The implicit structure of ridges of a smooth parametric surface (Q2506954)

Differential properties of smooth surfaces embedded in \(\mathbb{R}^3\) have long been of interest for artists and mathematicians. In addition, the recent development of laser range scanners and medical images shed light on the importance of being able to analyze discrete datasets consisting of point clouds in 3D or medical images-grids of 3D voxels. Whenever the datasets processed model piecewise smooth surfaces, a precise description of the models naturally calls for differential properties. In particular, applications such as shape matching, surface analysis or registration require the characterization of high order properties and in particular the characterization of curves of extremal curvatures, which are precisely the so-called ridges. Given a smooth surface, a blue (red) ridge is a curve such that at each of its points, the maximum (minimum) principal curvature has an extremum along its curvature line. On the way to developing certified algorithms independent from local orientation procedures, the authors exhibit the implicit equation \(P = 0\) of the singular curve encoding all ridges and umbilics of a given smooth parametric surface (blue and red), and show how to recover the colors from factors of \(P\). In addition, exploiting second order derivatives of the principal curvatures, it is also derived a zero-dimensional system coding the so-called turning points, from which elliptic and hyperbolic ridge sections of the two colors can be obtained. Both contributions exploit properties of the Weingarten map of the surface in the specific parametric setting and require computer algebra.