A discrete Laplace-Beltrami operator for simplicial surfaces

DOI10.1007/S00454-007-9006-1MaRDI QIDQ2471720zbMATH OpenOpenAlexWikidataFDO

Authors Alexander I. Bobenko, Boris A. Springborn

Publication date 18 February 2008

Published in Discrete \& Computational Geometry (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/math/0503219

algorithm Delaunay tessellation Delaunay triangulation Dirichlet energy discrete differential geometry Laplace operator Laplace-Beltrami operator piecewise flat surfaces simplicial surfaces

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Polyhedral manifolds (52B70) Numerical aspects of computer graphics, image analysis, and computational geometry (65D18)

Abstract: We define a discrete Laplace-Beltrami operator for simplicial surfaces. It depends only on the intrinsic geometry of the surface and its edge weights are positive. Our Laplace operator is similar to the well known finite-elements Laplacian (the so called ``cotan formula) except that it is based on the intrinsic Delaunay triangulation of the simplicial surface. This leads to new definitions of discrete harmonic functions, discrete mean curvature, and discrete minimal surfaces. The definition of the discrete Laplace-Beltrami operator depends on the existence and uniqueness of Delaunay tessellations in piecewise flat surfaces. While the existence is known, we prove the uniqueness. Using Rippa's Theorem we show that, as claimed, Musin's harmonic index provides an optimality criterion for Delaunay triangulations, and this can be used to prove that the edge flipping algorithm terminates also in the setting of piecewise flat surfaces.

Review text

Given a finite two-dimensional simplicial complex \(S\) in \(\mathbb R^3\) and a function \(f\) from \(S\) to \(\mathbb R\) that is linear on each simplex, it can be defined the Dirichlet energy and the discrete Laplacian of the function. The Laplacian operator can be described by the ``cotan formula assigning a set of weights to each flag point-edge. However, the discrete Laplacian has, according to the authors, two main disadvantages: The weights used to define the Laplacian operator can be negative. Moreover, given two distinct but isometric simplicial complexes, their Laplacians operator need not be the same. So this Laplacian is not intrinsic in the terms of the geometry of the underlying simplicial surface, but takes into account the triangulation of the surface defined by the simplices. The authors work with piecewise flat surfaces, that are defined as surfaces, possibly with boundary, with a metric such that each point of the surface has a neighborhood that is isometric either to a neighborhood in the Euclidean plane or to an apex of an Euclidean cone. Every such a surface is proved to have a Delaunay tessellation. If this is not already a triangulation, any triangulation refining this tessellation is called a Delaunay triangulation. It is provided an algorithm to compute a Delaunay triangulation starting from any triangulation adapting the classical edge flipping algorithm to these surfaces. Delaunay triangulations are proved to be those triangulations minimizing Musin's ``harmonic index. Using any Delaunay triangulation of a simplicial surface \(S\), the authors are able to define the discrete Laplace-Beltrami operator, where the weights on the vertices of the simplices are derived from the angles appearing in the triangles of the Delaunay configuration. This Laplace-Beltrami operator is intrinsic. That is, two isometric simplicial surfaces have the same discrete Laplacian-Beltrami operator. Any other Laplace operator associated to a triangulation \(T\) of the vertices has non-negative weights if and only if the triangulation is Delaunay.

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