A novel variational model for image segmentation

In this paper, we propose a new variational model for image segmentation. Our model is inspired by the complex Ginzburg-Landau model and the semi-norm defined by us. This new model can detect both the convex and concave parts of images. Moreover, it can also detect non-closed edges as well as quadruple junctions. Compared with other methods, the initialization is completely automatic and the segmented images obtained by using our new model could keep fine structures and edges of the original images very effectively. Finally, numerical results show the effectiveness of our model.     

A network model for incompressible two-fluid flow and its numerical solution

In this paper we consider an incompressible version of the two-fluid network model proposed by Porsching (Nu. Methods Part. Diff. Eq., 1 , 295–313 [1985]). The system of equations governing the model is a mixed system of differential and algebraic equations (DAEs). These DAEs are then recast, through proper transformation, into a system of ordinary differential equations on a submanifold of ?ⁿ, for which uniqueness, existence, and stability theorems are proved. Numerical simulations are presented.     

A new stochastic variational PDE model for soft Mumford-Shah segmentation

In this paper, a new stochastic variational PDE model is developed, using instead of hard segmentation soft segmentation. In this way, each pixel is allowed to belong to each image pattern with some probability. Our work proposes a functional with variable exponent, which provides a more accurate model for image segmentation and denoising. The diffusion resulting from the proposed model is a combination between TV-based and isotropic smoothing. The modeling procedure, computational implementation and results are explored in detail and numerical examples of real and synthetic images are presented.     

Improved variational image registration model and a fast algorithm for its numerical approximation

In a multimodal image registration scenario, where two given images have similar features, but noncomparable intensity variations, the sum of squared differences is not suitable for inferring image similarities. In this article, we first propose a new variational model based on combining intensity and geometric transformations, as an alternative to use mutual information and an improvement to the work by Modersitzki and Wirtz (Modersitzki and Wirtz, Lect Notes Comput Sci 4057 (2006), 257–263), and then develop a fast multigrid (MG) algorithm for solving the underlying system of fourth‐order and nonlinear partial differential equations. We can demonstrate the effective smoothing property of the adopted primal‐dual smoother by a local Fourier analysis. Numerical tests will be presented to show both the improvements achieved in image registration quality and MG efficiency. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2011     

A Retinex modulated piecewise constant variational model for image segmentation and bias correction

In this paper, we propose a novel Retinex induced piecewise constant variational model for simultaneous segmentation of images with intensity inhomogeneity and bias correction. Firstly, we obtain an additive model by decomposing the original image into a smooth bias component and a structure part based on the Retinex theory. Secondly, the structure part can be modeled by the piecewise constant variational model and thus deduced a new data fidelity term. Finally, we formulate a new energy functional by incorporating the data fidelity term into the level set framework and introducing a GL-regularizer to the level set function and a smooth regularizer to model the bias component. Based on the alternating minimization algorithm and the operator splitting method, we present a numerical scheme to solve the minimization problem efficiently. Experimental results on images from diverse modalities demonstrate the competitive performances of the proposed model and algorithm over other representative methods in term of efficiency and robustness.     

A variational formulation for physical noised image segmentation

Image segmentation is a hot topic in image science. In this paper we present a new variational segmentation model based on the theory of Mumford-Shah model. The aim of our model is to divide noised image, according to a certain criterion, into homogeneous and smooth regions that should correspond to structural units in the scene or objects of interest. The proposed region-based model uses total variation as a regularization term, and different fidelity term can be used for image segmentation in the cases of physical noise, such as Gaussian, Poisson and multiplicative speckle noise. Our model consists of five weighted terms, two of them are responsible for image denoising based on fidelity term and total variation term, the others assure that the three conditions of adherence to the data, smoothing, and discontinuity detection are met at once. We also develop a primal-dual hybrid gradient algorithm for our model. Numerical results on various synthetic and real images are provided to compare our method with others,these results show that our proposed model and algorithms are effective.     

A boundary function equation and its numerical solution

We consider the asymptotic solution of the plasma-sheath integro-differential equation, which is singularly perturbed due to the presence of a small coefficient multiplying the highest order (second) derivative. The asymptotic solution is obtained by the boundary function method. A second-order differential equation is derived describing the behavior of the zeroth-order boundary functions. A numerical algorithm for this equation is discussed. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Matematika i Informatika, No. 24, pp. 24–34, 2006.     

Finite difference solution of Euler equations arising in variational image segmentation

This paper deals with finite-difference approximations of Euler equations arising in the variational formulation of image segmentation problems. We illustrate how they can be defined by the following steps: (a) definition of the minimization problem for the Mumford–Shah functional (MSf), (b) definition of a sequence of functionals Γ-convergent to the MSf, and (c) definition and numerical solution of the Euler equations associated to the kth functional of the sequence. We define finite difference approximations of the Euler equations, the related solution algorithms, and we present applications to segmentation problems by using synthetic images. We discuss application results, and we mainly analyze computed discontinuity contours and convergence histories of method executions. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A numerical technique for solving fractional variational problems

This paper presents an accurate numerical method for solving a class of fractional variational problems (FVPs). The fractional derivative in these problems is in the Caputo sense. The proposed method is called fractional Chebyshev finite difference method. In this technique, we approximate FVPs and end up with a finite‐dimensional problem. The method is based on the combination of the useful properties of Chebyshev polynomials approximation and finite difference method. The Caputo fractional derivative is replaced by a difference quotient and the integral by a finite sum. The fractional derivative approximation using Clenshaw and Curtis formula introduced here, along with Clenshaw and Curtis procedure for the numerical integration of a non‐singular functions and the Rayleigh–Ritz method for the constrained extremum, is considered. By this method, the given problem is reduced to the problem for solving a system of algebraic equations, and by solving this system, we obtain the solution of FVPs. Special attention is given to study the convergence analysis and evaluate an error upper bound of the obtained approximate formula. Illustrative examples are included to demonstrate the validity and applicability of the proposed technique. A comparison with another method is given. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A local variational relation and applications

