Increasing the polynomial reproduction of a quasi-interpolation operator

Quasi-interpolation is an important tool, used both in theory and in practice, for the approximation of smooth functions from univariate or multivariate spaces which contain , the d-variate polynomials of degree ≤m. In particular, the reproduction of Π_m leads to an approximation order of m+1. Prominent examples include Lagrange and Bernstein type approximations by polynomials, the orthogonal projection onto Π_m for some inner product, finite element methods of precision m, and multivariate spline approximations based on macroelements or the translates of a single spline.For such a quasi-interpolation operator L which reproduces and any r≥0, we give an explicit construction of a quasi-interpolant which reproduces Π_m+r, together with an integral error formula which involves only the (m+r+1)th derivative of the function approximated. The operator is defined on functions with r additional orders of smoothness than those on which L is defined. This very general construction holds in all dimensions d. A number of representative examples are considered.