On the cubic \(L_{1}\) spline interpolant to the Heaviside function (Q2471075)

The authors consider the problem of minimizing the \(L_1\)-norm of the second derivative over all \(C^1\)-continuous piecewise cubic polynomials interpolating the Heaviside function at their nodes. Assuming that there are at least three nodes to the left and three nodes to the right of the jump, it is proved that the unique spline solution to this problem coincides with the Heaviside function except in the interval containing the jump, where it is the interpolating cubic polynomial with zero slopes at the nodes. This confirms the observation that the \(L_1\) cubic spline does not oscillate near the discontinuous point.