product functions

We present in this paper a family of functions which are tensor product functions in subdomains, while not having the usual drawback of functions which are tensor product functions in the whole domain. With these functions we can add more points in some region without adding points on lines parallel to the axes. These functions are linear combinations of tensor product polynomial B-splines, and the knots of different B-splines are less connected together than with usual polynomial B-splines. Approximation of functions, or data, with such functions gives satisfactory results, as shown by numerical experimentation. AMS subject classification 41A15, 41A63, 65Dxx     

B-splines with homogenized knots

The use of homogenized knots for manipulating univariate polynomials by blossoming algorithms is extended to piecewise polynomials. A generalization of the B-spline to homogenized knots is studied. The new B-spline retains the triangular blossoming algorithms for evaluation, differentiation and knot insertion. Moreover, the B-spline is locally supported and a Marsden’s identity exists. Spaces of natural splines and certain polynomial spline spaces with more general continuity properties than ordinary splines have bases of B-splines over homogenized knots. Applications to nonpolynomial splines such as trigonometric and hyperbolic splines are made.     

B-splines with homogenized knots

The use of homogenized knots for manipulating univariate polynomials by blossoming algorithms is extended to piecewise polynomials. A generalization of the B-spline to homogenized knots is studied. The new B-spline retains the triangular blossoming algorithms for evaluation, differentiation and knot insertion. Moreover, the B-spline is locally supported and a Marsden’s identity exists. Spaces of natural splines and certain polynomial spline spaces with more general continuity properties than ordinary splines have bases of B-splines over homogenized knots. Applications to nonpolynomial splines such as trigonometric and hyperbolic splines are made.     

Least squares approximation by splines with free knots

Suppose we are given noisy data which are considered to be perturbed values of a smooth, univariate function. In order to approximate these data in the least squares sense, a linear combination of B-splines is used where the tradeoff between smoothness and closeness of the fit is controlled by a smoothing term which regularizes the least squares problem and guarantees unique solvability independent of the position of knots. Moreover, a subset of the knot sequence which defines the B-splines, the so-calledfree knots, is included in the optimization process.The resulting constrained least squares problem which is linear in the spline coefficients but nonlinear in the free knots is reduced to a problem that has only the free knots as variables. The reduced problem is solved by a generalized Gauss-Newton method. The method developed can be combined with a knot removal strategy in order to obtain an approximating spline with as few parameters as possible.Dedicated to Professor Dr.-Ing. habil. Dr. h.c. Helmut Heinrich on the occasion of his 90th birthdayResearch of the second author was partly supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft under grant Schm 968/2-1.     

The Sensitivity of a Spline Function to Perturbations of the Knots

In this paper we study the sensitivity of a spline function, represented in terms of B-splines, to perturbations of the knots. We do this by bounding the difference between a primary spline and a secondary spline with the same B-spline coefficients, but different knots. We give a number of bounds for this difference, both local bounds and global bounds in general L ^p-spaces. All the bounds are based on a simple identity for divided differences.     

A Kind of Multivariate NURBS Surfaces

The purpose of this paper is to construct a kind of multivariate NURBS surfaces by using the bivariate B-splines in the space S1/2(Δmn^(2) and discuss some properties of this kind of NURBS surfaces with multiple knots on the type-2 triangulation.     

B-spline curve fitting with invasive weed optimization

B-spline curves and surfaces are generally used in computer aided design (CAD), data visualization, virtual reality, surface modeling and many other fields. Especially, data fitting with B-splines is a challenging problem in reverse engineering. In addition to this, B-splines are the most preferred approximating curve because they are very flexible and have powerful mathematical properties and, can represent a large variety of shapes efficiently [1]. The selection of the knots in B-spline approximation has an important and considerable effect on the behavior of the final approximation. Recently, in literature, there has been a considerable attention paid to employing algorithms inspired by natural processes or events to solve optimization problems such as genetic algorithms, simulated annealing, ant colony optimization and particle swarm optimization. Invasive weed optimization (IWO) is a novel optimization method inspired from ecological events and is a phenomenon used in agriculture. In this paper, optimal knots are selected for B-spline curve fitting through invasive weed optimization method. Test functions which are selected from the literature are used to measure performance. Results are compared with other approaches used in B-spline curve fitting such as Lasso, particle swarm optimization, the improved clustering algorithm, genetic algorithms and artificial immune system. The experimental results illustrate that results from IWO are generally better than results from other methods.     

