No label defined (Q4821607)

Up to now, there exist many textbooks on wavelets, where often the 1-dimenslonal discrete wavelet transforms are described. The book under review is the first monograph which deals mainly with 2-dimensional (2-d) continuous wavelet transforms (CWT) and their applications. The special value of this well-written textbook is given by a systematic approach to 2-d CWT and by numerous practical applications of high interest. This book is mainly written for engineers, physicists, applied mathematicians, and graduate students. In Chapters 1--3, the authors develop the CWT, first in 1 dimension, then in 2 dimensions. The emphasis is on the practical use of the 2-d CWT with a minimum of mathematical theory. Chapters 4 and 5 are devoted to applications of the 2-d CWT in image processing (such as contour detection, character recognition, detection of symmetries in patterns) and in physics (as in astronomy, astrophysics, geophysics, climatology, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics). In Chapters 6--8, a group-theoretical approach to the 2-d CWT is presented. Applying this approach, the authors extend the CWT to more general manifolds, such as \(\mathbb{R}^3\), the 2-sphere, and space-time, in Chapters 9 and 10. Finally in Chapter 11, some recent developments of CWT (as ridgelets and curvelets) are discussed. This book is of great interest to anyone working in 2-d CWT and their applications.