Implicitly representing arrangements of lines or segments

Anarrangement ofn lines (or line segments) in the plane is the partition of the plane defined by these objects. Such an arrangement consists ofO(n ²) regions, calledfaces. In this paper we study the problem of calculating and storing arrangementsimplicitly, using subquadratic space and preprocessing, so that, given any query pointp, we can calculate efficiently the face containingp. First, we consider the case of lines and show that with (n) space¹ and (n ^3/2) preprocessing time, we can answer face queries in (n)+O(K) time, whereK is the output size. (The query time is achieved with high probability.) In the process, we solve three interesting subproblems: (1) given a set ofn points, find a straight-edge spanning tree of these points such that any line intersects only a few edges of the tree, (2) given a simple polygonal path , form a data structure from which we can find the convex hull of any subpath of quickly, and (3) given a set of points, organize them so that the convex hull of their subset lying above a query line can be found quickly. Second, using random sampling, we give a tradeoff between increasing space and decreasing query time. Third, we extend our structure to report faces in an arrangement of line segments in (n ^1/3)+O(K) time, given(n ^4/3) space and (n ^5/3) preprocessing time. Lastly, we note that our techniques allow us to computem faces in an arrangement ofn lines in time (m ^2/3 n ^2/3+n), which is nearly optimal.The first author is pleased to acknowledge the support of Amoco Fnd. Fac. Dev. Comput. Sci. 1-6-44862 and National Science Foundation Grant CCR-8714565. Work on this paper by the fifth author has been supported by Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-87-K-0129, by National Science Foundation Grant NSF-DCR-83-20085, by grants from the Digital Equipment Corporation, and the IBM Corporation, and by a research grant from the NCRD—the Israeli National Council for Research and Development. The sixth author was supported in part by a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship. This work was begun while the non-DEC authors were visiting at the DEC Systems Research Center.     

On the convergence of generalized Padé approximants

Letf be an analytic function with all its singularities in a compact set \(E_f \subset \bar C\) of (logarithmic) capacity zero. The function may have branch points. The convergence of generalized (multipoint) Padé approximants to this type of function is investigated. For appropriately selected schemes of interpolation points, it is shown that close-to-diagonal sequences of generalized Padé approximants converge in capacity tof in a certain domain that can be characterized by the property of the minimal condenser capacity. Using a pole elimination procedure, another set of rational approximants tof is derived from the considered generalized Padé approximants. These new approximants converge uniformly on a given continuum \(V \subset \bar C\backslash E_f\) with a rate of convergence that has been conjectured to be best possible. The continuumV is assumed not to divide the complex plane.     

Radiative processes and non-equilibrium thermodynamics

With the assumption of an elementary physical concept meteorologically effective radiative processes (absorption-emission, scattering) can be included consistently in nonequilibrium thermodynamics of irreversible phenomena. Analogously to the usual Gibbs relations a fundamental equation was formulated for monochromatic light rays as the nucleus of the theory.Using the methods of classical irreversible theory, a complete entropy balance equation is derived in which the entropy variations of the mass as well as of the radiation field are explicitly represented. The resulting entropy source strength function through its analytical structure reveals the dynamical character of the irreversible variation terms. The-expression being positive according to the second law of thermodynamics is found to have a bilinear form as a function of the irreversible fluxes representing the entropy generating radiative processes and their conjugated thermodynamic forces. The mathematical structure and the positive sign of, following the usual line of reasoning, motivate the assumption of constitutive relations for the irreversible radiative processes. These equations developed from purely thermodynamical reasoning turn out to be equivalent to the usual radiative transfer equation which is founded on a very different theoretical concept. A very fundamental relationship can be deduced in this context from the entropy production function. It provides a direct thermodynamical proof that in nonscattering media the definition of a local temperature is necessarily accompanied by the validity of the Kirchhoff law.