In [BGH] the authors show that for a given topological dynamical system (X,T) and an open coveru there is an invariant measure μ such that infh _μ(T,ℙ)≥h _top(T,U) where infimum is taken over all partitions finer thanu. We prove in this paper that if μ is an invariant measure andh _μ(T,ℙ) > 0 for each ℙ finer thanu, then infh _μ(T,ℙ > 0 andh _top(T,U) > 0. The results are applied to study the topological analogue of the Kolmogorov system in ergodic theory, namely uniform positive entropy (u.p.e.) of ordern (n≥2) or u.p.e. of all orders. We show that for eachn≥2 the set of all topological entropyn-tuples is the union of the set of entropyn-tuples for an invariant measure over all invariant measures. Characterizations of positive entropy, u.p.e. of ordern and u.p.e. of all orders are obtained. We could answer several open questions concerning the nature of u.p.e. and c.p.e.. Particularly, we show that u.p.e. of ordern does not imply u.p.e. of ordern+1 for eachn≥2. Applying the methods and results obtained in the paper, we show that u.p.e. (of order 2) system is weakly disjoint from all transitive systems, and the product of u.p.e. of ordern (resp. of all orders) systems is again u.p.e. of ordern (resp. of all orders). Project supported by one hundred talents plan and 973 plan.     

The numerical solution of parabolic differential equations using variational methods

Summary The question of constructing stable numerical representations for the solutions of initial-boundary value problems for parabolic differential equations is examined.An earlier formulation and discussion of this work can be found in the Author's Ph.D. Thesis (University of Adelaide, South Australia, 1967).     

On a variational,free-discontinuity formulation of brittle fracture: mean-field relaxation and numerical solution

In this paper we address the resolution of two important issues arising in the context of the relaxed variational formulation of the incremental free–boundary value problem of brittle fracture. First issue, is how by recasting the formulation into a discrete, minimum–maximum problem one can avoid the undesirable scale effects expressed in terms of the characteristic size and domain–shape dependence of the calculated minimum; second, how by a remeshing procedure in combination with a domain–shape update for tracking the propagating 0–th level set one can reconstruct the crack surface. We finally illustrate our approach by a geometrically linear 2–dimensional example for crack propagation in an initially isotropic brittle solid. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A local variational principle of pressure and its applications to equilibrium states

We prove a local variational principle of pressure for any given open cover. More precisely, for a given dynamical system (X, T), an open cover of X, and a continuous, real-valued function f on X, we show that the corresponding local pressure P(T, f; ) satisfies

A relative local variational principle for topological pressure

We define the relative local topological pressure for any given factor map and open cover,and prove the relative local variational principle of this pressure.More precisely,for a given factor map π:(X,T)→(Y,S) between two topological dynamical systems,an open cover U of X,a continuous,real-valued function f on X and an S-invariant measure ν on Y,we show that the corresponding relative local pressure P(T,f,U,y) satisfies sup μ∈M(X,T){ hμ(T,U|Y)+∫X f(x)dμ(x) :πμ=ν}=∫Y P(T,f,U,y)dν(y),where M(X,T) denotes the family of all T-invariant measures on X.Moreover,the supremum can be attained by a T-invariant measure.     

Exterior problem of magnetic field in Darwin model and its numerical solution

In this paper, we consider the solutions of magnetic field in the Darwin model to the Maxwell's equations in 2D unbounded domain. We first deduce the variational formulation and prove the well‐posedness of the weak solution, and then prove the existence and uniqueness of the infinite element solution. Error estimate and the numerical examples are provided. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2008     

A solution method for linear variational relation problems

In this paper, we consider a particular class of variational relation problem namely linear variational relation problem wherein the sets are defined by linear inequalities. The purpose is to study the existence of the solution set and its nature for this class of problem. Using these results, we provide algorithms to obtain the solutions of the problem based on which we present some numerical illustrations.     

A coupled multivalued model for ice streams and its numerical simulation

^** Email: nati{at}dma.uvigo.es^*** Email: durany{at}dma.uvigo.es^**** Email: anaisabel.munoz{at}urjc.es^***** Email: emanuele.schiavi{at}urjc.es^****** Email: carlosv{at}udc.es This paper deals with the numerical solution of a non-linearmodel describing a free-boundary problem arising in modern glaciology.Considering a shallow, viscous ice sheet flow along a soft,deformable bed, a coupled non-linear system of differentialequations can be obtained. Particularly, an obstacle problemis then deduced and solved in the framework of its complementarityformulation. We present the numerical solution of the resultingmultivalued system modelling the ice sheet non-Newtonian dynamicsdriven by the underlying drainage system. Our numerical resultsshow the existence of fast ice streams when positive wave-likeinitial conditions are considered. The solutions are numericallycomputed with a decoupling iterative method and finite-elementtechnique. A duality algorithm and a projected Gauss–Seidelmethod are the alternatives used to cope with the resultingvariational inequality while the explicit treatment, Newtonmethod or a duality method are proposed to deal with the non-linearsource term. Finally, the numerical solutions are physicallyinterpreted and some comparisons among the numerical methodsare then discussed.