Computing ECT-B-splines recursively

ECT-spline curves for sequences of multiple knots are generated from different local ECT-systems via connection matrices. Under appropriate assumptions there is a basis of the space of ECT-splines consisting of functions having minimal compact supports, normalized to form a nonnegative partition of unity. The basic functions can be defined by generalized divided differences [24]. This definition reduces to the classical one in case of a Schoenberg space. Under suitable assumptions it leads to a recursive method for computing the ECT-B-splines that reduces to the de Boor–Mansion–Cox recursion in case of ordinary polynomial splines and to Lyche's recursion in case of Tchebycheff splines. For sequences of simple knots and connection matrices that are nonsingular, lower triangular and totally positive the spline weights are identified as Neville–Aitken weights of certain generalized interpolation problems. For multiple knots they are limits of Neville–Aitken weights. In many cases the spline weights can be computed easily by recurrence. Our approach covers the case of Bézier-ECT-splines as well. They are defined by different local ECT-systems on knot intervals of a finite partition of a compact interval [a,b] connected at inner knots all of multiplicities zero by full connection matrices A ^[i] that are nonsingular, lower triangular and totally positive. In case of ordinary polynomials of order n they reduce to the classical Bézier polynomials. We also present a recursive algorithm of de Boor type computing ECT-spline curves pointwise. Examples of polynomial and rational B-splines constructed from given knot sequences and given connection matrices are added. For some of them we give explicit formulas of the spline weights, for others we display the B-splines or the B-spline curves. *Supported in part by INTAS 03-51-6637.     

Identities for trigonometric B-splines with an application to curve design

In this paper we investigate some properties of trigonometric B-splines. We establish a complex integral representation for these functions, which is in certain analogy to the polynomial case, but the proof of which has to be done in a different and more complicated way. Using this integral representation, we can prove some identities concerning the evaluation of a trigonometric B-spline, its derivative and its partial derivative w.r.t. the knots. Finally we show that—in the case of equidistant knots—the trigonometric B-splines of odd order form a partition of a constant, and therefore the corresponding B-spline curve possesses the convex-hull property. This is illustrated by a numerical example.     

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.     

The Numerical Evaluation of a Spline from its B-Spline Representation

Representations of polynomial splines as linear combinationsof B-splines are eminently suitable for many numerical computations.The most fundamental calculation involving such a representationis considered here: its evaluation. It is shown that two schemesproposed for this task in the one-dimensional case are comparableboth in efficiency and accuracy. For arbitrary knots and B-splinecoefficients, the absolute errors in the computed values areguaranteed to be small; when the coefficients are of one sign,the relative errors are also small. An extension to two dimensionsis made and it is shown that one scheme has superior efficiencyin this case.     

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.     

Approximation by Discrete GB-Splines

This paper addresses the definition and the study of discrete generalized splines. Discrete generalized splines are continuous piecewise defined functions which meet some smoothness conditions for the first and second divided differences at the knots. They provide a generalization both of smooth generalized splines and of the classical discrete cubic splines. Completely general configurations for steps in divided differences are considered. Direct algorithms are proposed for constructing discrete generalized splines and discrete generalized B-splines (discrete GB-splines for short). Explicit formulae and recurrence relations are obtained for discrete GB-splines. Properties of discrete GB-splines and their series are studied. It is shown that discrete GB-splines form weak Chebyshev systems and that series of discrete GB-splines have a variation diminishing property.     

非均匀的二次三角双曲加权样条曲线

提出一种基于三角和双曲多项式加权的二次混合样条曲线,这种曲线具有二次非均匀B样条曲线相似性质.这里的权系数也是形状参数,称之为权参数,取值范围从区间[0,1]扩大到区间[-2.6482,3.9412].权参数的不同取值可以整体或局部地调整曲线的形状,并且权参数能像开关那样,使得曲线的各段能非常方便地在三角样条、双曲样条之间自由转换.不需要用重节点方法或解方程组,而只要令某个或某些权参数取-2.6482,曲线就能接插值于控制点或控制边.此外,还能精确表示椭圆(圆)和双曲线.     

Free-knot Spline Inversion of a Fredholm Integral Equation from Astrophysics

A non-linear least squares method is described for the inversionof the solar limb-darkening equation, a Fredholm integral equationof the first kind. The unknown function in the integrand isapproximated by a spline function with variable knots to bedetermined by the inversion. Representation of this spline interms of a basis of B-splines provides a convenient and effectiveapproach to the inversion. The method is demonstrated in a numericalexperiment using cubic splines and synthetic solar data withand without the addition of pseudo-random noise, and appearsto be quite stable. A comparison with fixed knot inversionsis also described. The method has the property of providingan estimate of the important model parameters at the solution,and is applicable in principle to other integral equations ofthe first kind.