Local Lagrange interpolation with cubic \(C^{1}\) splines on tetrahedral partitions (Q1041621)

An algorithm for constructing a Lagrange interpolation is described. This algorithm is based on \(C^{1}\) cubic splines defined on tetrahedral partitions. The aim of this paper is to describe an interpolation method which works for arbitrary tetrahedral partitions while giving optimal approximation order four. In particular, the authors construct a set of points \(\mathcal V \in \mathbb R^3\) and a set \(P\) containing \(\mathcal V\) and a spline space \(\mathcal Y _3^1(\triangle )\) based on a tetrahedral partition \(\triangle\) whose set of vertices include \(\mathcal V\) such that interpolation at the points of \(P\) is well-defined and unique. Earlier results are extended in two ways: (1) arbitrary sets \(\mathcal V\) are allowed, and (2) the interpolation method provides optimal approximation order of smooth functions.